Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Women's Basketball to Make First Visit to Alabama in WNIT Finales
November 14, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Princeton at Samford
Fri., Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. CT
Princeton vs. East Tennessee State/Delaware State
Sat., Nov. 17 at 5:30/8 p.m. CT
Pete Hanna Center (Samford)
Records: Princeton 0-2, 0-0 Ivy; Samford 1-1, 0-0 OVC; ETSU 0-1, 0-0 A-Sun; Del. State 0-1, 0-0 MEAC
All-Time Series: Princeton leads Samford 1-0; First meeting vs. ETSU/Del. State
Princeton head coach: Courtney Banghart (1st season/Dartmouth '00)
Samford head coach: Mike Morris (6th season/Belhaven '92)
ETSU head coach: Karen Kemp (14th season/Berry '85)
Del. State head coach: Ed Davis (8th season/West Virginia State '80)
Internet Audio: Click here
Welcome to Alabama: The Princeton women's basketball team will make its first appearance in the state of Alabama when it plays in the final two games of the Preseason WNIT Friday and Saturday. Princeton and Samford are the only two teams in this weekend's foursome to have faced each other previously. On Nov. 29, 2003, the Tigers topped the Bulldogs 84-58 in a tournament at Vanderbilt.
Been here before: While the Princeton women's basketball team has never played in Alabama, the men's team has. On Dec. 15, 1998, the Tiger men won 69-57 across town from Samford at UAB. The men's hockey team has also made a recent visit to Alabama, splitting a pair of games with Alabama-Huntsville on Dec. 1-2, 2006. Two of the Princeton baseball team's NCAA Regional appearances have come in Alabama, 1996 in Tuscaloosa and 2003 at Auburn.
Bouncing back: While the Tigers were battling Maryland last Friday night, Samford suffered an 86-38 loss at LSU. The Bulldogs were able to rebound with a 48-46 win against Alabama Tuesday night but the Tigers weren't as fortunate, falling 75-49 at Wagner.
Everybody in: In each of Princeton's first two games, every available Tiger has seen time on the floor. All three freshmen have scored their first career points, with Shelbie Pool's and Krystal Hill's coming at Maryland and Addie Micir's at Wagner. All three rookies have also hit at least one three-pointer already this season. While the substitutions have been frequent, the starting lineup has been the same with two seniors (Cowher, Prichard), two juniors (O'Neill, Downs) and one soph (Brown).
They were there: Though it has been four full years already, one Tiger and one Bulldog were in uniform for the Samford-Princeton game in 2003. Princeton's Katy Digovich was second among Tigers with 17 points in the win and Samford's Alex Munday led the Bulldogs with 16 points. The Tigers were able to win by 26 thanks to a 42-27 rebounding advantage and shooting 51.7 percent to Samford's 35.3 percent.
14: It may be Whitney Downs' uniform number, but 14 was a popular number for Meagan Cowher on the stat sheet against Wagner. With 14 points and 14 rebounds, Cowher recorded double-double number 14 of her career. The 14 rebounds also tied a career high set last November against Lehigh.
Princeton versus the OVC: The Tigers faced a pair of Ohio Valley Conference teams in the 2002-03 pre-conference schedule, winning against Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 27, 2002 at Jadwin Gym before falling to Morehead State in a tournament at the University of Denver the following month.
From way downtown: Seven Tigers have hit three-pointers this year. Caitlin O'Neill leads the way with four, and all four of O'Neill's field goals have come from distance. Eight of her 11 attempts overall are from three-point range.
On the call: Derek Jones will be making the trip to Birmingham and the Pete Hanna Center to call both Princeton games live on GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton is scheduled to broadcast all 30 games this season on the Web free of charge, while video broadcasts of home and select away games will be available for a monthly subscription through TigerZone.
More three: Princeton's 13 three-pointers in the last two games are the most since the first two games of the Ivy season last year when the Tigers had 14.
Keep ?em down: Princeton has allowed at least 75 points in both games this year and ended up on the short end both times. The Tigers allowed 75 or more six times last year and were 0-6 in those contests.
Long road: By the time Princeton has its first home game Nov. 20 against Lehigh, the Tigers will have played four games. That is the most prior to the first Tiger home game since the fall of 2001.
Near home: All 14 Samford Bulldogs are from Southern states, and while the Tigers hail from coast to coast, Princeton has three players from the South on its roster as well in Krystal Hill (Texas), Shelbie Pool (Georgia) and Whitney Downs (Tennessee).
Seniors lead the way: Princeton's seniors lead the team with 34 points between the two games so far, but the other classes have contributed their share as well. The juniors are right behind with 30 points, the sophomores have 20 and the freshmen 17.
40 minutes: It's been a while since the Tigers have had an overtime game. Princeton's last extra-time affair went 50 minutes in a 61-59 loss at Penn on Feb. 1, 2005.
Tigers versus the Atlantic Sun: Princeton has faced two other teams currently in the Atlantic Sun conference on three occasions, including one that required a passport. Princeton topped Mercer in Aruba in the fall of 1988, and the Tigers have split a pair with Stetson, both in Florida, a few years apart in 1986 and 1990.
Best of '07: Jillian Schurle had seven points at Wagner with a trio of field goals. The seven points were her most since Dec. 30, 2006 at Vanderbilt, when Schurle had 12 points for the second straight game.
Crashing the glass: For the second straight game, rebounding was a team effort. After 10 of 13 Tigers made a rebound at Maryland in the season opener, 11 of 12 players had a board at Wagner. There were plenty to go around with 44 Tiger rebounds, but Meagan Cowher had the most with 14. That represented the highest total since Cowher also had 14 at Lehigh last November.
On Samford: The Bulldogs are without a player averaging double digits early in the season but have six players averaging at least five points per game. Sophomore Monica Maxwell leads the team with nine points and five rebounds per game.
On ETSU: The Bucs came up short against Western Kentucky 90-73 in the WNIT opener, but three players scored in double figures. Siarre Evans led the team with a double-double, scoring 22 points with 10 boards.
On Delaware State: The Hornets had an in-state rivalry to open the WNIT last Friday, falling to Delaware 54-47. Senior Katreem Palmer led the team with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Princeton versus the MEAC: The Tigers have played only one other game against a MEAC school, falling to Morgan State 80-76 at a preseason tournament at James Madison in the 1985-86 season. Princeton's football team had just the second Ivy-MEAC game ever this season when it faced Hampton in Princeton.
Flying high: After taking three flight trips last year, the Tigers were not scheduled to take one this regular season. That was true until the WNIT ticketed the Tigers to play their final two games in that tournament at Samford in Alabama.