Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Fordham
Players Mentioned
Women's Basketball Downs Fordham in Holiday Classic Championship, 67-53
December 30, 2014 | Women's Basketball
BOX SCORE
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
BRONX, N.Y. – The Princeton University women's basketball team will head into 2015 with its unblemished 15-0 record intact thanks to a 67-53 victory over Fordham University in the championship game of the 2014 Holiday Classic.
Helping the Tigers improve to 5-4 all-time against the Rams, Blake Dietrick was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Coming off a 27-point effort against Hartford, the Princeton senior filled up the stat sheet against Fordham, finishing with 14 points, seven assists, and six rebounds.
Chipping in with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 showing from long distance, Michelle Miller also earned All-Tournament honors. Flirting with a double-double, Taylor Williams had nine points and 11 rebounds, while Annie Tarakchian had 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Getting off to a slow start, the Tigers faced a 10-6 deficit heading into the 12-minute media timeout. Coming out of the stoppage, Princeton ripped off a 10-0 run in less than two minutes to take a 16-10 edge.
Miller got things started with a three-pointer from the right wing before Alex Wheatley ducked inside for two. After Dietrick hit a trey of her own, the Tigers once again looked to Wheatley in the paint, who capped off the visitors' spurt with a layup that made it 16-10.
Momentarily putting the brakes on the Princeton run, Emily Tapio ended a 4:48 Fordham scoring drought with a bucket at 8:46. Reeling off another solid stretch, the Tigers netted eight unanswered to build a 12-point lead with under five minutes remaining in the period.
Ahead 29-18 approaching the two-minute mark, Vanessa Smith put back a Taylor Williams miss to close out the first half scoring. Outscoring the Rams 25-8 over the frame's final 13:34, Princeton limited Fordham to just 25.0 percent (7-28) shooting in the first 20 minutes. Outrebounding the hosts 26-14, the Orange and Black held a 14-8 scoring edge in the paint and a 7-0 advantage in fastbreak points.
Down 37-24 at the 16:16 mark of the second period, Fordham strung together seven straight points to pull within six on a G'mrice Davis jumper at 14:18. With Princeton needing a basket, Tarakchian delivered, knocking down a triple from the top of the key. A couple of possessions later, Miller hit a jumper from the left baseline to again put the Tigers up by double digits.
With Fordham battling back to within eight after a Tapio layup inside of the nine-minute mark, Princeton answered with a 13-2 run to put the game out of reach. Jumpstarting the Tiger offense, Miller buried a triple from the left wing. After Tapio and Dietrick exchanged baskets, Smith knocked down consecutive jumpers to make it 54-39. Following a Tarakchian bucket, Dietrick found a trailing Mariah Smith on the break to extend the margin to 58-39 with just 4:11 remaining.
Shooting 40.7 percent (24-59) from the floor and 40.0 percent (6-15) from three, Princeton held Fordham to 39.6 percent (21-53) shooting with a 28.6 percent (2-7) clip from long distance. Also winning the battle on the boards, the Tigers finished with a decisive 42-29 rebounding edge.