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Princeton University
Yale
Players Mentioned
Wheatley, Tarakchian Propel No. 16 Women's Basketball to Victory Over Yale
February 15, 2015 | Women's Basketball
BOX SCORE
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Alex Wheatley netted a game-high 18 points, while Annie Tarakchian posted her seventh double-double of the season to help the 16th-ranked Princeton University women's basketball team escape with a 56-50 win over Yale at Lee Amphitheater.
Winning its 12th-straight game against Yale, Princeton improved to 13-2 against the Bulldogs under eight-year head coach Courtney Banghart. Guiding the Tigers to an Ivy League record 23-0 (7-0 Ivy) start, Banghart now stands just two victories shy of tying Joan Kowalik (163) for the most coaching wins in program history.
Leading all scorers, Wheatley connected on 7-of-8 field goals and 4-of-6 free throws, while also pulling down six rebounds and blocking three shots. Recording her second consecutive double-double, Tarakchian finished with 14 points and 11 boards. Going a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, she knocked down all five of her free throw attempts.
Trailing 5-2 in the early going, Princeton ripped off a 6-2 run to take its first lead of the game. Wheatley got things started by scoring four of the game's next six points before Amanda Berntsen pushed the ball in transition for an easy two that made it 8-7 with 12:56 on the clock.
Locked in a see-saw affair for much of the first half, Yale built the frame's largest lead at 22-18 thanks to a Mary Ann Santucci three-pointer at 2:53. Looking to answer, Princeton closed out the half on a 7-0 run.
Blake Dietrick and Berntsen got things started with back-to-back layups before Wheatley converted down low to make it 24-22. Dietrick wrapped up the stretch by hitting 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with just 30 seconds on the clock.
Carrying their momentum into the second period, the Tigers opened the frame on an 8-2 run. Four different Princeton players scored during the span, with Wheatley capping things off with a layup at 15:49 to make it 33-24.
Battling back, Jen Berkowitz drained a pair of triples on two-straight possessions to slice the visitors' lead to three. Putting the brakes on the surging Yale rally, Dietrick drove the lane for two, before Tarakchian stepped into a transition three to stake the Orange and Black to a 38-30 advantage.
Staying within striking distance, Nyasha Sarju and Santucci knocked down two more triples after a Whitney Wyckoff free throw to once again make it a one-point game. Still up one with less than four minutes to play, Wheatley drew a foul before connecting on both free throws to extend the Princeton margin to 49-46.
Continuing to lead by just three down the stretch, the Tigers got a big stop with a little over a minute to play. Looking to extend the margin, Tarakchian tracked down a Michelle Miller misfire before quickly putting it back in for two. Despite getting a layup on the other end, Yale was forced to foul, allowing Tarakchian and Wheatley to go 3-for-4 from the charity stripe to seal the win.
With its largest lead stalling at nine early in the second half, it marked the first game this season in which Princeton did not build a double-digit margin. Shooting 45.2 (19-42) from the floor, the Tigers, who entered the game as the nation's top three-point shooting team, shot an uncharacteristic 12.5 percent (1-8) from behind the arc.
Hitting 30.0 percent (21-70) of its field goal attempts, Yale connected on 38.9 percent (7-18) of its threes. Princeton finished with a 40-36 rebounding edge, while holding a 34-18 advantage in points in the paint.