No. 24 Women's Lacrosse Goes To Philly Wednesday For Ivy Battle With No. 15 Penn

Wednesday, April 19

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

No. 15 Penn

Photo by: Greg Fiume

No. 24 Women's Lacrosse Goes To Philly Wednesday For Ivy Battle With No. 15 Penn

April 18, 2023 | Women's Lacrosse

Game #13: #24 Princeton (6-6, 3-1 Ivy League) at No. 15 Penn (8-4, 4-0 Ivy League)
April 19 | Franklin Field | 7 p.m.
ESPN+ | International Stream | Live Stats

Princeton And Penn Set For 55th Meeting All-Time
Princeton holds a 29-22-3 all-time lead in the series, with wins in the last six meetings. The two teams have not met in Philadelphia since 2019, a 13-11 win for the Tigers on April 17.

Last year, the two teams met in New Jersey, a 15-13 win for the Tigers in front of a national TV audience on ESPNU. Kate Mulham had five goals in the game, McKenzie Blake, Nina Montes and Grace Tauckus each had two.

First Place In Ivy League At Stake
As has often been the case over the last 15 years, Princeton and Penn meet late in the season with a path to an Ivy championship at stake. The Quakers are 4-0 in the Ivy League and Princeton is right behind at 3-1. A win secures at least a share of an Ivy title for the Quakers, while a Princeton win brings the two teams even with two weeks to go. A win also helps in the race for hosting privileges for the Ivy League Tournament May 5-7.

Say Grace!
Grace Tauckus is closing in on 100 career points, entering the game with 99 points in 35 career games -- averaging 2.75 points-per-game. She has 83 goals and 16 assists in her career, scoring her 83 goals on 119 career shots on goal. She has at least one goal in 35 of her 36 career games -- and has scored 2+ in 25 of her 36 games.

Keeping Track Of Kari
Kari Buonanno has 93 career points in 31 career games entering this week, with 65 goals and 28 assists. She has scored at least one goal in 31 of her 32 games she has played as a Tiger, and she has at least two goals in 13 of her last 16 games dating to last season. Named an honorable mention Midseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse, Buonanno has 24 goals and 13 assists for 37 points over her 12 games this season. Her 13 assists are a new single-season high, and she is three goals away from tying her singe-season high mark set last season when she scored 27. She has also set a new single-season best with 33 draw controls.

MacDonald's Serving Up Points
First-year attacker Jami MacDonald has made a great first impression, tallying 36 points (23g, 13a) over her 12 games. MacDonald is following the lead of her older brother Mike, a 2015 Princeton graduate and a Roper Trophy winner as the top senior male athlete in his class who ranks fifth all-time with the Princeton men in career points with 208. MacDonald's single-game high in points this year came at Rutgers where she tallied seven (6g, 1a). She also has a pair of five-point games, doing so against Penn State (2g, 3a) and Columbia (4g, 1a).

Shake And Blake!
Sophomore McKenzie Blake had 46 points (36g, 10a) over her first 19 collegiate games last season as a rookie, averaging 2.42 points-per-game. This year, she is already up to 38 points (33g, 5a) over 12 appearances -- averaging 3.2 points-per-game. Through 31 career games, she has 84 points (69g, 15a) and is averaging 2.71 points-per-game. Blake played more of a two-way game last season, with 12 CTs and 34 GBs. This year, her primary focus has been working on attack from X but she has still chipped in 15 GBs and added 19 draw controls after winning just three last season.

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 seventh nationally in saves per game at 10.75 while leading the Ivy League in saves-per-game, saves (129) and save percentage (.445). 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 (1.2) and No. 7 in points-per-game (3.17).

Coming Up Hughes
First-year goalkeeper Amelia Hughes has acclimated herself well to college lacrosse, drawing the start in each game to commence her career. She has registered 10+ saves in 7 of her 10 games, and has four games with a save percentage north of .500. Her high-water mark in saves this season came in a 19-save performance at Tempe which earned IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Her 10.75 saves-per-game and .445 save% are most among rookie keepers and her 129 saves is second among first-year goalies.

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 seven players in double figures in goals — Blake (33), Buonanno (24), MacDonald (23), Kate Mulham (22), Grace Tauckus (19), Nina Montes (17) and Ellie Mueller (11).

On The Draw
Sophie Whiteway leads the team in draw controls with 37, while Kari Buonanno is second with 33 . Whiteway won nine draws against Brown and eight draws against Columbia, while Buonanno's single-game high was six at Rutgers.

First-Rate Fourth Quaters
Princeton is outscoring opponents, 46-25, in fourth quarters this season -- including a 5-1 "win" in the fourth quarter at Cornell which turned a 10-10 game into a 15-11 win.

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 29 points (22g, 7a) in 12 games this season, including a a pair of five-goal games at Saint Joseph's and against Brown. She had seven total points against the Bears, adding a pair of assists.

Know The Name Nina
Sophomore Nina Montes had 23 points in 17 games last season, playing mostly in the second line of attack. This year, she has 21 points in 12 games. 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. Starting with her six-goal game against the Big Red, she has goals in each of her last six games -- including three against Loyola last week.

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.