No. 23 Women's Lacrosse Hosts No. 22 Rutgers Wednesday

Wednesday, February 28

7:00 PM

Princeton University

No. 22 Rutgers

Photo by: Brian McWalters

No. 23 Women's Lacrosse Hosts No. 22 Rutgers Wednesday

February 27, 2024 | Women's Lacrosse

Game 3 – No. 23 Princeton vs. No. 22 Rutgers
February 28 | 7 p.m. | Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium
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THE ALL-TIME SERIES WITH RUTGERS
Princeton enters Wednesday's matchup with a 15-5-1 record all-time against Rutgers dating back to the first meeting -- a 13-3 Princeton win in 1975. The Tigers have won the last two matchups, including an 18-12 win at Rutgers on March 1, 2023. The Tigers led by just one, 12-11, after three quarters but rattled off five consecutive goals to open the fourth period to pull away. Jami Macdonald had six goals and an assist with three ground balls last year at Rutgers while Kari Buonanno had eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) and six draw controls.

TIGERS IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
Princeton has entered the ILWomen/IWLCA Poll for the first time this season, coming in at No. 23. They have also maintained their position in the USA Lacrosse Magazine rankings at No. 18. This coming week will see the Tigers take on two more Top-25 opponents with No. 22 Rutgers up first and then No. 21 Yale in the Ivy Opener on Saturday. Princeton has already played teams ranked at the time No. 16 Virginia (14-12 loss) and No. 22 Penn State (18-13 win).

SHAKE AND BLAKE!
Junior McKenzie Blake has put together two pretty consistent seasons over her first two collegiate campaigns, following up a 46-point rookie season with a 47-point sophomore season in 2023. She scored five times last weekend at Penn State to each the Century Club with exactly 100 career points entering this weekend with 81 goals and 19 assists to average 2.78 points-per-game over her 36 career games. After playing a true two-way game as a first-year with 12 caused turnovers and 34 grounds balls, she focused more on attack and the draw circle last year where she contributed 21 draw controls. She already has set her single-game career high in draws twice this season in two games with seven at Virginia and then eight last week at Penn State.

SAY GRACE!
Grace Tauckus reached the 100-point mark at Penn on April 19 of 2023 and enters this weekend as the active leading scorer among Princeton players with 118 points. She is closing in on 100 career goals, taking the field this week needing just two goals to reach the century mark. Tauckus averages 2.82 points-per-game over her 42 career games, scoring her 98 goals on 141 shots on goal – scoring on 70% of her shots which reach goal.

Tauckus now has scored at least one goal in 41 of her 42 career games and scored 2+ in 29 of her 42 appearances. In 2023, she had eight multi-goal games, and she already has one in 2024 after scoring four times as part of a six-point afternoon at Virginia. That effort was one off her career high of seven points (4g, 3a) in the 2022 Ivy League Tournament final against Yale.

KEEPING TRACK OF KARI
Kari Buonanno is another Tiger with more than 100 career points, entering this weekend with 108 points over her career on 71 goals and 37 assists. With 37 career games played, she is averaging 2.92 points-per-game for her Princeton career. She has scored at least one goal in 32 of her 37 games she has played as a Tiger, and set a new career highs with 29 goals and 19 assists for 48 points over her 16 games this season. She also set a new single-season best with 44 draw controls. She has 19 points over her last seven games entering this week.

MACDONALD'S SERVING UP POINTS
Sophomore attacker Jami MacDonald posted a 42-point first year in 2023, scoring 24 goals and adding 18 assists. Her opening games for 2024 have continued that pace as she leads the Tigers in points through two games with 10 (4 goals, 6 assists) and has twice matched her career high with three assists in each of Princeton's first two games. Her 3.0 assists-per-game ranks No. 12 the country. She 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.

COMING UP HUGHES
Sophomore 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 11 of her 18 games, and has six games with a save percentage north of .500. Her high-water mark in saves in a game came in a 19-save performance at Temple in 2023 which earned IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week honors.

SOPHIE IS SO GOOD!
Junior Sophie Whiteway is a key cog on the defensive side of the midfield with 109 career draw controls, 24 caused turnovers and 31 ground balls in 36 career games played. She is also capable when called upon in the attacking third with 33 career goals and 40 total points. She was involved as usual in the opener with a goal, an assist, three caused turnovers, three ground balls and a draw control at Virginia. Last weekend at Penn State, she scored twice and added two ground balls.

ON THE DRAW
So far through two games, Princeton is outpacing opponents on the draw, 38-25. McKenzie Blake (15 draw controls) and Ellie Mueller (14 draw controls) have had the lion's share of the work on the circle. Blake ranks No. 15 in the country in draws-per-game (7.5) and Mueller is No. 19 with 7.0. As a team, Princeton's 19.0 draws-per-game ranks No. 6 in the nation.

DEVITO FILLS THE STAT SHEET
Samantha DeVito does a little bit of everything for the Tigers. Last year she tallied 12 points (9g, 3a), 23 draw controls, 15 ground balls and 8 caused turnovers. She has four points (3g, 1a) and four draw controls so far this season.

HAVEN SENT!
Starting with the stretch run in 2023, Haven Dora has become a key part of Princeton's attack. Dating back to last season, she has 20 points (11g, 9a) over her last seven games with 3+ points in five of those games. She has had three points in each of Princeton's games this season, including two goals and an assist in the win at Penn State.

KNOW THE NAME NINA
Junior Nina Montes has 49 points in 33 career games, scoring 39 times and adding 10 assists. She can score in bunches, last season she had four games with 3+ goals, but totaled just four over her other 11 appearances.

FRESH FACES
The rookie class has made some immediate impacts over their first collegiate games. Ella Sloan came off the bench with two goals at Penn State in the fourth quarter, while Meg Morrisroe has appeared in both games and scored a goal in each. Collette Quinn has also played in both games so far off the bench in the midfield.

LET'S COOK!
Jenn Cook is in her second season as head coach of the Tigers and 12th overall on staff at Princeton. The 2007 North Carolina grad took 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.