Women's Basketball: Beyond the box score, a ‘winner’ emerges

In the statistics-driven world of modern athletics, skilled players who don’t rack up tons of points often go unnoticed in the shuffle of rosters, depth charts and stat sheets. Junior point guard Lauren Polansky of the women’s basketball team doesn’t score an average of 17.7 points per game, like junior forward Niveen Rasheed has done this year, but Polansky’s team-first attitude, defensive intensity and disciplined leadership on the court are beyond replacement.

Polansky earned a starting spot with the women’s basketball team the first game of her freshman year. Since then, the program has won the Ivy League championship twice in a row, which it had not done since the 1977 and 1978 seasons, and seems poised to capture a third this year.

“Over the past couple years, it has been an amazing experience being able to win the Ivy League, go to the NCAA Tournament and create program history with my team,” Polansky said.

The Tigers’ team chemistry, though intangible, is arguably among the best in the country. The success of the team is something that Polansky and her teammates take very seriously and put above their own individual goals and aspirations.

“My main focus is on the team, and my expectations for myself are that I will do whatever is necessary for the team’s success,” Polansky said. “I, like my teammates, am willing to fill whatever shoes necessary to achieve our goals.”

Even with this team-first attitude, Polansky has still garnered honors for her major contributions. Last year, the 5-foot-8-inch point guard was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year.

“She is one of the best defenders I have ever played with, and it is a nightmare if she is defending you,” Rasheed said.

Rasheed has been watching her teammate’s defensive intensity since long before coming to Princeton. Polansky, the Tigers’ current leader in assists, and Rasheed, the team leader, in points have been playing together since the summer of their junior year of high school on an Amateur Athletic Union team.

“Lauren’s AAU team, although not as talented top to bottom as some of the other teams, always found a way to win,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “Lauren has earned her playing time at Princeton by winning.”

Because Polansky and Rasheed were playing on the same team, Banghart convinced them to make their official recruiting visit to Princeton on the same weekend.

“That sealed the deal to have them in orange and black,” Banghart said. “I think it helped each of them to know that players as talented as each other were coming to Princeton to win banners.”

Winning is precisely what the Tigers have been doing ever since. The team is off to a 6-0 start this season and has amassed a record of 56-8 during the time Polansky and Rasheed have been on the roster.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“Lauren and I have always had great chemistry playing together, and it doesn’t hurt that Lauren is one of my best friends,” Rasheed said.

Although Polansky normally runs the offense with a pass-first approach, she opened up offensively in Princeton’s victory over Marist on Nov. 21. She had a career-high 12 points, including two three-pointers, which helped lift the team to a 68-51 victory.

“Despite my preference for assists rather than points, everyone is constantly telling me to shoot more, so I followed their advice in our game against Marist when we started off a little shaky offensively,” Polansky said.

According to Banghart, this sense of awareness is an important part of what makes Polansky a leader and a winner on the court.

“She’s willing to do whatever the team needs, and in some games, that’s to put the ball in the basket,” Banghart said. “You win with winners, and Lauren is the perfect example of that.”

Polansky and the rest of the “winners” will try to keep winning on Thursday. They will face their toughest test of the season so far when No. 24 Delaware, which is also undefeated this year, visits Jadwin Gymnasium.