Women's Lacrosse Hosts Columbia Saturday

Saturday, April 8

Princeton, N.J.

3:30 PM

Princeton University

Columbia

Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

April 07, 2023 | Women's Lacrosse

Game #10: #18 Princeton (4-5, 1-1 Ivy) vs. Columbia (3-8, 0-3 Ivy)
April 8 | Sherrerd Field | 3:30 p.m.
ESPN+ | International Stream | Live Stats

Tiger Look To Continue Run Against The Lions
Princeton enters this weekend with a 25-0 record all-time against Columbia dating back to the first meeting in 1998. The Tigers are 12-0 against Columbia in New Jersey, the last win on home turf a 19-1 win on March 2, 2019. Last year, the Tigers scored an 18-8 win in NYC. Princeton jumped out to a 6-1 lead after the first quarter in that game, and Kyla Sears finished with six goals.

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 12.25 while leading the Ivy League in both saves-per-game and saves (98) and save percentage (.483). 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. 8 in the Ivy League in assists-per-game (1.22) and No. 9 in points-per-game (3.11).

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 (26), Buonanno (19), MacDonald (17), Grace Tauckus (14), Kate Mulham (14), Nina Montes (12) and Ellie Mueller (10).

On The Draw
Princeton's three leaders in draw controls for the season all have between 18 and 30. Ellie Mueller leads the team with 30, followed by Kari Buonanno with 26 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, 37-18, 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. At Maryland last week, Princeton outscored the Terps, 4-1. On Wednesday at Saint Joe's, the Tigers had a 7-3 edge in the fourth quarter.

Mueller Time!
Junior Ellie Mueller has those 30 draw controls in the last five games, with nine against USC and then eight more against Penn State, five at Maryland and six at Saint Joe's. 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 14 points this season, scoring 10 goals and adding four 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.

Keeping Track Of Kari
Kari Buonanno has 85 career points in 28 career games entering this week, with 60 goals and 25 assists. She has scored at least one goal in all 28 games she has played as a Tiger, and she has at least two goals in 11 of her last 14 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 19 points (14g, 5a) in seven games this season, including a season-best five goals at Saint Joseph's on Wednesday.

MacDonald's Serving Up Points
First-year attacker Jami MacDonald has made a great first impression, tallying 28 points (17g, 11a) over her nine 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.

Say Grace!
Grace Tauckus has 111 career shots on goal, and she's scored on just short of three-quarters (70%) of those shots, with 78 career goals. She has at least one goal in every game of her career, and she has scored 2+ goals in 24 of her 33 career appearances. Tauckus also has 15 career assists, giving her 93 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. This year, she has 15 points in nine 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.