Princeton University Athletics
Wednesday, January 3
Easton, Pa.
7 p.m.
Princeton University
79
at
62
Lafayette
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
Cowher's Season-High 27 Leads Women's Hoops to 79-62 Win at Lafayette
January 03, 2007 | Women's Basketball
EASTON, Pa. -- Meagan Cowher scored a season-high 27 points as the Princeton women's basketball team never trailed against Lafayette in a 79-62 win Wednesday night at the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa.
Princeton ends its pre-conference slate at 6-8 before heading into Saturday's Ivy League opener at Penn. Lafayette extended its losing streak to 11 games and its overall record to 2-12.
"It's a good non-conference win," Princeton head coach Richard Barron said. "I wish we'd played with a little more consistency. Through the game, we had some letdowns."
Ali Prichard joined Cowher in double-figures by tying a career-high with 17 points and Casey Lockwood added 12.
"It was good to see Ali Prichard shoot the ball well and Jessica Berry is developing more consistency. We've taken well to some things we're doing defensively," Barron added.
Berry set a season-high and tied a career-high with eight assists against three turnovers. The Tigers survived 26 turnovers, the team's most since Nov. 18 against Minnesota when it had a season-high 30. Lafayette, meanwhile, had just 12 giveaways, a season-low for a Princeton opponent.
But the stats of the game were rebounding, which Princeton won 49-24, and field-goal shooting. The Tigers hit 49 percent from the field (24 of 49) to Lafayette's 33.3 percent (21 of 63).
Princeton shot 12 for 24 in the first half and capitalized on Lafayette's much cooler 32-percent clip (9 of 28). Rebounding, a stat that hurt Princeton against No. 12 Vanderbilt last week in a 15-point loss, was an advantage against the Leopards as the Tigers won the first-half battle of the boards, 22-11.
Lafayette didn't get its first field goal until nearly five minutes into the first half after missing on its first five attempts. That bucket cut Princeton's lead to 10-4 and a subsequent three-pointer by Jessica Spicer trimmed it to 10-7, but that's as close as Lafayette came.
Princeton then embarked on a 13-3 run to open a 13-point lead that grew to as much as 17 at 37-20 on an Ali Prichard three-pointer with 2:41 to play in the half. Lafayette then went on an 8-0 run to get within nine, but a Cowher buzzer-beating three-pointer, just her second of the season on four attempts, left the Tigers ahead 40-28 heading into the locker room.
Cowher had 15 first-half points including eight in a row early in the period. Prichard was also in double-digits with 11 on 3 for 4 shooting from beyond the arc.
Spicer had 14 of the Leopards' 28 first-half points including four three-pointers, but went scoreless in the second half. She still co-led the team along with Emily Garner's 14, while Val Gomez had 10.
After the break, Princeton's lead again reached a 17-point zenith at 50-33 with 15:20 left on a pair of Cowher free-throws, but Lafayette got to within nine as the half reached its midway point at 56-47 with 10:23 left.
But the lead got no smaller as a 10-2 Princeton run was enough to maintain a comfortable lead on the way to the 17-point win.
NOTES
Princeton has won six in a row against Lafayette, now the longest streak for either team in the 36-game series, which Princeton leads 20-16.
Meagan Cowher reached double-digits in scoring for the 13th time in 14 contests this year. Cowher now has 878 points in her career as she seeks to become Princeton's 17th 1,000-point scorer.
Cowher's 27 points bested her previous season-high of 21. It is tied for third on her career-best list after games of 32 and 27 last year and 28 two years ago.
Ali Prichard's 17 points tied a career-high set in the last game of the 2004-05 season against Harvard.
The 18 combined three-pointers for Princeton and Lafayette were the most in any Tiger game this season.
Princeton ends its pre-conference slate at 6-8 before heading into Saturday's Ivy League opener at Penn. Lafayette extended its losing streak to 11 games and its overall record to 2-12.
"It's a good non-conference win," Princeton head coach Richard Barron said. "I wish we'd played with a little more consistency. Through the game, we had some letdowns."
Ali Prichard joined Cowher in double-figures by tying a career-high with 17 points and Casey Lockwood added 12.
"It was good to see Ali Prichard shoot the ball well and Jessica Berry is developing more consistency. We've taken well to some things we're doing defensively," Barron added.
Berry set a season-high and tied a career-high with eight assists against three turnovers. The Tigers survived 26 turnovers, the team's most since Nov. 18 against Minnesota when it had a season-high 30. Lafayette, meanwhile, had just 12 giveaways, a season-low for a Princeton opponent.
But the stats of the game were rebounding, which Princeton won 49-24, and field-goal shooting. The Tigers hit 49 percent from the field (24 of 49) to Lafayette's 33.3 percent (21 of 63).
Princeton shot 12 for 24 in the first half and capitalized on Lafayette's much cooler 32-percent clip (9 of 28). Rebounding, a stat that hurt Princeton against No. 12 Vanderbilt last week in a 15-point loss, was an advantage against the Leopards as the Tigers won the first-half battle of the boards, 22-11.
Lafayette didn't get its first field goal until nearly five minutes into the first half after missing on its first five attempts. That bucket cut Princeton's lead to 10-4 and a subsequent three-pointer by Jessica Spicer trimmed it to 10-7, but that's as close as Lafayette came.
Princeton then embarked on a 13-3 run to open a 13-point lead that grew to as much as 17 at 37-20 on an Ali Prichard three-pointer with 2:41 to play in the half. Lafayette then went on an 8-0 run to get within nine, but a Cowher buzzer-beating three-pointer, just her second of the season on four attempts, left the Tigers ahead 40-28 heading into the locker room.
Cowher had 15 first-half points including eight in a row early in the period. Prichard was also in double-digits with 11 on 3 for 4 shooting from beyond the arc.
Spicer had 14 of the Leopards' 28 first-half points including four three-pointers, but went scoreless in the second half. She still co-led the team along with Emily Garner's 14, while Val Gomez had 10.
After the break, Princeton's lead again reached a 17-point zenith at 50-33 with 15:20 left on a pair of Cowher free-throws, but Lafayette got to within nine as the half reached its midway point at 56-47 with 10:23 left.
But the lead got no smaller as a 10-2 Princeton run was enough to maintain a comfortable lead on the way to the 17-point win.
NOTES
Princeton has won six in a row against Lafayette, now the longest streak for either team in the 36-game series, which Princeton leads 20-16.
Meagan Cowher reached double-digits in scoring for the 13th time in 14 contests this year. Cowher now has 878 points in her career as she seeks to become Princeton's 17th 1,000-point scorer.
Cowher's 27 points bested her previous season-high of 21. It is tied for third on her career-best list after games of 32 and 27 last year and 28 two years ago.
Ali Prichard's 17 points tied a career-high set in the last game of the 2004-05 season against Harvard.
The 18 combined three-pointers for Princeton and Lafayette were the most in any Tiger game this season.
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