In Princeton’s first home game of the season, sophomore guard Ashley Chea led the Tigers (2–1 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) over the Villanova Wildcats (1–1 overall, 0–0 Big East), 70–61.
With Villanova quieting sophomore guard Skye Belker and junior guard Madison St. Rose for most of the game, the offensive responsibility fell on Chea’s shoulders, as she delivered her most effective performance to date.
“When [my teammates] put confidence in me, I try to exert that back out to them,” Chea told The Daily Princetonian postgame.
Winning the opening tip, senior forward Parker Hill got things started for the Tigers, scoring on a three-point play to get the Tigers quickly up 3–0.
Villanova then settled in, finding an offensive rhythm behind guard Maddie Webber while succeeding defensively by forcing the Tigers away from St. Rose and Belker. Villanova’s defensive focus led to increased looks for Hill and junior forward Tabitha Amanze, who combined for nine of Princeton’s 16 first quarter points.
This rhythm was short-lived for the Tigers, though, as Amanze and Hill quickly fell into foul trouble. With the referees not afraid to blow the whistle, the aggressive Tiger defense bore the consequence of repeatedly sending Villanova to the charity stripe for easy points.
Princeton fell into a rut in the second quarter as the crowd of 925 fans quieted down. Belker broke the scoring silence with a crucial layup after nearly six minutes, giving them the momentum to net a few more points before heading into the half knotted at 28.
While the Tigers benefited from a balanced offense, Webber led the way for the Wildcats by scoring 12 of their 28 points, making up for a quiet afternoon from guard Bronagh Power-Cassidy, the leading scorer in their first game of the season.
In the locker room at the half, Princeton women’s basketball coach Carla Berube focused on controlling play and cleaning up the defense.
“They’re calling it pretty tight, so they’re a lot of fouls, and we just need to be a little bit more under control,” Berube told the team. “Let’s execute our offense that we've been working on for two months, three months and just settle things down.”
With a renewed focus on consistency, the Tigers’ offense began to kick into gear. While St. Rose and Belker were contained by the Wildcats’ defense, Chea stepped up, going on a run of her own to score seven points in the third quarter.
Chea also made big plays on defense and served as the Tigers’ primary point guard, a significant task for a player in the opening games of her sophomore season.
“She wants this, to be the leader, to be the floor general,” Berube said of Chea. “We’re gonna have some ups and downs, and she just needs to stay the course because we have all the confidence in the world in her.”
While Villanova took the lead early in the third, the Jadwin crowd made their voices known as the tide turned for the Tigers. Forcing turnovers on the defensive half, St. Rose asserted her presence for the first time all day, scoring seven points as well. Behind St. Rose’s spark and Chea’s engine, Princeton embarked on a 15–2 run to take a commanding 51–39 lead towards the end of the third, with sustained offensive success for the first time all game making the difference in the win.
“They put a lot of pressure on us, especially on all of our point guards,” Chea said. “As the game went on, we looked more calm, and we set each other up for success.”
Although Princeton had found their stride, Villanova would not be counted out. Star first-year guard Jasmine Bascoe led the Wildcats on a 12–4 run, scoring 10 points to put the Wildcats just two points back with a little over six minutes left in the fourth, giving Princeton a strong early-season test of their ability to close games and forcing them into a timeout.
“We had to find what we were made of and find some resiliency,” Berube said.
Berube’s words in the huddle had an impact as the Tigers played clean basketball down the stretch, capitalizing on two offensive fouls from Bascoe and shooting efficiently from the line on the other end. Stretching their lead to nine inside the last minute, the Tigers closed with confidence, going on to win 70–61.
While Webber had a game-high 23 points, Chea led the Tigers with 17. On the inside, Hill and Amanze combined for 18 points and 11 rebounds, the strongest performance yet from the forward duo.
“Parker and Tabbie did a great job in every aspect,” Chea said.
Berube noted an added emphasis on sending the offense through the paint this season, pushing her team to be aggressive and accurate from the free-throw line. Princeton has already improved in this area since their last game at DePaul.
“I think we can attack and get to the rim, and we have some size, so we want to get fouled,” Berube said. “We want to make sure we get easy points off the line. We’re kind of finding our identity and our character, and so as that’s happening, you gotta dig deep in some of these games and find what you’re made of — who’s gonna step up?”
Princeton continues their non-conference schedule with a road trip to Quinnipiac on Saturday. The Bobcats (2–0 overall, 0–0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) are fresh off a win over Harvard and will be another difficult non-conference matchup for Princeton.
“We are there for each other,” Chea said. “I think that’s one of the biggest things that we have learned over time.”
Bridget O’Neill is a head News editor for the ‘Prince.’
Max Hines is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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