The Palestra was certainly rocking last night – way before fans had even begun to arrive for the men's basketball game.
In the first of two nailbiting Princeton wins, the women's basketball team topped Penn, 73-67, in its season finale.
The win gave Princeton (16-10 overall, 10-4 Ivy League) its best record since 1991 and a dramatic turnaround from last year's finish of 7-19, 6-8 in the Ivy League.
"It was a game of desire," Thirolf said, "and we wanted it most. Penn's come a long way this year and so have we. It's a symbolic game. I love the Penn-Princeton rivalry."
Finishing flourish
With one minute, 29 seconds remaining, the game was tied at 63. Junior forward Julie Angell then broke the tie on a driving layup and just 40 seconds later, sophomore guard Kate Thirolf drained a three-pointer to put Princeton up for good.
"We just wanted it so bad," Angell said. "We weren't going to lose this game."
Thirolf led all scorers with 21 points, while Angell had 16, 14 coming in the second half.
Sophomore guard Maggie Langlas had a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points. Playing in her final collegiate game, senior guard Zakiya Pressley had a terrific all-around effort – 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
'Mixed emotion'
"It was mixed emotion," Pressley said. "I was happy for the team, but I couldn't believe it was my last game when I was in there."
The Tigers trailed 32-28 at the half on dismal 28 percent shooting – just 11 percent from beyond the arc. Princeton turned it around in the second half and rallied on 14-for-29 shooting (48 percent) from the floor, 6-for-13 on three-pointers.
The Tigers' impressive season raises interesting questions for next year. With the graduation of Harvard star Allison Feaster, the Crimson cannot expect to dominate the Ivy League as it has the past two seasons.
To the top
This year, Princeton handed Harvard its only league loss, leaving the Tigers in prime position to make a run at the league championship next year.
"Our intention is to win it next year," head coach Liz Feeley said. "We'll miss the seniors, there will be a gap. But there's no heir apparent in the league next year; if we want it we need to go and get it. (My players) are hungry."
Maybe next year there will be another Princeton basketball team headed to the NCAA tournament.
"We learned what it takes to win the Ivy League," Pressley said.
(Mandy Terc contributed to this story.)
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