Women's Basketball: Stifling defense produces big win

The women’s basketball team provided a defensive surge in the second half against Villanova to dissipate the Wildcats’ offense and earn a decisive 56-41 victory. This win gives Princeton (3-0) its biggest win of the season so far while delivering the Wildcats (3-1) their first loss of the year.

Both teams came into the game providing full-court presses, making for a scrappy first half. The Tigers had trouble finding the net on offense, finding many open shots but ending the half 8-for-28 from the floor, including only a single three-pointer out of six attempts. Princeton’s shooting woes continued at the foul line, where the team went 3-for-8.

“We couldn’t have played much worse offense in the first half,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “I thought we played awful.”

The hosts went into the halftime break leading Villanova 20-17, but senior center Devona Allgood picked up an offensive foul in the final seconds of the first period, putting her in trouble with three fouls.

Going into the locker room, Banghart expressed her frustration with the offense. “I said, ‘We worked too hard for this. This isn’t who we are,’” Banghart said. “In the second half, I thought we got back to who we are — the aggressors.”

Returning to the game after the break, Allgood anchored down the paint as Princeton guards fed her the ball in the middle for the team’s first nine points of the second half. Allgood’s contribution led to an 11-2 run to open the period.

In the end, it appeared that defense carried the Tigers to the win. After halftime, Princeton held the Villanova squad to a single successful three-pointer out of 11 attempts and kept the Wildcats to nine field goals on 28 shots.

The Wildcats’ passes were continually picked off or knocked out of bounds by the Tiger defense, which forced 19 turnovers, dissipating any momentum for a comeback.

“We couldn’t let a team that can shoot well come up against us and have great sets,” Banghart said. “It wasn’t that Villanova came in and just didn’t shoot well, but we took away a lot of their rhythm, and that says a lot about our effort.”

The win comes over a Villanova squad that received votes in the most recent ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and beat then-No. 25 Michigan State, giving the Tigers reason to be confident going into their next game against Marist on Monday night at 7 p.m.

The Red Foxes (1-1) were expected to serve as a very difficult matchup for the Tigers. However, in light of Marist’s 60-53 loss to Villanova at the beginning of the season, Tiger fans could be optimistic about Princeton’s chances of coming away with a win.

A win on Monday night could also establish the Tigers as a fringe Top-25 basketball program in the nation. Marist received 24 votes in the most recent coaches’ poll and reached the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament; another convincing win would indicate the strength of Princeton’s program on the national stage.

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

Afterward, Banghart stressed that she sees the squad as “a team of fighters,” an attribute she considers especially important considering that “this team has set very high goals for themselves.”

Though it is early to consider the postseason, Tiger fans should be curious to see the performance of the team against possible tournament contenders, considering that Princeton has won the Ivy League title two years running and is expected to do the same this year.