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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Duquesne
Players Mentioned
Miller, Berntsen Power Women's Basketball Past Duquesne, 79-62
November 16, 2014 | Women's Basketball
BOX SCORE
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Michelle Miller netted a game-high 20 points, while Amanda Berntsen matched a personal-best with 14 points to lead the Princeton University women's basketball team to a 79-62 victory over Duquesne at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
Evening the all-time series against the Dukes at 2-2, the Tigers improved to 2-0 on the young season. Up 10 at the intermission, the Orange and Black hit eight of their first 12 shots coming out of the break to blow the game open. Princeton welcomes Drexel University to Jadwin Gymnasium on Wednesday, Nov. 19 for its 2014-15 home opener.
Going 8-for-16 from the floor and 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, Miller led the team in scoring for the second consecutive game, while also adding four rebounds and three assists. Hitting seven of her 10 shot attempts, Berntsen matched her career-high of 14 points set against Navy on Dec. 6, 2013. The junior also set a new personal benchmark with six assists.
Rounding out the list of Tigers in double-figures, Alex Wheatley chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds. Blake Dietrick finished with eight points, eight boards and four assists, while Annie Tarakchian set a new career-high in helpers for the second straight game with six.
Netting six of the game's first eight points, Princeton built a four-point cushion on a Miller three-pointer from the left corner. Battling back, Duquesne mounted a 9-2 run over a span of 2:08, taking its first lead of the game on an April Robinson trey.
Trailing 18-14 just under the 12-minute mark, the Tigers pieced together a decisive 20-6 run over the next eight minutes. Vanessa Smith got the stretch started with a jumper at 11:17 before a Dietrick three on the Orange and Black's next possession put the visitors back on top. A Smith three-point play coupled with a Taylor Williams free throw, and Berntsen runner stretched the margin to 25-18.
Devanyar Workman snapped a three-plus minute Duquesne scoreless streak with a pair of free throws at 8:10, but Tarakchian netted five-straight on a corner triple and a turnaround jumper in the lane to give Princeton its first double-digit lead at 30-20. With the Dukes pulling back within six at 2:29, Berntsen knifed into the paint for two more before Miller stuck a pull-up jumper from the left wing just before the first half buzzer to make it 36-26.
Carrying their momentum into the second half, the Tigers opened the period on a 19-7 run, knocking down eight of their first 12 shot attempts and 3-of-5 three-pointers. With the Princeton lead pared down to 36-31 on a Jose-Ann Johnson layup and Robinson trey, Miller responded with a triple of her own at 18:00. After a Berntsen layup, Wheatley had back-to-back baskets to make it 45-31.
Tarakchian kept things going with another Tiger three before a Wheatley layup put the visitors up 19. Olivia Bresnahan recorded Duquesne's first field goal in nearly four minutes at 14:41, but Miller answered with five-consecutive points to suddenly put Princeton up 55-33. With the Tigers on top, 57-38, midway through the period, Berntsen jumped into the passing lane, picking off an errant Duquesne pass before coasting in for the layup to match her single-game career-high with 14 points.
Robinson led the Dukes with 19 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Amadea Szamost had 12 points and six boards. Shooting just 39.3 percent for the game against a stingy Princeton defense, the Dukes connected on just 12-of-32 field goal attempts in the final 20 minutes (37.5 percent), which included a 1-for-6 clip from long distance (16.7 percent).