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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Lehigh
Players Mentioned
Women's Basketball Improves to 5-1 with 86-68 Win Over Lehigh
December 03, 2009 | Women's Basketball
PRINCETON, N.J. (12/2/09) - Four players reached double figures as the Princeton women's basketball team knocked off defending Patriot League champion Lehigh, 86-68 on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at Jadwin Gym. With the win the Tigers improve to 5-1 overall, while Lehigh falls to 5-2 on the season.
Sophomore Lauren Edwards and freshman Niveen Rasheed scored 21 points apiece. It marked a career-high for Rasheed, who also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Also picking up a career-best was sophomore Laura Johnson who knocked down 17 points, shooting 5 for 9 from long range. Princeton also got 11 points from junior Addie Micir. Sophomore Devona Allgood matched Rasheed in rebounds with eight and Edwards picked up seven.
It was a tale of two halves for the Tigers, who shot 52.6 percent in the first half compared to 29.4 percent in the second half. Princeton had a 58-27 lead at halftime, but Lehigh returned the favor with a 41-28 advantage in the second half.
"We came out strong, played with a lot of energy and got each other involved," said head coach Courtney Banghart. "In the second half we were totally out of rhythm and we let that effect our defense. We want to play better and regroup so we can get Rutgers on Saturday."
The teams traded baskets to start the game but a layup by Edwards sparked a 10-0 run that gave Princeton a 15-4 lead at 14:13. The Tigers continued to hit their shots, scoring 16 points while holding Lehigh to just three baskets in a span of 5:20. That enabled Princeton to take a 20-point lead, 31-11, at 8:01. During that time Princeton got four points from junior Krystal Hill, while Johnson drained two three pointers and Micir and Kate Miller each added a long ball.
Princeton went on a 12-4 run in the next 3:44 to go up 43-15 with 4:17 to play in the first half. The teams traded baskets before a three by Micir, who followed up with two free throws gave the Tigers their largest lead of the game, a 32-point cushion at 54-22, with under a minute to play. The teams traded baskets and a three by Lehigh's leading scorer Erica Prosser with 10 seconds left made it a 29-point game. Rasheed put away a layup with three seconds to play to give Princeton a 58-27 lead at halftime.
In the first 10 minutes of second half, Princeton was held to just four baskets from the floor while the Mountain Hawks rattled off 16 points to get within 24 points, 71-47. The teams traded baskets during the next four minutes. Allgood had a three-point play to make it 83-56, before Lehigh scored four points from the free-throw line. Rasheed followed up with three points to make it 86-60 with less than three minutes to play but Lehigh closed out the game with two three balls and an additional two free throws, to end the game at 86-68. Lehigh's 18-point deficit was the closest the Mountain Hawks had gotten since 8:30 of the first half.
Princeton shot 42.3 percent from long range, going 9 for 16 in the first half for 56.3 percent compared to 2 for 10 in the second. The Tigers did fair better from the charity stripe in the second half, shooting 85.7 percent (6-7) compared to 9 for 13 in the first. The squad finished the game with 48 rebounds, 19 assists, seven steals and five blocks.
Alex Ross paced the Mountain Hawks offensively with 18 points, while Prosser added 14 and had six boards. Hun School product Emily Gratch scored 13 points and led the team under the basket with seven boards before fouling out. Courtney Dentler added 10 points. Lehigh shot 39.3 percent from the floor, 31.6 percent from long range and 64.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Princeton will take on Rutgers on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m., at Jadwin Gym.