Women’s basketball loses to Quinnipiac 74–66, drops second game of season

On the road in the fourth game of the season, Princeton’s women’s basketball (2–2 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) fell short in a hard-fought match against the Quinnipiac Bobcats (3–0, 0–0 MAAC). For Princeton, this loss comes off a sweet home opening victory against Villanova, as the team continues their back-and-forth start to the season.

Early on, Quinnipiac capitalized on their home court advantage, as forward Caranda Perea hit two triples in the first two minutes, gaining a 6–4 lead. In the first half, Princeton was not going to the inside post as much as they normally do, and Quinnipiac used Princeton’s turnovers and poor discipline to generate offense for the Bobcats.

“They were tough defensively, they battle on the boards, they were scrappy, and they got loose balls,” Head Coach Carla Berube told The Daily Princetonian. “[The Bobcats] are a really strong, experienced team that executes their offenses very well.”

In the second part of the half though, coach Berube reached deep into her bench, and the defense was keeping the paint safe. Princeton battled back from down by eight, and with sophomore guard Ashley Chea’s three pointer, the Tigers regained the lead, making the score 28–27 Tigers. From there, though, the Bobcats regained the lead to end the half with a one-point Quinnipiac lead.

The third quarter started strong for junior guard Madison St. Rose, who was quiet in the first half, as she converted a Bobcat turnover into a scoring play. The Bobcats began pulling away with a lead, though, despite five Tigers contributing to a 17-point quarter, with St. Rose and sophomore guard Skye Belker beginning to make their awaited offensive impacts.

In the fourth quarter, Princeton lowered their deficit to only four points, and just as they were gaining steam, St. Rose was injured, grasping at her left knee which already had a brace on it. The junior guard has been an integral part of the team, and St. Rose’s injury will leave a massive void in the Tigers’ lineup moving forward, however long it may be. The team has no updates on the injury, but the impact is going to be felt on and off the court.

“Maddie is a huge part of our team, both as on court leader through what she brings to our team scoring wise, defensively and rebounding,” coach Berube said to the ‘Prince.’ “She’s going to miss some of this season … but I think that we’ve got some players and leaders that will step up and be ready to take on this next challenge we have.”

On the court, St. Rose leads the Tigers with 17 points per game, while taking down heavy minutes for the Tigers. Especially after the departure of star guard Kaitlyn Chen ’23 and forward Ellie Mitchell ’23, St. Rose is expected to be the focal point of this Tigers team and losing her will see the Tigers’ depth tested.

From there, the Tigers did not let up, but they were not able to claw back to a lead. The Bobcats beat the Tigers 74–66, avenging last year’s 79–70 loss to the Tigers. Despite the loss, Berube is proud of her players and hopeful about what is to come, despite the incoming adversity from a St. Rose injury.

“They never gave up, and I was really proud of our fight. We need to do a better job of boxing out and rebounding the basketball,” Berube said.

Berube and the team are hoping to come back from this loss with better shooting, more pounding the ball into the post, and a mark in the win column against Seton Hall (3–0 overall, 0–0 Big East) on Thursday. Berube finished, “I’m confident in my team that they will prevail and step up in Maddie’s presence.”

Naomi Segel is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’