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Vanderbilt Tops Women's Hoops 81-48 to Close Pre-Ivy Slate
January 05, 2008 | Women's Basketball
PRINCETON -- The lessons haven't been easy. Now, the test can begin.
The Princeton women's basketball team has had as difficult a preparatory schedule as anyone in the Ivy League for the 14-game sprint toward a conference title and an NCAA Tournament berth.
"I've been in the Ivy League long enough to know that it's unpredictable," Princeton head coach Courtney Banghart said. "We need to be able to get things going in transition, make stops and get shots on every possession."
Vanderbilt provided the last chapter in that challenging pre-Ivy schedule Saturday at Jadwin Gym, pulling away late in the first half and adding to the lead in the second to deal the Tigers an 81-48 defeat.
The Commodores knew who to quiet, limiting Meagan Cowher to 11 points, still good enough to lead the team. Cowher now has 1,423 points for her career, fourth on the Princeton all-time list. She was also able to extend her double-digit scoring streak to 19 games, matching the longest by her former teammate and current occupant of third place on the school scoring list, Becky Brown '06.
Princeton hung in with the Commodores early on, leading as late as 18-17 on a go-ahead three-pointer by Nashville-area native Whitney Downs. A Krystal Hill bucket tied the game at 20-20 soon after, but Vanderbilt went on a 7-0 run to build up a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The Commodores led by as much as 15 in the first half at 40-25 and 37 in the second half on the way to the 33-point win.
The loss extended Princeton's skid to seven games and dropped the Tigers to 3-13. Vanderbilt, looking to get back into the top 25 after a 15-point loss to Old Dominion before the new year, made it back-to-back decisive victories over South Florida and the Tigers to raise its record to 11-4.
Vanderbilt outshot Princeton nearly 2 to 1, hitting 61.1 percent of its shots (33 of 54) to Princeton's 31.5 percent clip (17 of 54). Merideth Marsh led Vanderbilt with 17 points while Christina Wirth added 12 and Jence Rhoads 10. The Commodores outrebounded Princeton 38-21 while both teams committed 16 turnovers.
A bright spot for the Tigers was free-throw shooting. Princeton hit 8 of 9 (88.9 percent) after struggling the past two games at Rider and Monmouth.
Princeton will open the two-month Ivy League schedule next Saturday against Penn in for a 7 p.m. tip.