Princeton University Athletics
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Women's Basketball Hosts A Pair of Teams in Final Home Weekend of 2008
December 12, 2008 | Women's Basketball
PRINCETON, N.J. (12/12/08) ? The Princeton University women's basketball team hosts Monmouth and Sacred Heart this weekend, in its final two home games of the calendar year.The Tigers take on Monmouth on Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m., and Sacred Heart on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m.
Both games will be webstreamed via Tiger All-Access for registered users, and live audio play-by-play is free. Live stats will also be available for both games. Links to all of the above are available on the women's basketball schedule page.
Princeton is 3-4 on the season and are coming off of back-to-back losses at the Collier's International Classic in Berekley, Calif., including a defeat at the hands of No. 3 California. The Tigers are hoping to improve on their undefeated record at Jadwin Gym, which stands at 2-0. Senior Whitney Downs leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.9 points per game and 3.6 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in steals with 15, and has chipped in 11 assists. Sophomore Addie Micir is averaging 11.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. She is also the last player on the team you would want to foul, as she is shooting 88 percent (22-25) from the free throw line. Junior Cheryl Stevens leads the team with 10 blocks and senior Jessica Berry has a team-high 17 assists.
Monmouth holds a slim 3-2 edge in the all-time series. The Hawks earned a 91-65 win on Jan. 2, 2008 the first meeting in three years between the squads. The last Tiger victory was Dec. 1, 2005, a 64-56 win.
Monmouth is 4-4 on the season and is 0-2 in the Northeast Conference, dropping games to Quinnipiac and FDU on Dec. 6 and 8, respectively. The Hawks started the season 4-1, but have since lost their last three games. Jennifer Bender leads the team averaging 16.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, both team bests. Bender is also hot on the free throw line, shooting 82.7 percent, and has a team-best four blocks. Marisa Jimenez has a team-high 24 assists and 10 steals. LaKia Barber is second on the team in scoring with 13 points per game.
Princeton and Monmouth have one common opponent, Fairleigh Dickinson. The Tigers trampled FDU, winning a 15-point game at Jadwin on Nov. 25. Monmouth lost in overtime to FDU, 60-56 on Dec. 8. Forty of the Hawks' points came in the second half, as they scored just nine points in the first half and seven in OT.
Sacred Heart is undefeated in the series, winning all three games. Last year the Pioneers took a 79-65 game from the Tigers. The closest Princeton came was an eight-point loss in Dec. 2002.
Sacred Heart is on a three-game run with victories over Stony Brook, FDU and Mt. St. Mary's. The Pioneers started the season going 0-5. Alisa Apo is the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.8 points per game. She adds to her stat line 26 assists and 11 steals. Apo is also strong at the charity stipe, hitting 88.6 percent of her shots. Kaitlin Sowinski averages 13 points per game, and has a team best 6.4 rebounds per game and 14 total blocks. Stephanie Ryan has 15 steals and is contributing 10 points per contest.
Princeton and Sacred Heart have played two common teams in FDU and Lehigh. Both teams defeated FDU, Princeton by 15 points and Sacred Heart by 36 points. The teams also recorded losses to Lehigh. Sacred Heart fell by just two points, while Princeton finished the game down by 20 points.