.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Harvard
Players Mentioned
Princeton Outlasts Harvard In OT As Wheatley Reaches 1,000, Miller Gets 28
February 07, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Box Score
Its season on the brink - its opponent dripping with confidence - this is what the Princeton women's basketball team did next:
* driving layup from Vanessa Smith
* foul shot from Amanda Berntsen
* three-pointer from MIchelle Miller
* low post basket from Alex Wheatley, which for extra measure gave her 1,000 career points
What was the lesson? When things get tough, it's great to have an arsenal of players who have been there before year after year after year.
Princeton, desperate to get out of Cambridge with a win, scored the first eight points of overtime and then made enough foul shots to hold off Harvard 92-83 Sunday afternoon. The Tigers stayed one game back of unbeaten Penn, even with one-loss Cornell, in the Ivy League race.
This one was not easy for the Tigers.
Princeton built a 19-6 lead in the first quarter, but Harvard came back to lead 31-30 at the break. The second half would feature nine ties and five lead changes, and neither team would lead by more than five. Princeton had the last possession in regulation but couldn't snap the 72-72 tie, sending the game to overtime.
Harvard was playing to stay in the race itself, and it might have had momentum heading into the extra session. Princeton, who could not afford to fall two games back of Penn, had all the pressure.
And just like that, it was 8-0 run, points that came from three senior and a junior, all of whom have played major roles on teams that have won Ivy League championships and even a game in the NCAA tournament.
Smith started it, slicing through the lane and finishing left-handed. Then it was Berntsen with a foul shot and Miller with a three-pointer. Wheatley made it an 80-72 game when she banked in another layup, which essentially ended the game while also making her the 24th women's basketball player in program history with at least 1,000 points.
GAME NOTES
* Miller had an incredible game, scoring 28 points on 9 of 15 shooting, along with five assists and four rebounds. She made all six of her overtime foul shots and played all 45 minutes.
* Wheatley came into the game 16 points away from 1,000, and that's exactly how many she got against the Crimson. She also added 13 rebounds and five assists.
* All five Princeton starters were in double figures. In addition to Miller and Wheatley, Berntsen had 15 points (and seven assists), Smith had 13 and Annie Tarakchian had 10 points and six boards.
* Princeton has now swept 36 of its last 39 Ivy League weekends.
* Princeton, which hosts Cornell and Columbia next weekend, is now 15-4 overall and 4-1 in the Ivy League. Penn is 5-0 in the league, while Cornell is 5-1. Harvard is 8-11 overall and 3-3 in the league, and every other league team has at least four losses.