.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Lafayette
Players Mentioned
Tigers Lose Big Lead in Buzzer Beater at Lafayette
January 02, 2009 | Women's Basketball
EASTON, Pa. (1/2/08) ? The Princeton University women's basketball team had a 22-point lead but Lafayette College battled back to win 66-64 on Friday, Jan. 2 at the Kirby Sports Center.
Princeton dominated the first half taking a 22-point lead and entered halftime up by 16. Lafayette came out in the second half as a different team and was able to squander the Tigers' lead.
The Tigers began the second half draining two three-pointers to regain their 22-point lead, but little did they know they would score just 11 more points in the remainder of the game. Following two free throws by senior Julia Berger at 13:39, which put the score at 57-38, Lafayette took over. The Leopards held the Tigers scoreless for the next 9:13 going on a 13-0 run to come within four points, 57-53 at 5:57. Freshman Lauren Edwards ended Princeton's scoring drought but Lafayette continued its hot shooting and took a one-point lead, 60-59 off a layup by LaKeisha Wright at 3:40. Emily Garner hit a jumper at 2:31 to give the Leopards a three-point lead before Edwards drained a long range ball to even the game at 62 apiece with 1:23 to play. Cristin Zavocki hit both of her free throws on a foul and Edwards layed one up to reach 64-64 with 24 seconds to play. With the final possession, Princeton didn't want to foul and Elizabeth Virgin came down the lane and put the ball away with one second left for the win.
“We couldn't make a shot in the second half and our shooting percentage was 22 percent in the second compared to 47 in the first,” Coach Banghart said. “A lack of ability to make shots in the second made us panic, and that led to less energy defensively. However, I can't say enough about Lauren Edwards. She took big shots and was aggressive on the defensive end. Playing young kids means we're going to be inconsistent. To score 47 points in the first half and to come unglued in the second half is from lack of experience.”
Edwards hit a career-best 26 points and had five rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Addie Micir contributed 17 points, a team-best five assists and six rebounds. Sophomore Krystal Hill also chipped in six rebounds.
Princeton shot 37.3 percent for the game, and 36 percent from the behind the arc and 73.3 percent from the charity stripe. In the first half, the Tigers shot 47.1 percent and followed up in the second at 24 percent.
Lafayette grabbed a 4-0 lead
to start the game but from there on out it was all Princeton in the first half.
Edwards drained two free throws and followed up with a three-pointer to give the Tigers take a 5-4 lead. Micir added five points for the 10-4 advantage, before the Leopards scored five of the next six points. Emily Garner's basket at 15:32 would be the last time Lafayette would hit the net for the next four minutes as the Tigers went on a 10-0 run to grab a 12-point lead, 21-9, at 12:04.
Sarah McGorry ended the scoring drought for the Leopards but Princeton wasn't done yet, as it went on an 18-5 run through the next 5:36 to take a 22-point lead.
Lafayette wouldn't go away and started to chip away at the large lead. Virgin and Zavocki combined for nine of the team's final 12 points. Micir and Edwards each got a basket from long range, and Micir added a bucket to give the Tigers a 47-31 lead at the half.
At the end of the first half Princeton had scored 18 second-chance points and 27 points off of turnovers.
All five of Lafayette's starters were in double figures, led by Zavocki's 15 points and a team-best seven assists. Garner contributed 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Virgin and Wright each put up 11 points and Jessica Spicer added 10.
Lafayette shot 51 percent for the game, shooting 57.1 percent in the first half and 46.4 percent in the second half. The squad shot 80 percent from the free throw line and 30.8 from the three-point line.
The Tigers had 34 rebounds to the Leopards' 29 but in the second half, with a 20-7 edge in the first half.
Princeton (4-9) returns home for the first time in close to a month when it hosts Rider on Jan. 6, in the final non-conference game of the season.