Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Penn
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Players Mentioned
Four Tigers in Double-Figures as Women's Basketball Wins Ivy Opener over Penn 69-57
January 12, 2008 | Women's Basketball
PRINCETON -- Addie Micir scored a career-best 22 points to lead the Princeton women's basketball team to a 69-57 win over Penn in its first Ivy League game of the 2008 season Saturday night at Jadwin Gym.
The Tigers snap a seven-game losing streak with the victory and will carry a 4-11 overall record and 1-0 Ivy mark into a 19-day break for finals.
Micir, a freshman, topped her previous career best of 18 points from the Dec. 16 Syracuse game and broke 20 points as a rookie for the first time since Jessica Berry scored 30 points against Saint Mary's (Calif.) on Nov. 25, 2005.
The Tigers led by as many as 21 points and never trailed again after Whitney Downs canned a three-pointer to tie the game at 23-23 with 5:23 to play before halftime. All 69 Princeton points came from its five starters as Meagan Cowher added 18, Berry added 12, Downs had 10 and Ali Prichard scored seven.
Berry started for the first time since returning from fall semester abroad at the University of Oxford in England. She played 20 minutes combined between the Monmouth and Vanderbilt games earlier this month and didn't make a field goal. Against Penn, Berry was 4 for 6 from the field including two three-pointers and hit 4 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Berry's return to the lineup allowed her to assume the point guard role she held for most of her first two seasons. As a freshman, she came within two assists of the Princeton single-season record.
"We told (Berry), 'You have to get the ball and push it,'" Princeton head coach Courtney Banghart said. "I think she's such a gamer. She's tough on herself and having not been with the team for six months, she wants to do whatever she can and wants to contribute right away."
The Tigers held advantages in shooting percentage (38.2 percent to 38 percent), rebounding (37 to 35) and turnovers (14 to Penn's 19) in the win. Princeton's 53.3 percent success rate from beyond the arc was its best of the season.
After taking a seven-point lead into the halftime room, Princeton went on a 20-4 run early in the second half to take a 50-29 lead. Penn never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Penn, which saw its losing skid continue into a ninth game, was led by Kelly Scott with 15 points while Maggie Burgess had 11 and Caitlin Slover added 10.
The game was just the second intra-Ivy contest of the season, putting the Tigers into an early first-place tie with Dartmouth at 1-0. Princeton will resume Feb. 1 at Dartmouth before facing Harvard the following night.