Women's Basketball: Rasheed reaches 1,000 in road victories

The wins extended the Tigers’ (17-4 overall, 7-0 Ivy League) win streak to 10 games, with a spotless record in league play, and gave them a two-game cushion on the rest of the conference with half the season remaining.

The win over Harvard also saw junior forward Niveen Rasheed enter an elite ring of Princeton basketball players when she scored her 1,000th career point. Rasheed became the third Princeton player this season to surpass the mark, joining senior guard Lauren Edwards and senior center Devona Allgood.

Princeton took the court against a struggling Dartmouth squad (3-18, 1-6) with good reason to be confident. But the Tigers started the game in a way that seems to have become commonplace against this season’s Ivy League opponents. After scoring the first five points, Princeton quickly lost its offensive mojo, forcing poor shots while letting Dartmouth piece together an offensive streak of its own.

Ten minutes into the half, Princeton was down 10-6. But, just as they have proved all season, the Tigers would not be silenced for long. Freshman guard Mariah Smith hit a three-pointer nine minutes into the half to spark a seven-point Tiger run.

Dartmouth kept pace with the offensive onslaught for two more minutes before Princeton started another offensive streak, outscoring the hosts 17-4 in the last six minutes of the half to make the halftime score 30-16.

The Tigers entered the second half with their offensive flow back in hand, as they powered through their fast-paced offensive on all corners of the court to leave Dartmouth in the dark. The Tigers went on several streaks for the next 20 minutes to consistently extend the lead with little resistance, ending the match with a 31-point edge.

With another solid win in their pocket, the Tigers traveled to Cambridge, Mass., expecting a strong showing from second-place Harvard (12-9, 5-2).

During Saturday’s match, however, the Tigers gave Harvard only a single possession before their defense overwhelmed the Crimson for 40 minutes. The hosts opened the match with a jumper before Edwards and Rasheed made three-pointers in an 11-2 run.

Princeton spent the rest of the contest extending the comfortable lead it pieced together. Harvard responded with a pair of baskets, but the Tigers had already found their rhythm on offense, going on another 15-2 run and eventually ending the half ahead 37-18.

The second half only added to Harvard’s woes, with Princeton outpacing the Crimson by another 17 points. In the first eight minutes Rasheed scored her 1,000th point — one of her 14 points in the period.

The Tigers ended the contest shooting 55 percent from the field.

“At this point I wouldn’t say there are glaring areas that we need to work on; it’s just a matter of fine-tuning our offense and fine-tuning our defense,” junior forward Kate Miller said. “As long as we keep playing our game, we will continue what we are doing.”

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Through Ivy League play the Tigers have continued to lock up the boards, averaging 32 defensive rebounds a game. The Tigers have also shut down their opponents to a mere 27.3 field goal percentage, and opponents have made a remarkably low 18.1 percent of three-point attempts.

“We all buy into our defensive package, and it really gives yourself a chance,” Miller said. “We all play on the same page, and as long as we keep doing that then we can have a lot of success on the court.”

Miller explained that the high-caliber teams Princeton played before entering league play have contributed to the team’s skill set.

“We had that tough preseason, still having to compete. I think that got us on the same page,” she said. “The teams we’re playing are very good, and as long as we play our game I think it will always be a good game.”

Before beginning league play in January, the Tigers faced several high-caliber teams such as No. 12 Delaware and No. 4 Stanford, a quality of team the Tigers can reasonably expect to face again should they advance to the NCAA Tournament in March.

Princeton will hit the road again next weekend for another pair of Ivy League competitions against Columbia and Cornell, a rematch of two games last month at Jadwin Gymnasium.