Princeton Drops St. Joe's, 63-54, at Gator Holiday Classic

Wednesday, December 20

Gainesville, Fla.

2:30 PM

Princeton University

8-3

Saint Joseph's

5-6

Saint Joseph's

Princeton

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Princeton Drops St. Joe's, 63-54, at Gator Holiday Classic

December 20, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Princeton Tigers (8-3) had three players score in double figures and used a strong defensive effort over the final five minutes to defeat the St. Joseph's Hawks (5-6), 63-54, at Exactech Arena on Wednesday afternoon.

Bella Alarie registered 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting (61.5 percent) along with nine rebounds, one block and a steal. Carlie Littlefield dropped in 11 points while Leslie Robinson added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in the win.

Trailing by four with 4:19 left in the first quarter, the Tigers rolled off seven straight points as Littlefield's trey put Princeton in front, 14-11. St. Joe's rallied to tie the contest at 14-all after 10 minutes.

The second quarter saw the two teams exchange the lead four times before a three-pointer from Gabrielle Rush gave the Tigers a 22-20 advantage with 4:37 remaining. The Tigers locked down the Hawks for the rest of the quarter, not allowing a single point over the final 5:45. St. Joe's was 0-for-9 during that spurt while Princeton went into the intermission in front, 27-20.

Princeton extended its advantage to 13, 33-20, before St. Joe's finally scored its first basket of the second half (7:55). The Tigers were in front by double-digits until a trey from St. Joseph's Sarah Veilleux at the 3:26 mark (39-30). The Hawks pushed forward with the next six points, closing within three (39-36) as the clock ticked under two minutes, but Princeton managed to take a 44-40 lead into the final stanza.

The Tigers snagged the first eight points of the fourth quarter to quickly go up by 12, 52-40, with 7:18 remaining in the game. This time, it was St. Joseph's turn to go on a run, scoring seven consecutive points in two minutes to get back within three, 52-49, with 5:14 left. Head coach Courtney Banghart's unit would not allow another basket for the next 4:34, scoring nine-in-a-row, stretching its lead to 61-49. During that span, the Hawks missed all four of their shots as the Tigers made seven of eight free throws to put the game away.

Princeton wraps up the Gator Holiday Classic Thursday against the Chattanooga Mocs. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The Mocs defeated the host, Florida Gators, 65-60, earlier on Wednesday.