No. 17 Women's Lacrosse Heads To No. 10 Maryland Wednesday

Wednesday, March 29

College Park, Md.

8:00 PM

Princeton University

No. 10 Maryland

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Photo by: Darl Zehr Photography

No. 17 Women's Lacrosse Heads To No. 10 Maryland Wednesday

March 28, 2023 | Women's Lacrosse

Game #8: #17 Princeton (4-3, 1-1 Ivy) at #10 Maryland (8-3, 1-0 Big Ten)
March 29 | SECU Stadium | 8 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network
Tickets | Live Stats

42nd Meeting All-Time On Tap For Princeton And Maryland
The Tigers and Terps have played a lot of lacrosse against each other over the years, and are set to meet for the 42nd time on Wednesday. Princeton is 8-33 all-time in the series, looking to end a 15-game losing streak. Princeton's last win against Maryland came on May 3, 2006 -- a 9-8 win in New Jersey. The last time the Tigers went to College Park and secured a win was on April 30, 2003 -- a 13-6 victory. Princeton is looking to end a nine-game skid in games played at Maryland.

Young Guns
Amelia Hughes and Jami MacDonald are two of the 20 freshmen named to the Inside Lacrosse Freshman Impact Rankings. The two are the only Ivy League players on the list, which was presented alphabetically. Hughes, who has started every game in goal for the Tigers, is third nationally in saves per game at 12.29 while leading the Ivy League in both saves per game and save percentage (.489). She has also been the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week (after a 14-save outing against USC) and the IWLCA Defensive Player of the Week, after a 19-save performance against Temple. MacDonald is No. 7 in the Ivy League in assists-per-game (1.14) and No. 9 in points-per-game (3.14).

Goal Oriented
Blake McKenzie (vs. Temple), Nina Montes (vs. Cornell) and Jami MacDonald (vs. Rutgers) have both had six-goal games this season. For the season, Princeton has five players in double figures in goals — Blake (20), Buonanno (15), MacDonald (14), Grace Tauckus (11) and Montes (10).

On The Draw
Princeton's three leaders in draw controls for the season all have between 18 and 20. Kari Buonanno leads the team with 20, followed by Ellie Mueller with 19 and Sophie Whiteway with 18. A year ago, for the entire 19 game season, Princeton had four players have 19 or more.

First-Rate Fourth Quaters
Princeton is outscoring opponents, 26-14, in fourth quarters this season -- including a 5-1 "win" in the fourth quarter last weekend which turned a 10-10 game into a 15-11 win at Cornell.

Mueller Time!
Junior Ellie Mueller has those 19 draw controls in the last three games, with nine against USC and then eight more against Penn State. Prior to that Mueller did not have a single draw control for her career. She had 24 points in 18 games last season in her first year of college lacrosse, scoring 14 goals and adding 10 assists while also scooping up 24 ground balls. Her father, Kit, played basketball at Princeton, graduating in 1991 after a career that saw him twice be named Ivy League Player of the Year and win three Ivy League championships. Scoring runs in the Mueller family, as Kit ranks No. 4 all-time in scoring by a Princeton men's basketball player with 1,546 points. Mueller has 11 points this season, scoring eight goals and adding three assists.

Let's Cook!
Jenn Cook is in her first season as head coach of the Tigers and 11th overall on staff at Princeton. The 2007 North Carolina grad takes over for Hall of Famer Chris Sailer after serving 10 seasons as an assistant and associate head coach. During her 10 previous years with the Tigers, Cook has been part of seven Ivy League championships during the eight seasons contest around COVID-19 pauses. She has helped guide the Tigers to eight NCAA appearances in those eight full seasons, reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals three times. A three-time All-American and two-time Tewaaraton Award nominee as a player, Cook was the 2007 Inside Lacrosse Defender of the Year and graduated as the Tar Heel's all-time leader in ground balls (200) and games played (76). Cook's first career win came on February 25 at Temple via a 17-9 victory, and her first career win over a Top-25 opponent was an 18-12 win at No. 14 Rutgers on March 1.

Get The Scoop
McKenzie Blake has the team lead in ground balls with 11, Shannon Berry and Jami MacDonald are tied for second with 10 ground balls.

Keeping Track Of Kari
Kari Buonanno has 74 career points in 26 career games entering this weekend, with 56 goals and 18 assists. She has scored at least one goal in all 26 games she has played as a Tiger, and she has at least two goals in nine of her last 12 games dating to last season. Buonanno had four goals and an assist two weeks ago against Penn State.

Kate The Great!
Kate Mulham missed all of the 2019 season with an ACL injury, but returned to form in the 2020 season with eight points in five games. Last year was a breakout season for Mulham with 35 goals and 48 points in 19 games -- including five-goal games against Maryland and Penn. She has 12 points (7g, 5a) in six games this season, including a season-best four points against Penn State.

MacDonald's Serving Up Points
First-year attacker Jami MacDonald has made a great first impression, tallying 22 points (14g, 8a) over her first seven games. MacDonald is ahead of the pace of her older brother Mike, a 2015 Princeton graduate and a Roper Trophy winner as the top senior male athlete in his class. Mike MacDonald, who ranks fifth all-time with the Princeton men in career points with 208, had eight goals and three assists in his first six career games.

Say Grace!
Grace Tauckus has 103 career shots on goal, and she's scored on just short of three-quarters of those shots, with 75 career goals. She has at least one goal in every game of her career, and she has scored 2+ goals in 23 of her 31 career appearances. Tauckus also has 14 career assists, giving her 89 career points.

Know The Name Nina
Sophomore Nina Montes had 23 points in 17 games last season, playing mostly in the second line of attack. She had a six-point game at San Diego State (5g, 1) last season and has twice matched that number this season with a 4g, 2a day against Virginia and a six-goal game against Cornell.