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Princeton University
Columbia
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Players Mentioned
Edwards Scores 23 as Women's Hoops Rallies for 69-57 Win Over Columbia
February 28, 2010 | Women's Basketball
PRINCETON, N.J. (2/27/10) - Sophomore Lauren Edwards matched a season-high 23 points as the Princeton women's basketball team rallied to defeat Columbia after trailing nearly the entire first half to come up with a 69-57 win on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Jadwin Gym.
It was one of the closest games Princeton has played in the Ivy League and a game that saw five lead changes and 10 ties.
Edwards shot 11 for 18 from the floor and added six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals. Junior Addie Micir scored 19 points, including going 9 for 10 from the free throw line and pulled down four boards. Sophomore Devona Allgood added 13 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Niveen Rasheed led the Tigers in rebounds with 13 and added eight pints and three steals.
"We had a tough time getting into rhythm in the first half and we weren't as solid defensively as we have been," head coach Courtney Banghart said. "But we played to win in the second half."
Kathleen Barry drained a three to start the game and Columbia worked its way up to a 14-9 lead in the first seven minutes of the game. Addie Micir went 2 for 2 from the line and then added a three pointer to tie the game at 12:33. The Lions regained a five-point edge on a 7-2 run, 21-16. Micir added her second three of the game thanks to a well-placed screen and Edwards picked up a steal and went down the court for a layup. Micir followed up with a layup to give Princeton its first lead of the game, 23-21, with less than eight minutes to play.
A layup by Columbia's Mary Beato tied the game for the sixth time. Princeton added two baskets to take a four-point lead but it was quickly washed away as Columbia went on a 6-0 run to take a 29-27 lead with two minutes to play. A turnover and a steal by sophomore Laura Johnson led to an Edwards' layup with four seconds left to end the half tied 29-29.
The second half started with the teams trading baskets for six minutes before a three by Edwards and a free throw by Allgood gave Princeton a seven-point edge, 41-34 at 13:11.
Columbia cut its deficit back to three but the Tigers answered back with three straight baskets to take a nine-point lead, 47-38. For the next 10 minutes the teams went back and forth with Columbia getting within five on two occasions and Princeton leading by nine five more times.
The Tigers gained a double-digit lead at 2:14 on a second-chance basket by Allgood to make it 63-52. After trading baskets, Micir would shoot 4 for 4 from the free throw line to get Princeton to a 69-54 lead. At the buzzer Melissa Shafer hit a wide open three to set the final score at 69-57.
Columbia's leading scorer Judie Lomax finished the night with a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds. She added three assists, three steals and one block. Danielle Browne also scored 15 points and had a game-high four assists. Barry added eight points and Shafer seven. The Lions shot 39.7 percent overall, 80 percent from the free throw line and 18.8 percent from the three-point line.
Princeton had a 43-31 advantage in rebounds and had 16 second chance points to Columbia's six. The Tigers shot 44.3 percent from the floor, 85.7 from the line and 23.1 from long range.
The Tigers improve to 23-2 overall and 11-0 in the Ivy League, winning all 11 league games by 11 or more points. Columbia falls to 16-10 overall and 7-5 in the Ivy League.
Princeton will play its final weekend on the road next weekend at Dartmouth and Harvard and look to secure the Ivy League automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.