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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Seton Hall
Players Mentioned
No. 24 Princeton Women's Basketball Stumbles at Seton Hall, 71-64
November 20, 2015 | Women's Basketball
WEST ORANGE, N.J. – For the first time in 32 regular season outings, the 24th-ranked Princeton University women's basketball team couldn't find a way to pull out a win, falling to Seton Hall University at Walsh Gymnasium, 71-64.
Suffering their first regular season loss since Mar. 11, 2014 against Penn, the Tigers dropped to 2-1 on the season and saw their 32-game regular season win streak come to an end. The Pirates improved to 3-0 on the year and 11-4 all-time against Princeton.
Struggling to get going, Princeton shot just 2-for-7 in the game's first five minutes. Trailing 13-8, Alex Wheatley netted four-straight points to pull the Tigers within one. Seton Hall responded with a 15-2 run spanning the first and second quarters.
Taylor Williams netted Princeton's only points during the stretch with two free throws to start the second period, but a pair of Jordan Mosley and Tabatha Richardson-Smith three-pointers coupled with a Tiffany Jones layup pushed the Seton Hall margin to 28-14.
Still down 14 with 2:18 left in the half, Wheatley connected underneath and drew a foul. Active on the glass, the Tigers tracked down a pair of offensive rebounds following Wheatley's missed free throw before finding Michelle Miller for a spot-up jumper.
Princeton outrebounded Seton Hall 26-13 over the first 20 minutes, but could not capitalize, committing as many turnovers (13) as it had offensive boards. Shooting just 32.1 percent (9-28) from the field with a 14.3 percent (1-7) showing from long distance, the Tigers headed to the locker room facing a 39-28 deficit.
Padding its cushion early in the third, Seton Hall scored the quarter's first five points on a Lubirdia Gordon layup and a Richardson-Smith triple. Scoring four-straight, Amanda Berntsen sparked a 9-0 Princeton run. Miller connected on a pull-up at 5:12 before a Kenya Holland triple from the right wing cut the Pirates' lead to 44-37.
Needing a basket, Mosley drained an uncontested three from the right corner inside of the four-minute mark. Richardson-Smith connected on her fourth triple of the evening with less than two minutes to play in the third. Mosley then stole the inbounds pass before finding Richardson-Smith who drew a foul and hit both free throws to put Seton Hall back up by 15.
Trailing 59-43 in the fourth, Princeton made one final push. Vanessa Smith got things started by hitting 3-of-4 free throws. Miller followed with a three-pointer at 6:04 before Smith drove the lane for two more to cut the margin to seven. Drawing a foul approaching the four-minute mark, Miller sunk a pair from the charity stripe to make it a five-point game.
Seton Hall answered with back-to-back Gordon and Richardson layups to make it a nine-point affair. Taking advantage of several missed Pirates' free throws down the stretch, Princeton pulled within six at 67-61 on a Berntsen reverse layup with 53 seconds remaining, but that was as close as the Tigers would get as LaTecia Smith knocked down a pair from the line to help seal the win.
Wheatley paced the Tigers with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Smith and Miller each netted 11. Berntsen hit five of her seven shot attempts for 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Princeton shot just 33.3 percent (20-60) from the floor and 28.6 percent (4-14) from three-point range.
Princeton returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 24 against Rider University.