Women's Basketball: No. 23 DePaul shoots past Princeton, 78-67

On Tuesday night, the women’s basketball team allowed small mistakes to be compounded against No. 23 DePaul, falling 78-67 for its second home loss of the season.

The Tigers (7-3) entered the match seeking a win against a formidable Big East opponent, following an upset loss at Navy last weekend. Earlier this season, Princeton failed in its first attempt to beat a ranked foe, losing to then-No. 24 Delaware.

Head coach Courtney Banghart gave the Tigers no time to sulk. “I told them after Delaware that I thought they were babies, and the loss at Navy was a residual effect of being sad about our loss to Delaware,” she said.

Princeton started the game playing its usual fast pace. Neither squad held possession for long as both teams continued to find points in transition or from the foul line. The Tigers led for a bit in the first half at 15-14 in what appeared to be a messy match from both squads. The pace was more of an advantage for Princeton, as the hosts tried to diffuse a devastating DePaul offense.

But as the half dragged on, so too did Princeton’s ability to hold back DePaul’s multiple threats. In the course of two possessions, DePaul made back-to-back three-pointers and turned the game from a winnable match into an uphill battle.

Facing a double-digit disadvantage, Princeton entered the second half with the same vigor with which it started, finally starting to convert the offensive opportunities that it created. The Tigers continued to press DePaul on offense, forcing them to waste the shot clock and turnovers and eventually cutting down the deficit to six points.

“We came back out during halftime strong, went on streaks and just made little mistakes, but we stuck with it,” junior forward Niveen Rasheed said.

But DePaul did not let the Tigers get back at its lead, pushing back with multiple three-point shots. Solid play allowed Princeton to avoid falling into a further hole, but it was not enough to make up the deficit.

A streaky offensive showing was the story of the night for Princeton. “We can’t turn the ball over 22 times,” Banghart said. “You can’t shoot a low percentage and turn it over, and the fact of the matter is that we did both.”

The other story was the performance of Rasheed, who dominated the Princeton offensive effort with 23 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Senior center Devona Allgood followed as the second-highest scorer with 14 points and nine rebounds.

“We just gave them times to use their offense, and against a top-25 team, there are no moral victories,” Banghart said.

However, Banghart said that there were positive things for her team to take away. “It’s a step forward in effort and accountability, and we showed that against a very, very good team,” she said.

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The match showed that the Tiger defense was able to have good showings against DePaul. Princeton forced 19 turnovers and held the Dragons below their season average of 80 points per game.

Banghart explained that the defense showed ability to play at a high level, since individuals had little help on defense against a team with many scoring options. “Having those types of efforts and those types of games, after being asked and called out, is holding yourself accountable,” she said.

“It’s a tough loss, but you want to play teams like this,” Rasheed said. “We asked for this schedule, and it makes you a better team.”

The match marks the final home game of the calendar year. The Tigers will spend the beginning of winter break traveling to sunny California, where they will face No. 4 Stanford and Santa Clara. The matches will continue what has been a purposely difficult prelude to Ivy League play, which starts in January.