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Princeton University
Yale
Players Mentioned
Second-Half Surge Lifts Women's Basketball to a 52-37 Win Over Yale
January 30, 2011 | Women's Basketball
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (1/29/11) - It was a second half surge with junior Lauren Edwards leading the charge as the Princeton women's basketball team turned in a 52-37 win over Yale on Saturday, Jan. 29 at Lee Amphitheater. After scoring just one basket in the first half, Edwards would score nearly half of her team's second-half points with 15 of the Tigers' 32.
It was a back and forth affair in the first half that saw eight lead changes and two scoring ties, as Princeton struggled to find its rhythm on either end of the court.
The Tigers' offense started to come together and the defense clamped down, holding Yale to 4-for-19 shooting in the second half. Princeton also forced Yale into seven turnovers in the first 13 minutes, which enabled the Tigers to take the lead.
"We were totally out of rhythm in the first half," head coach Courtney Banghart said. "We knew defense was going to have to be our anchor until we settled into our looks. At halftime we regrouped and talked about keeping our poise while having patience attacking the rim. We knew it was going to be a battle, it's a road game and the second half of a back-to-back. It was a hard fought battle and we're thrilled to come out with a win."
A three by Jenna Graf stretched Yale's lead to five at the start of the second hald, but the Tigers responded with back-to-back layups to make it a one-point game, 25-24 at 17:39. Two minutes later Devona Allgood had the game tied at 26-26.
A three-point play by Addie Micir gave Princeton its first lead since 2:11 in the first half, when she gave her team a 29-28 lead at 14:40. Edwards gave the Tigers' a three-point edge with a jumper 40 seconds later, 31-28.
After a basket by Graf, Edwards scored a pull-up jumper that would spark not only the offense, as Princeton went on a 14-1 run to make it a 15-point game, but also on the defensive end as Yale would be held scoreless from the field for 10:04.
An Allie Messimer layup at 3:42 would end the Bulldogs drought but the damage had already been done, as Princeton went on to the 52-37 win.
Mady Gobrecht opened the game with a layup and would be the only Bulldog to swish the net, as she scored nine points in the first 5:26. Princeton would get its nine points from Lauren Polansky, Allgood and Edwards, as the team's stood tied at 9-9 at 13:24.
A three by Messiner gave Yale its largest lead, 13-9, at 10:41. Princeton responded with a 7-2 run to take the lead, 18-17, on a layup by Micir at 4:25. It would be shortlived as Alicia Seelaus responded her next trip down the court with a lay-in.
Kate Miller would score on a layup to put Princeton ahead by one, 20-19, before Yale ended the half with three points to take a 22-20 lead into the locker room.
The last time Princeton trailed an Ivy game at halftime was against Dartmouth on March 5, 2010 when the Tigers were down 26-21 and came back to win 64-43.
Micir finished with a game-high 18 points and led the team on the glass with seven rebounds. Allgood would add nine and six rebounds. Miller led the team in steals with three steals while Polansky dished out a team-high four assists. Princeton shot 47.8 percent overall, 54.5 percent from the line and 25 percent from long range.
Gobrecht paced the Bulldog offense with 13 points, a team-high six rebounds, three blocks and three assists. Messimer and Graf contributed seven points. Aarica West added five rebounds. The team shot 30.2 percent overall, 61.5 percent from the charity stripe and 16.7 percent from behind the arc.
Princeton improves to 14-3 overall and 3-0 in the Ivy League, while Yale drops to 7-10 overall with its first league loss of the season to fall to 3-1 in conference play.
The Tigers will travel to Harvard and Dartmouth next weekend, Feb. 4-5.