Women's Basketball: Without star, Tigers topple Dragons

It had been more than a calendar year since the women’s basketball team lost a game at Jadwin Gymnasium, but it appeared that streak might come to an end Friday night. At the twelve-minute mark, sophomore forward Niveen Rasheed was whistled for her fifth foul, disqualifying the Tigers’ leading scorer as the hosts trailed Drexel.

But with their top player on the bench, the other players came through down the stretch. Princeton (8-2) pulled away for a 64-52 victory over the Dragons (6-2), capping a successful homestand and extending its win streak to five games.

“I love how they have each other’s backs,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “We lost one of our own, and everybody rallied around it. They play with great poise, and it really showed tonight.”

A pair of Laurens keyed the hosts’ run. Junior forward Lauren Edwards took a larger share of the offense. She saw two three-point attempts bounce in and out of the rim in the first half, but connected midway through the second to give Princeton a 38-35 lead it would not relinquish.

Edwards scored 13 points in the second half, converting three times on drives from the left wing. She also created shots for her teammates, finishing with a game-high five assists.

“When one of our players goes down, we all have to step up,” Edwards said. “Everybody did what they had to do.”

Sophomore point guard Lauren Polansky had arguably an even larger impact on the game despite scoring only five points. Polansky, who made her second career three-pointer early in the game, recorded six of the Tigers’ ten steals. The 5’8” point guard, usually the shortest player on the floor, tied for the team lead with six boards, including an impressive play in the first half when she fought through three Dragons to corral an offensive rebound.

“She rebounds like no one’s business,” Banghart said of the point guard. “She’s such a fighter – at a timeout, she looked at her teammates and said, ‘Come on, this is our game,’ and she’s usually very soft-spoken. That ignited us a lot.”

Shortly after intermission, Polansky missed a short shot, and Drexel point guard Jasmina Rosseel was all alone for the rebound. But immediately after she gained possession, Polansky came from behind to poke the ball free, making a layup and giving the Tigers a brief lead.

“I was frustrated that I didn’t make the first one, and I knew I could pick [Rosseel] up for the full court,” Polansky said.

With four minutes remaining in the game, Polansky drove and kicked out to Edwards, wide open on the left wing. The junior hit nothing but net, giving the Tigers a 50-42 lead and all but sealing the game.

Princeton forced 11 turnovers before halftime, but coughed up the ball as many times and faced a one-point deficit at the break. The Tigers shot 50 percent in the second half, including four of seven on three-pointers, and turned the ball over only five times in the period.

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Senior guard and co-captain Addie Micir scored a game-high 18 points, making an aggressive Drexel defense pay with three triples and hitting six of six foul shots down the stretch to ice the game. Kamile Nacickatie paced the visitors with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Rasheed played only 16 minutes, did not make a shot from the floor and committed four turnovers.

The Tigers look to ride their momentum on Sunday when they visit St. Joseph’s (6-3). Princeton has never defeated the Hawks, though the teams have met only twice since 1982.