Princeton University Athletics
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Season Recap: Women's Basketball Makes History in 2015-16
March 22, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Here's a recap of the 2015-16 Princeton women's basketball season -
Signature Wins: Early in the season, Princeton defeated Seattle, 85-48 on Nov. 28 to win the Loyola Marymount Thanksgiving Classic. During the contest, senior Michelle Miller became the 23rd person to reach the 1,000-point milestone. The senior scored 14 points and was named the Classic's Most Valuable Player. Seniors Amanda Berntsen and Annie Tarakchian were also All-Tournament honorees.
Princeton dropped previously unbeaten Michigan at Jadwin Gymnasium on Dec. 6. Miller led the Tigers with 24 points, going 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. She grabbed eight rebounds as Princeton led through most of the game before winning 74-57.
Another stellar victory was Princeton's 92-83 overtime victory over Harvard on Feb. 7. 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. The Tigers went on an 8-0 run in overtime to put the game away. Miller dropped 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting along with five assists and four rebounds. Senior Alex Wheatley registered 16 points to become the 24th member of the 1,000-point club and added 13 rebounds.
The Tigers gave the class of 2016 a thrilling senior night as it defeated the Dartmouth Big Green, 68-42 at the Jadwin Gymnasium on on Mar. 5. Prior to the game, the team honored its group of seniors that won 97 games and went 50-6 (.892) in the Ivy League. Dartmouth made two of its first three shots, but then was stymied by the Princeton defense. The Tigers rolled off a 19-2 run to end the quarter, holding the Big Green to one basket over the final 8:36 of the frame. The home team continued the defensive intensity in the second stanza as Dartmouth made two shots and just five total in the first 20 minutes of game action. Princeton led 34-13 at halftime. The Tigers' offense would not allow the Big Green to make a game of it in the second half as they shot 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) en route to another 34-point half and 26-point victory.
Awards:
All-Ivy League: Michelle Miller (first team), Alex Wheatley (first team), Annie Tarakchian (second team)
Ivy League Player of the Week: Annie Tarakchian (Nov. 16, Nov. 30, Mar. 7), Michelle Miller (Dec. 7, Jan. 4, Feb. 8), Alex Wheatley (Dec. 14, Feb. 29), Amanda Berntsen (Feb. 22)
Loyola Marymount Thanksgiving Classic MVP: Michelle Miller
Loyola Marymount All-Tournament Team: Michelle Miller, Annie Tarakchian and Amanda Berntsen
CoSIDA All-American: Michelle Miller
CoSIDA Academic All-District Team: Michelle Miller
Notes: The Tigers finished with 23 wins … It was the seventh straight year that Princeton won at least 20 games … Princeton became the first Ivy League team to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament since the conference became an automatic qualifier … The Class of 2016 became the fourth senior group in program history to win at least 20 games all four years … Princeton had a stretch of 25 straight wins at home … The Tigers have swept 40 of the last 43 Ivy League weekends … Head coach Courtney Banghart's team ranked in the top 10 nationally in rebounding margin (third), defensive rebounds per game (fourth), rebounds per game (seventh) and scoring margin (seventh) … Four players had at least 60 assists this year with Berntsen leading the way (101) … Four players made at least 15 three-pointers … Wheatley's 57.7 field goal percentage and Miller's 42.6 percent from deep lead the Ivy League.
Looking Ahead: The Tigers will return one starter from the 2015-16 team in junior Vanessa Smith. Smith averaged 8.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists during the season. Princeton will rely on a strong underclassmen group that will be expected to make an impact to continue a streak of seven consecutive postseason appearances.