.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University
West Virginia
Players Mentioned
Princeton Falls To West Virginia In NCAA Tournament 74-65
March 18, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Box Score
Postgame Press Conference - Princeton
COLUMBUS, Ohio - There were 11.5 seconds to go, the outcome excruciatingly decided, and now Courtney Banghart took her seniors out for the last time.
And what a senior class it has been. Its resume will include two Ivy League championships, three NCAA tournaments, four postseasons, the greatest season in Ivy League basketball history, the first NCAA tournament win in program history and more than 4,500 total points.
Its final achievement will be the at-large bid that brought Princeton back to the NCAAs and made the Ivy League a two-bid league for the first time ever, for men or women.
As would be expected, Princeton - and its Class of 2016 - played hard until the very end, falling to West Virginia 74-65 at Ohio State's St. John Arena. Princeton, the 11th seed, saw its season end at 23-6.
“They just made one more run than we did,” said Banghart. “To say I'm proud of these particular group of student-athletes and this program group is an understatement.”
Senior Annie Tarakchian recorded her 20th career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Alex Wheatley missed just one shot in 10 tries to finish with 18 points. Wheatley also added six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in the loss.
The No. 11 seeded Tigers started quickly, scoring the first four points of the contest. Wheatley scored six of her points in the first three minutes of game action as Princeton's lead climbed to five (8-3). After the Mountaineers got within one, a layup by junior Vanessa Smith and three-pointer from Michelle Miller pushed the Tigers' advantage to six (13-7) with 5:04 left in the first quarter.
Princeton saw its largest lead of the first stanza after a three-pointer from Tarakchian made the score 18-11 with 2:35 to go. West Virginia had the final five points of the quarter, taking an 18-16 deficit into the second frame. Princeton held the lead despite giving up eight offensive rebounds, but only allowed the No. 23 nationally ranked Mountaineers to go 5-of-20 from the floor (25 percent).
“We knew we had to execute our game plan and outwork them," mentioned Wheatley about the team's start to the game. "We tried to set the tone from the start.”
Similar to the first quarter, the Tigers' offense started fast with five straight points to start the second. Over the first eight minutes of the frame, the Tigers maintained their advantage with stellar defense as the Mountaineers did not make their first basket until the 2:08 point of the frame. West Virginia took its first lead of the first half on a three-pointer by Bria Holmes with 1:48 to go. The two teams exchanged baskets before the Mountaineers took a 30-29 lead into halftime.
This time it was the Mountaineers who rattled off an early run to begin a quarter. West Virginia ran off nine of the first 11 to take a 39-31 lead with 6:43 to go in the third. It took the Tigers a little over two minutes to erase that deficit with a nine-point burst to jump ahead, 40-39 with 4:18 left. After both teams took turns in front, West Virginia scored seven consecutive points and took a 49-46 lead into the final quarter.
West Virginia pushed forward with the first eight points of the fourth stanza to take a 12-point lead (58-46), but Tarakchian countered with a three-pointer on the next possession. “I knew I had to make some shots to keep us in the game, so coach said to keep shooting, said the senior about her performance in late in the game."I think it served as a spark. I think we really proved that we can keep up in this environment.”
The Tigers recorded baskets on three straight possessions, but West Virginia would keep Princeton at bay by going 8-of-13 over the first eight minutes of the quarter. Princeton made one more run with a three-pointer from Tia Weledji and and layup from Wheatley to get within five (68-63) with 59 seconds to go, but the Mountaineers make six free throws over the final minute to put the game away.