Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Rasheed/Polansky Homecoming Highlights Princeton At No. 4 Stanford
December 15, 2011 | Women's Basketball
The team from New Jersey is traveling 3,000 miles to play this game. The team from California is playing on its campus.
So which one is the home team?
In one respect, when Princeton takes on fourth-ranked Stanford Saturday afternoon at Maples Pavilion, the Tigers will be right at home.
Princeton has had six players start at least one game this year, and four of the six are from California. Princeton has started either three or four Californians in every game.
Stanford, on the other hand, has had seven players start a game this year, and none is a California native. The Cardinal have three Californians on the roster; Princeton has four. Stanford's three natives have combined to play 158 minutes this season; Princeton's four have combined for 1,079 minutes
Of Princeton's four players from the Golden State, two are from the Bay Area.
And they are no two ordinary players.
One is Lauren Polansky, the 2010-11 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and a native of Mill Valley and graduate of the Branson School. Polansky is a third-year starter at point guard, and she leads the team in assists and steals.
The other one is Niveen Rasheed, the team's leader in points (17.4 per game) and rebounds (9.0 per game). Rasheed, a 2009-10 first-team All-Ivy League selection and the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, missed the second half of last season with a torn ACL. The Danville native and Monte Vista High School grad is coming of a 23-point, 18-rebound performance against DePaul Tuesday night.
Rasheed and Polansky both grew up within 60 miles of the Stanford campus.
Princeton's other two Californians are from the Los Angeles area.
Lauren Edwards, a 1,000-point scorer and first-team All-Ivy selection each of the last two years, is a Brentwood School grad.
Nicole Hung, who has started two games this year, went to Harvard-Westlake.
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Princeton will be playing its third ranked team in its last five games.
The Tigers lost 81-70 to No. 21/23 Delaware on Dec. 1 and then lost 78-67 to No. 23/21 DePaul Tuesday night. Princeton has never beaten a ranked team.
Princeton and Stanford have played only once before, on Nov. 29, 2002. Stanford won that game 95-39.
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Tara VanDermeer has won 832 games a college head coach, including 680 in her 26 seasons at Stanford.
Of the 11 coaches that Princeton will have faced in its first 11 games, eight have at least 200 career wins and four have at least 496 (the number DePaul's Doug Bruno reached Tuesday night).
In addition to VanDermeer, Princeton has also faced Lafayette's Dianne Nolan (531) and Villanova's Harry Perretta (606).
Princeton's Courtney Banghart has a record of 78-48 in her first five seasons as a head coach. Banghart started out 16-37 (.302) and is 62-11 (.849) since; she has taken Princeton to its first two NCAA tournament appeareances the last two years.
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A search of "Flores" in Stanford's media guide results in 35 matches, the first of which is a picture of Princeton assistant coach and Stanford alum Milena Flores as she plays in the WNBA.
Flores, a two-time first-team All-Pac 10 Conference selection (in 1999 and 2000) as a point guard, helped the Cardinal to the 1997 NCAA Final Four, and she would earn an NCAA postgraduate scholarship after graduation.
She was an all-league academic selection and a district Academic All-America.
Flores ranks third all-time at Stanford in assists and ninth in free throw percentage.
Flores has been on Courtney Banghart's staff since Banghart became head coach, as has assistant coach Melanie Moore.
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Stanford's Ogwumike sisters - senior Nnemkade and sophomore Chiney - combine to average 38.9 points and 21.6 rebounds per game. They have put up these point totals despite neither's having attempted a three-pointer on the year.
Nnemkade's number are more amazing - she averages 24.0 points while averaging 23.8 minutes, and she is shooting 62.4% from the field. Chiney shoots "only" 51.9% from the field.
Niveen Rasheed is the only Princeton player averaging in double figures, and she is at 17.4 points per game. Rasheed is averaging 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in Princeton's two games against nationally ranked teams so far (Delaware, DePaul).
Princeton does have five players averaging between 6.1 and 9.4 points per game.
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Stanford ranks 12th in Division I in scoring offense at 81.3 points per game, one spot ahead of DePaul, Princeton's last opponent, who was averaging 80.8 points per game and scored 78 against the Tigers.
Whereas DePaul is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country, Stanford has made 176 two-pointers and 46 three-pointers. The Cardinal have made more than 50% of their two-point shots.
Princeton's defense often relies on forcing turnovers, and its opponents have a nearly 2:1 ratio of turnovers to assists (204 turnovers, 115 assists).
Stanford, on the other hand, has 132 assists against just 95 turnovers.
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Devona Allgood has 971 career points, which leaves her close to becoming the 20th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
Allgood, should she score 29 more points, would become the second Princeton player this year to reach 1,000, after Lauren Edwards did so against Lafayette in the second game of the season.
Edwards currently has 1,076 points, leaving her in 17th place all-time in scoring at Princeton (22 away from 16th, 30 away from 15th). Edwards has 105 more points than Allgood; she also has made 114 career three-pointers to one for Allgood.
Princeton could have a third player reach 1,000 points this year, as Niveen Rasheed currently has 818 points. With 18 regular-season games remaining, Rasheed would have to average 10.1 per game (seven below her 17.4 per game average) to reach 1,000.
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What Can You Say About ...
Devona Allgood #44
• 2010-11 first-team All-Ivy League
• 2009-10 second-team All-Ivy League
• 2008-09 honorable mention All-Ivy League
• has played in all 95 games of her career, starting 81, including every game the last three seasons until the UMBC game, when Meg Bowen's No. 43 was entered in the starting lineup in the official book instead of her No. 44; came off the bench at the first deadball
• has 971 career points
• sixth in program history with 702 career rebounds; ahead are Corneille Burt (706), Becky Brown (724) and Jennifer Donnelly (736), before a huge jump to Ellen Devoe (942) and Margaret Meier (1,099)
• has at least six rebounds in eight of 10 games
• had 14 points and nine rebounds against DePaul
• had eight points (all from the foul line, on 8 for 10 shooting) and seven rebounds against UMBC
• had 10 points and nine rebounds against Rider
• had a career-high four assists, along with eight points and seven rebounds, against Delaware
• had 18 points on 8 of 10 shooting and scored the first nine Princeton points of the second half as the Tigers took control against Villanova
• had nine points and six rebounds vs. St. Joe's and six points and six rebounds against Lafayette
• has 18 rebounds in her last two games, including a season-high 10 against Davidson
• scored in double figures in 21 of 29 games last year
• has attempted - and made - one career three-pointer, as the shot clock was expiring against Harvard last year
Megan Bowen #43
• averaging 6.4 points per game, up from 5.4 a year ago and 1.7 as a freshman
• made first career start againt UMBC when her number was incorrectly entered in the official book; had nine points on 4 of 5 shooting in the game
• had 12 points in the win over St. Joe's
• had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists against Rider
• returned after missing Villanova and Marist games with a concussion to have six points against Davidson
• had six points and three rebounds against Lafayette
• appeared in the first 24 games of last year before injuring her shoulder against Columbia; missed four games before returning for NCAA tournament
• scored nine points on 3 of 5 shooting and added five rebounds in NCAA tournament game against Georgetown
• had a career-high 15 in win at home against Yale
• led team in scoring for first time in career with 14 points at Dartmouth
Blake Dietrick #11
• has made a team-best 50% (8 for 16) of her three-point shots
• had first career double figure game with 10 points against Rider, shooting 4 for 4 from the field, including 2 for 2 from three-point range
• had six points and three rebounds in 15 minutes against UMBC
• had six points on two three-pointers in 11 minutes against Navy
• had four points, two rebounds and an assist in five minutes against Marist, including a big three-pointer early in the second half as Princeton took control of the game
• scored her first seven points and had her first career three-pointer and assist in win over Lafayette
• made first collegiate appearance in game against St. Joe's
• led her high school team to an 84-9 record
• scored 1,440 career high school points, the most ever by a boy or girl at the school
• 2011 Massachusetts Player of the Year
Lauren Edwards #30
• first-team All-Ivy League each of the last two years
• started every game since the start of her sophomore year
• became the 19th 1,000-point scorer in Princeton women's basketball history against Lafayette
• is one of 10 players in school history with at least 100 career three-pointers
• has 1,076 career points, 17th all-time at Princeton; ahead are Maureen Lane (1,098), Laura Leacy (1,106), Jackie Jackson (1,113) and Tina Smith (1,116)
• has 114 career three-pointers; needs 48 to tie Kim Allen for eighth
• had season-high 23 points against Delaware; shot 9 for 14 from the field and 4 for 8 from three-point range in the game
• had a team-high 14 points against Rider
• had 10 points and six rebounds against DePaul
• was in double figures in points in both of the first two games before having five points, but also six rebounds and four steals, against Villanova
• had 13 points and 10 rebounds in opener against St. Joe's
• had three blocked shots against Davidson after having three in the first four games combined; six blocked shots leads team
• scored in double figures in 20 of 29 games a year ago
• had a career-high six rebounds against Villanova
• had five points and two rebounds in 12 minutes against Lafayette
• had six points and four rebounds against Rider
• had five points against Navy
• had four points and four rebounds against UMBC
• had four points and three rebounds against Davidson
• had a steal and rebound in four minutes against St. Joe's
• played in 16 games freshman year
• high game was 16 points against Penn
• scored six points in 19 minutes against Georgetown in the NCAA tournament game
Nicole Hung #10
• made first career start and scored nine points with five rebounds in 24 minutes against UMBC
• tied season-high with 11 points against Delaware
• had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 16 minutes against Lafayette
• the 11 points are her second-highest total ever, behind career high of 12 against Brown last year, and gave her a third double figure game for her career
• had five points and career-high five rebounds against Villanova
• tied career-high in rebounds two games later with five against Davidson
• tied her career high with four assists against Marist
• had seven points and four rebounds against Rider
• had five points and two rebounds in 19 minutes against St. Joe's
• had a key three-point play during 10-0 run that broke game open early in second half against St. Joe's
• played in 22 games as a freshman
• led team with four assists and two steals in NCAA game against Georgetown
Laura Johnson #22
• scored 13 points, all in the second half, against Marist
• made three crucial second half three-pointers against Marist
• had six points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes against Lafayette; made both of her three-pointers in the game
• had two blocks against Villanova
• played in every game last year, starting four
• led team with 16 points at Harvard last year
Kate Miller #20
• started the first seven games of the season, came off the bench against UMBC and Navy and then started against DePaul
• had 10 points, three steals and two assists against DePaul
• had a team-high and career-high 18 points against St. Joe's
• had seven points, four rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes against UMBC
• had eight points and five rebounds against Rider
• had four points, three rebounds and three steals against Davidson
• led team in scoring in a game for the first time in her career
• moved into starting lineup last year after Niveen Rasheed's knee injury
• played in all 29 games, starting 14, as a sophomore
• has played in every game of her career
• improved three-point shooting to 11 of 20 a year ago after shooting 2 for 19 freshman year; was 1 for 4 against St. Joe's
• had eight steals against Davidson, the second-highest single-game total in school history, behind only C.B. Tomasiewicz, who had 10 against Yale in 1976
• had three assists and five steals against Delaware
• had a career-high 12 points - along with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot - in the win against Marist
• had six rebounds and five assists against Villanova
• had four assists, four rebounds and four steals in the opener against St. Joe's
• did not score against Rider, but did have five assists and four steals
• had four steals against DePaul
• 2011 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year
• has started 57 games her career
• missed one game last year due to injury
• has 122 career steals; needs 37 to move into school's all-time top 10
• has 174 assists and 105 turnovers for her career
Niveen Rasheed #24
• leads team in scoring and rebounding and is second in assists and steals
• averaging 17.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game
• only two Princeton players - and none since 1985-86 - has averaged nine rebounds or more per game for a full season
• has led team in scoring seven times and in rebounding six times
• has had at least 20 points four times in 10 games
• has 818 career points
• the Ivy League Co-Player of the Week after wins over Lafayette and Villanova
• had 23 points and career-high 18 rebounds (fifth-highest single-game total in school history) against DePaul
• had 20 points and five rebounds against Delaware
• had 24 points and nine rebounds against Davidson
• had 18 points and 11 rebounds against Marist, along with three steals and her first two made three-pointers of the year
• had 19 points and 12 rebounds against Villanova, of which 15 of her points came in the second half
• had 16 points and 11 rebounds against Navy
• had team-bests with 22 points, seven rebounds, four steals, three blocks and three assists - in 23 minutes - against Lafayette
• had 17 points, six rebounds and three assists against St. Joe's
• had nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and a steal against UMBC
• returned this season after suffering a torn ACL against Davidson, in the 12th game of last season
• was averaging team-best 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game at the time of the injury
• finished with the fourth-highest number of points on the team last year (197) despite playing only 12 games
• was the 2010 Ivy League Rookie of the Year (and a nine-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week) and a first-team All-Ivy League selection
Alex Rodgers #5
• had a career-high 10 points against Lafayette
• shot 3 for 4 against the Leopards, including 2 for 3 from three-point range; also had three rebounds, an assist and a steal
• played in 18 games as a freshman
Jess Shivers #23
• made her first career appearance in win over Davidson
• high school team went 80-8 in her four years, including 45-0 her sophomore and junior years
• shot 63 percent from the floor as a senior
• averaged 11.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 1.7 steals and 1.5 assists per game her senior season
Mariah Smith #25
• had three points, two rebounds and first career assist in nine minutes against Navy
• had first career point and first two career rebounds in the game against Lafayette
• scored 1,897 career points in high school
• earned five all-state recognitions as a senior
• late father Mark Smith scored 1,653 points at Illinois and was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks