Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Women's Hoops to Return Home Wednesday to Host NJIT
December 04, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Wednesday's game between the Princeton women's team (2-5) and NJIT (2-5) is the first game of a doubleheader with the Princeton men's team and will begin at 5 p.m. The contest will be audio and video streamed live at www.GoPrincetonTigers.com.
Turnover troubles
Giveaways hurt Princeton over the weekend as the Tigers lost the turnover battle 22-14 to Northwestern and 21-15 to Cincinnati. The team wasn't able to make up that deficit in other key areas, leading to two defeats. Against Northwestern, Princeton was even on the glass, 37-37, but was less accurate from the field, 46.7 percent to 38.2 percent. Against Cincinnati, the Tigers were more accurate from the field, 50.0 percent to 45.2 percent, but lost on the glass, 37-26.
Count on some threes
Princeton has gone to the three-pointer to varying degrees over the first quarter of the season, shooting as many as 23 against Maine and as few as eight against Saint Joseph's, but has made at least two and no more than five in any of its games.
Finally home
After five of six on the road, Princeton will have three of its next four at home.
Sub!
With 17 players on the roster, Princeton has the personnel to give players a breather in an up-tempo offense. In the seven games so far, head coach Richard Barron has used no fewer than 11 and as many as 13 players in every contest. Eleven players are averaging more than 10 minutes per game with Meagan Cowher logging a team-high 30 minutes per contest.
Count on Cowher
Meagan Cowher getting to double-digits in the points column has become as sure a thing as any with the Tigers. She has scored no fewer than 11 points in each of Princeton's last 13 games, including the last six a year ago.
Count on Lockwood, too
Three-time captain Casey Lockwood has been putting up solid numbers of late as well, scoring at least 10 in six of seven games this year and five straight. She dropped in a career-high 21 in Princeton's late-game loss to Maine Nov. 19.
O'Neill on the rise
Sophomore shooting guard Caitlin O'Neill has started six of Princeton's seven games this year, playing at least 20 minutes five times. She played 31 minutes in her only non-start against Cincinnati, scoring a career-high 13 points. She passed her previous career-best, nine points, just 12 minutes into the first half against the Bearcats. O'Neill has filled in the spot vacated by the graduation of Katy O'Brien '06. Both are alumnae of Ventura High in Southern California.
Trying new combinations
The pre-conference slate is the time to tinker with the lineup, and Richard Barron has taken advantage. His starting five has differed from the previous game in each of the last five contests, with Meagan Cowher and Casey Lockwood as the only constants.
Nice to meet you
Princeton will face a first-time opponent for the second straight game when the Tigers take on NJIT Wednesday. Princeton faced Cincinnati for the first time Saturday.
Slemp's role increases
Senior guard Shelly Slemp, usually a reserve, has started each of the last two games and played 25 and 27 minutes in those contests. Three games ago against Saint Joseph's, Slemp scored a career-high seven points. Her previous best came Dec. 6, 2003, her freshman season, when she scored five points against Sacred Heart. Her six assists against Northwestern tied a career-high from her freshman season.
Prichard pitches in
Junior forward Ali Prichard, who did not log a start during the 2005-06 season, has started three times this year, including each of the last two games. She scored eight points each against Saint Joseph's and Northwestern.
Countdown to 1,000
Meagan Cowher could become Princeton's 17th 1,000-point scorer this season. With 30 points during the Northwestern weekend, she has 758 for her career. She would need to average 11.5 points per game over Princeton's last 21 contests to attain the milestone by the end of the regular season.
Listen to the game
John Sadak will return to call Wednesday night's contest as 23 of Princeton's 28 regular-season games will be available on GoPrincetonTigers.com this season. Hear the broadcast by clicking on the speaker icon on Princeton's women's basketball schedule page or on the “Schedule” tab on the right-side column on the front page.
Ivy struggles
Princeton isn't the only Ivy League squad struggling before the league season begins in January. As a whole, the league has an 11-43 record through the past weekend and no Ivy school is above .500 with Penn leading at 2-3.
On NJIT
Both teams enter the game on three-game skids and with 2-5 records. The Highlanders, who are transitioning to Division I, will have home-and-home series this season with North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Longwood, Utah Valley State, IPFW and Texas Pan-American. Lopsided games have been the story of the season so far for NJIT, which is averaging less than four points per game fewer than its opponents. Four of NJIT's seven games have been decided by more than 20 points, the largest of which was a 32-point win over Division II Wilmington College. The Tigers and Highlanders have four common opponents in Lafayette, Cornell, St. Francis (N.Y.) and Wagner. Freshman guard Katie Piekielski is the only Highlander averaging double-figure points at 12.7 per game.
Looking for No. 3
Princeton head coach Richard Barron has 63 wins at Princeton, making him the fourth-winningest coach in Princeton history. Next up on the list is Liz Feeley, who had 68 wins from 1995-2000. The second coach in Princeton history and the second-winningest coach, Pat Walsh, had 72 wins from 1974-79. Princeton's all-time winningest coach is Joan Kowalik, who won 163 games from 1984-95.