Princeton University Athletics
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Women's Basketball Travels to Dartmouth and Harvard for Pivotal Ivy Series
February 21, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2006
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A second chance: Thanks to Brown's win over Dartmouth on Saturday, along with the Tigers recording a weekend sweep over Columbia and Cornell, Princeton has regained control over its Ivy fate. If the Tigers win out and Dartmouth and Brown win their remaining games except against Princeton, all three teams will finish at 12-2, forcing a three-way Ivy playoff. Now comes the tougher test, winning at Dartmouth and at Harvard the following day.
16 of 22: The 16-6 record Princeton carries into the weekend is tied for the third-best in program history through 22 games. The 1978 team was 18-4 at this point, while the 1988 team was 17-5. Princeton was also 16-6 in 1976 and 1991.
Ivy proficiency: Princeton is 7-2 after nine league games for only the fourth time in the 20 seasons the Ivy League has had the 14-game schedule. Princeton was 8-1 at this point in 1999 and 7-2 in 1988 and 1991.
20 wins?: The program record for victories is 20, set by the 1988 and 1996 teams. That number is within reach with five games left to play and Princeton already at 16-6.
Watch the arc: On Friday in Hanover, the Tigers will be faced with the task of stopping the nation's top three-point shooting team. Seniors Jeannie Cullen hits at a 48.3-percent rate (71 for 147) and Angie Soriaga at a 43.6-percent clip (44 for 101).
Taking some hints: Brown's win over Dartmouth could provide the Tigers some tips on how to knock off the Big Green and retain control over their Ivy fate. Brown limited the nation's No. 1 three-point shooting team to four from distance while Dartmouth tagged the Tigers for nine. Dartmouth shot just 33.9 percent from the field against Brown (who won despite shooting only 34.4 percent itself) while the Big Green hit at a 48.2 percent rate at Jadwin Gym. Brown kept its turnovers low, giving the ball away only 13 times compared to 16 for Dartmouth. Princeton also won the turnover battle against Dartmouth, but had 18 giveaways to 20 for the Big Green. Free throws played an important role as well. Dartmouth hit just 8 of 16 at Brown and 19 of 21 at Princeton. Keep an eye on 'em: Dartmouth seniors Jeannie Cullen and Angie Soriaga did some damage against the Tigers, combining for 40 points (Cullen 22, Soriaga 18) in the Feb. 11 meeting. At Brown, the pair had only 23 points combined and had no teammates in double-figures. Ashley Taylor and Fatima Kamara had 18 and 10, respectively, at Jadwin.
Unfriendly confines: Princeton is 4-1 on the road in the Ivy League so far this year with the one loss at Brown coming by two points. The Tigers broke some winless strings at various opposing arenas in the process and would like to snap a couple more this weekend. Princeton has not won at Dartmouth's Leede Arena since 1998 and is 5-19 all-time in Hanover against the Big Green. The Tigers will be looking for their first win at Harvard's Lavietes Pavilion since 1999 and are 8-19 all time on the road against the Crimson. A sweep of the Dartmouth-Harvard trip would be the first in program history.
Game time moved: The Penn-Princeton women's game on Mar. 7 will now start at 6:15 p.m. instead of 4 p.m. as originally announced. It is part of a doubleheader with the men's team, whose game will be televised at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
Berry impressive: Freshman Jessica Berry is ranked 21st in the nation this week in assists per game at 5.5. She is the No. 3 freshman in Division I in that category.
Triple the double-doubles: Two Tigers recorded double-doubles on the Cornell-Columbia homestand, with Casey Lockwood earning a pair. Against Cornell, Lockwood had 12 points and 10 boards. Against Columbia, she had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Becky Brown had 17 points and 10 rebounds. The feat was the sixth of Brown's season and 13th of her career. Lockwood's double-double was her first of the year after she had six as a freshman.
For starters: In all 22 games this year, Princeton's starting lineup has had the same combination by class: two seniors, one junior, one sophomore, one freshman. The lineup itself has remained the same in 20 games, while in the other two, 2008's Ariel Rogers replaced fellow soph Meagan Cowher and 2009's Whitney Downs filled in for fellow rookie Jessica Berry.
Broadcast info: Derek Jones calls the action for both games this weekend in New England. The broadcast can be accessed by clicking on the "Live Audio" link under the game's listing on the right side of the www.goprincetontigers.com home page.
O'Brien climbs the charts: Senior Katy O'Brien, with 174 career three-pointers, needs just two to tie Allison Cahill '03 for fourth on the all-time list. Her 310 assists are is sixth on that career list with Laura Leacy '94 totaling 333 in fifth place. This year, she's on the Ivy leader list in both categories. Her 2.18 three-pointers per game clip is second and her 3.95 assists per game average is third.
Head Coach Richard Barron: In his fifth season, Richard Barron's 56 wins rank fourth in program history, behind Liz Feeley's 68 wins from 1995-2000, Pat Walsh's 72 wins from 1974-79, and Joan Kowalik's 163 wins from 1984-95.
Cream of the crop: Either Dartmouth or Princeton leads the Ivy League in 14 of the 19 statistical categories the league tracks. In seven of those, the two schools are No. 1 and No. 2 in either order. Princeton leads the league in rebounding margin (5.0 to 2.6 over Dartmouth), defending the glass (32.5 opponent boards to 35.2 for Dartmouth's foes) and field goal percentage (.464 to .443 for Dartmouth.)
League's top scorer: Senior Becky Brown remained at the top of the Ivy League's scoring chart this week, now averaging 16.0 ppg. Cornell's Jeomi Maduka is second at 15.1 ppg. Meagan Cowher is sixth in the league at 14.2 ppg.
More Brown/Cowher: Becky Brown and Meagan Cowher are No. 1 and No. 2 in the league, respectively, in field-goal percentage at 65.2 and 50 percent.
Helpers: Two of the top three assist leaders are in Princeton uniforms. Jessica Berry leads the league with 5.52 apg, while senior Katy O'Brien is third at 3.95 apg. Berry is No. 4 in the Ivy League in assist:turnover ratio at 1.43 helpers per giveaway, and O'Brien is sixth at 1.21.
Try, try again: The Tigers are helping themselves on the offensive end with second-chance rebounds, second in the league in that category with 13.38 per game. Individually, Becky Brown is second in the league with 3.14 offensive boards per game and Meagan Cowher is sixth at 2.55.
Watch out for her: Katy O'Brien may be a 5-6 guard, but she's 10th in the league in taking possessions off the glass for the Tigers with 3.45 defensive rebounds per game. Becky Brown ranks fifth at 4.45.