Women's Basketball: Demolition by 50 points caps League season

For the second consecutive year, the Tigers (24-4 overall, 13-1 Ivy League) entered their final game against Penn (11-17, 5-9) with the outright conference title in hand, giving Head Coach Courtney Banghart and her team a chance to play with less pressure.

The Tigers jumped out to a 40-13 lead at halftime, mainly on the strength of their outstanding defense. The hosts managed just 13 points in 35 possessions for the period, missing 22 of 27 shots and grabbing only four of those rebounds. While the Tigers uncharacteristically committed 10 turnovers in the frame, they forced just as many and shot above 50 percent.

Despite being held scoreless for the first three minutes of the first half, the Tigers took the lead with 16 minutes and 40 seconds left in the half off a three-pointer by sophomore forward Kate Miller, who finished the game with 12 points. Her shot also kicked off a 25-1 Princeton run, which increased the visitors’ lead to 25-3 with nine minutes left in the half. Miller scored nine points throughout this period, and freshman forward Kristen Helmstetter contributed seven points coming off the bench.

Junior center Devona Allgood, who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week after posting double-doubles in each of Princeton’s games last weekend, was one rebound shy of repeating that feat in the first half alone. Allgood finished with 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.

Guard Alyssa Baron, the presumptive Rookie of the Year and the league leader in points per game, was the lone effective Quaker on offense. Baron, who scored 15 points for the Quakers on seven-for-15 shooting at Jadwin Gymnasium two months ago, scored eight points in the first half while her teammates added only five — shooting two-for-21 from the floor — and finished with 12 points.

Princeton’s domination continued in the second half, as the Quakers did not score for the first four and a half minutes and missed their first 13 shots of the period, failing to make a field goal until a wild layup from guard Brianna Bradford found net nearly nine minutes in.

A corner three from senior guard and co-captain Addie Micir extended the lead to 50-15 at the 13-minute mark, and the visitors did not stop there. A layup and another three-pointer from freshman guard Alex Rodgers bumped the advantage to 50 points, and the Tigers cruised to 78-27.

The Tigers turned the ball over another six times in the second half but were strong in every other category, shooting 46 percent from the floor and holding Penn to a remarkable 8.6 percent. The Tigers grabbed 44 defensive rebounds, their most in at least nine seasons.

Tuesday’s game marked Princeton’s seventh consecutive victory over the Quakers and shattered its record margin of victory for the series, which had previously been 34 points.

The 27 points that Penn scored were the fewest the Tigers have allowed all season, eclipsing the previous low of 35 they permitted Columbia on Feb. 11. The game also represented Princeton’s best defensive effort since 1981, when it limited Barnard College to just 14 points.

Princeton is now preparing for its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which begins on March 19. The Tigers will play a first-round game on that or the following day, with the location and opponent to be determined on Monday. Princeton received a No. 11 seed last year but lost to St. John’s in the opening round. With a more difficult schedule but two additional losses this season, most expect the Tigers to draw a seed one or two lines lower next week.