Princeton University Athletics
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Miller Helps Women's Basketball Power Past Previously Unbeaten Michigan
December 06, 2015 | Women's Basketball
BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTSImproving to 6-1 on the season, the Tigers dealt the Wolverines (7-1) their first loss of the year. Princeton returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 8 against Monmouth.
Annie Tarakchian opened the scoring with a three-pointer from the right corner before Vanessa Smith hit a spinning layup in transition to make it 5-0. Up 13-8 at the start of the second, Miller drained another three to stretch the Tiger lead to eight.
After Katelynn Flaherty answered with a triple on the other end, Amanda Berntsen and Taylor Williams netted back-to-back baskets to make it 20-11. Another Flaherty three-pointer at 6:38 trimmed the Michigan deficit to six, but an 8-3 Princeton spurt gave the Tigers their largest lead of the half.
Miller got the run started with a triple before a Taylor Brown layup following a Maria Backman free throw made it 25-15. Backman knocked down a jumper the next time down the floor to pull the Wolverines back within eight, but Alex Wheatley converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way to make it 28-17.
Holding onto a 33-24 lead at the half, Princeton shot 48.1 (13-27) percent from the floor and 40.0 percent (4-10) from three. Limiting Michigan to 24.1 percent (7-29) shooting, the Tigers outscored the Wolverines 18-2 in the paint in the first 20 minutes.
With Michigan pulling within six on a Siera Thompson jumper at the 7:12 mark of the third quarter, Princeton ripped off a 12-2 run over a span of 3:13. Miller put back her own miss to kick-start the stretch before Smith connected on 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to make it 41-32.
Flaherty hit a jumper inside of the six-minute mark to trim the Michigan deficit to seven, but Miller buried a three on the Tigers' ensuing possession to once again put the Orange and Black up by double digits. Berntsen then went coast-to-coast while finishing off a three-point play. Leslie Robinson stole a pass and cruised in for an easy two at 4:52 before Berntsen hit 1-of-2 free throws to cap off the decisive Princeton run.
Making a final push, Michigan got as close as 12 in the fourth quarter on a Thompson jumper at 6:09. Smith responded with a pair of free throws before Berntsen knifed into the paint for two more to make it 64-48 with under five minutes to play.
Knocking down 6-of-8 three-pointers, Miller also pulled down eight rebounds in 36 minutes. Berntsen finished with 13 points and four assists, while Wheatley chipped in with 15 points, three rebounds, and three blocks.
Despite getting outrebounded for the first time this season (35-31), the Tigers held a 38-10 advantage in points in the paint. Shooting 50.0 percent (27-54) from the field, Princeton connected on 43.8 percent (7-16) of its three-pointers.