A Revisit Of Princeton's Defensive Victory Over Lafayette; Tough Loss To Fordham

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton Tigers went 1-1 last week, scoring a 65-27 decision over the Lafayette Leopards at Jadwin Gymnasium last Wednesday before dropping a close 57-55 battle at the Fordham Rams on Saturday.

Princeton 65, Lafayette 27 (Recap) (Box Score)
Fordham 57, Princeton 55 (Recap) (Box Score)
5 Keys for Fordham/Lafayette (Story)

Back to .500 – The Tigers currently sit at 4-5 on the season after opening the year at 0-4. In its last five contests, Princeton have a scoring margin of +20.8. During that stretch, the Tigers are shooting .410 from the field including .375 from deep. After getting outrebounded in their first three games, the Tigers have won the rebounding battle in the last six games and have posted a +10.7-rebounding margin.

Sharing Is Caring – Head coach Courtney Banghart's squad leads the Ivy League in assists (14.8) per game, despite having just one player ranked in the top 10 (Leslie Robinson, 2.7, 10th). Over the last five games, freshman Bella Alarie boasts a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio while junior Tia Weledji has a 2.3 assist/turnover ratio during that timeframe. Princeton has assisted on 65 percent of its baskets during its 4-1 span.

Lafayette Offense - The Leopards' 27 points last Wednesday are tied for the fewest allowed by Princeton during the Courtney Banghart era. Penn., on Mar. 8, 2011, was the last opponent held under 30 points (78-27) while Barnard, now Columbia, scored just 14 on Jan. 8, 1981. After allowing 18 points in the first half to Lafayette, Princeton gave up only one basket in the third stanza and nine total points in the second half. The Leopards matched Rutgers with a Princeton opponent-low 11 buckets in the game.

G'mrice Davis – Princeton held Fordham's leading scorer to her second lowest scoring output of the season (7). Davis made a season-low one field goal in 32 minutes of action. Despite having the sixth-best rebounder in the country, Fordham got outrebounded, 36-33, against Princeton. Four different Tigers grabbed at least four boards in the loss.

Defense Wins Games – With two teams boasting strong defense, the Fordham game played out that way as both squads shot under 40 percent from the field. Ahead by one point at halftime, the Rams held the Tigers to 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) in the third stanza, stretching their lead to 11. Princeton got back into the game in the fourth quarter by allowing just two Fordham baskets over the final 10 minutes.

Princeton travels on the road this week as it takes on the Kansas State Wildcats (9-1) on Sunday (2 p.m.). The Wildcats were receiving votes in the most recent USA Today Top-25 poll.

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Players Mentioned

Bella Alarie

Leslie Robinson

Tia Weledji