Women's Basketball: Rasheed's 21 points help sink Midshipmen

For 20 minutes on Friday, it seemed as if both rims at Jadwin Gymnasium were four feet wide. The women’s basketball team and its opponent, Navy, both made 60 percent of their shots in the first half — an unlikely shootout for two teams that entered the game with top-30 defenses in the nation.

A three-point game at halftime became a double-digit Princeton lead in the second period, as the host’s defense clamped down and the Midshipmen (5-5) struggled to hold onto the ball. The Tigers (6-2) cruised to a 74-61 victory, improving to a perfect 3-0 in December.

“In the second half, we guarded our own [matchup] better,” head coach Courtney Banghart said of the defensive turnaround. “They only had five assists in the first half, so it was a lot of one-on-one. We became more active with our hands and our mouths, and our rotations were better.”

The Tigers led by as many as nine points in the first half, but they uncharacteristically had trouble with Navy’s offensive sets. High pick-and-rolls freed point guard Angela Myers for a pair of outside shots, while kick-outs off similar plays gave others open three-pointers. Even well-contested attempts dropped, such as a heat-check three by Myers over sophomore point guard Lauren Polansky that gave the Midshipmen a one-point lead late in the period. The visitors made 58 percent of their first-half attempts, including 6-of10 from long range.

Near the end of the half, Princeton reclaimed the lead with a 10-1 run, featuring an acrobatic layup in traffic by sophomore forward Niveen Rasheed. But Myers connected with her third triple of the half just before the buzzer, closing the deficit to 41-38 at intermission.

The Midshipmen — who entered the game making just 37 percent of their shots from the floor (and 34 percent from beyond the arc) — were bound to lose some accuracy after the break. In the middle stages of the second half, Navy took three long shots from the left corner. One nicked the front of the rim, while the other two hit nothing but air.

Princeton’s defense adjusted at the break, cutting down on the open Navy shots. The Tigers became much more active on the interior, deflecting several passes on pick-and-rolls. Senior guard and co-captain Krystal Hill, who made four of five shots in 15 minutes, recorded three steals in the second half. Navy made just nine of 32 shots in the period and committed 11 turnovers, leading to fast-break opportunities for the hosts.

“We knew we needed to amp up the energy and communicate more,” Hill said. “Our team really loves to get out and run. We’re all really athletic and we’re well-conditioned.”

Rasheed and junior guard Lauren Edwards combined for Princeton’s first 12 points after halftime, giving the hosts some breathing room. After Myers, who finished with a game-high 21 points, sank two free throws, the Tigers held Navy scoreless for more than seven minutes, a 12-0 run that put the game away. A Hill triple late in the period extended the lead to 20 points before a Navy push provided the final margin.

Rasheed, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week, paced the hosts with 21 points, though she needed 17 field goal attempts and eight free-throw opportunities to do so. Junior center Devona Allgood racked up 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Edwards netted 13 on the same number of shots.

Navy outmuscled Princeton on the boards, grabbing two more rebounds despite missing more shots. The Midshipmen converted the extra plays into 19 second-chance points. But the Tigers made a season-high 53 percent of their shots and committed a season-low 11 turnovers, posting one of their best offensive performances to date in a slow-paced game.

“Offensively, we share the ball really well,” Banghart said. “People got shots within their comfort zone. We have a really good offensive team, so if we play defense, we’re hard to beat.”