Defending Champs Set For Ivy League Women's Lacrosse Tournament At Penn

Friday, May 5

Philadelphia, Pa.

4:00 PM

Princeton University

No. 2 Seed Yale

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Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

Defending Champs Set For Ivy League Women's Lacrosse Tournament At Penn

May 03, 2023 | Women's Lacrosse

Ivy League Semifinals: No. 3 Princeton (7-8, 4-3 Ivy League) vs. No. 2 Yale (10-5, 4-3 Ivy League)
May 5 | Dunning-Cohen Champions Field | 4 p.m.
ESPN+ | International Stream | Live Stats | Game Notes

Back In The Postseason
Princeton has once again qualified for the Ivy League Tournament, making its 11th appearance which is tied for most all-time with Penn which had qualified for the first 10 ILTs before missing out last season. The Tigers have qualified for 11 of the 12 Ivy League Tournaments held since 2010, only missing out on the 2012 edition. The Tigers are 13-4 all-time in the Ivy League Tournament with six championships. Princeton's 13 wins in the Ivy League Tournament are the most all-time, and Princeton's six Ivy League Tournament championships are most all-time. The Tigers have won the last four Ivy League Tournaments (2016-19, 2022) and four of the last five. The Tigers are 2-3 all-time in Ivy League Tournament games played in Philadelphia, winning the 2011 championship at Franklin Field. Princeton has not played an Ivy League Tournament game at Dunning-Cohen Champions Field, the site of the 2023 tournament as the Tigers did not qualify for the 2012 event which was the only other held at this weekend's facility.

Say Grace!
Grace Tauckus reached the 100-point mark at Penn on April 19, and enters the game with 107 points in 39 career games -- averaging 2.74 points-per-game. She has 90 goals and 17 assists in her career, scoring her 90 goals on 129 career shots on goal. She has at least one goal in 38 of her 39 career games -- and has scored 2+ in 27 of her 39 games. This season, she has seven multi-goal games, including four-goal affairs against Brown and Harvard. Her high-water mark for points this season is five (4g, 1a) last weekend against the Crimson. Her career-high in points came last year in the Ivy League Tournament when she had seven (4g, 3a) against Yale in the title game.

Keeping Track Of Kari
Kari Buonanno also recently reached the 103-point mark, doing so at Dartmouth on April 22. She enters this postseason with 70 goals and 33 assists, averaging 3.03 points-per-game. She has scored at least one goal in 31 of her 34 games she has played as a Tiger, and she has at least two goals in 14 of her last 18 games dating to last season. Named an honorable mention Midseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse, Buonanno has set new career highs with 29 goals and 18 assists for 47 points over her 15 games this season. She has also set a new single-season best with 40 draw controls. She has 14 points over he last four games entering the postseason, including a five-goal game at Dartmouth on April 22 and a four-assist game at Penn on April 19.

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 38 points (29g, 9a) in 14 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. Dating back to the game at Saint Joe's, she has 24 points in her last 7 games, averaging 3.43 points over that span.

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 has matched that number with 46 points (39g, 7a) over 14 appearances -- averaging 3.29 points-per-game. Through 33 career games, she has 92 points (75g, 17a) and is averaging 2.79 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 18 GBs and added 21 draw controls after winning just three last season. She missed the Dartmouth game, but returned with a six-point afternoon (4g, 2a) against Harvard last weekend to tie her career high in points.

First-Rate Fourth Quarters
Princeton is outscoring opponents, 53-33, in fourth quarters this season.

Goal Oriented
McKenzie Blake (vs. Temple), Nina Montes (vs. Cornell) and Jami MacDonald (vs. Rutgers) have both had six-goal games this season. For the season, Princeton has eight players in double figures in goals — Blake (39), Buonanno (29), Kate Mulham (29), Grace Tauckus (26) , MacDonald (23), Nina Montes (20), Sophie Whiteway (12), and Ellie Mueller (11).

Young Guns
Amelia Hughes and Jami MacDonald were two of the 20 freshmen named to the Inside Lacrosse Freshman Impact Rankings. The two were 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 10.7 while leading the Ivy League in saves-per-game, saves (161) and save percentage (.441). She has also twice been the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week (after a 14-save outing against USC and a 14-save day against Harvard) and the IWLCA Defensive Player of the Week, after a 19-save performance against Temple.

MacDonald's Serving Up Points
First-year attacker Jami MacDonald has made a great first impression, tallying 39 points (23g, 16a) over her 15 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). After going without a point at Penn and Dartmouth, she tied her season-high with three assists last weekend against Harvard.

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 9 of her 15 games, and has five games with a save percentage north of .500. Her high-water mark in saves this season came in a 19-save performance at Temple which earned IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Her 10.7 saves-per-game and 161 saves are most among rookie keepers and her .441 save% is third among first-year goalies.

On The Draw
Sophie Whiteway leads the team in draw controls with 48, while Kari Buonanno is second with 40 . Whiteway won nine draws against Brown and eight draws against Columbia, while Buonanno's single-game high was six at Rutgers.

DeVito Fills The Stat Sheet
Samantha DeVito does a little bit of everything for the Tigers, with 11 points (8g, 3a), 22 draw controls, 13 ground balls and 7 caused turnovers. This past weekend, she had a goal to go with three draw controls, a caused turnover and a ground ball. Two weeks ago, she had a 5gb, 4dc, 3ct day at Dartmouth. Against Brown, she went for 1g, 2a, 5dc.

Haven Sent!
Down the stretch, Haven Dora has become a key part of Princeton's attack working behind the cage as a primary feeder. Over her last four games, she has 12 points (7g, 5a) with 3+ points in three of those games. Last weekend against Harvard, she had a career-high five points (3g, 2a) with two ground balls.

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 25 points in 15 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 seven her last nine games -- including three against Loyola and Dartmouth.

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.