To kick off reading week, Princeton women’s basketball (6–4 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) made their sole trip to the West Coast of the season, falling to the undefeated Portland Pilots (10–0, 0–0 West Coast) before their attempt at a comeback against Utah (8–2, 0–0 Big 12) also fell short in a rematch of their second-round duel in March Madness of 2023.
Portland press stymies young Tigers offense to start road trip, 74–55
The undefeated Pilots, who rank 24th nationwide with 23 turnovers forced per game, presented a difficult challenge to start off the Tigers’ trip, featuring a dangerous defense and a full-court press.
Princeton got off to a particularly slow start, going down 14–2 in the opening minutes. However, a cold spell from Portland allowed the Tigers to get right back in the game. The forward duo of senior Parker Hill and junior Tabitha Amanze combined for eight points in the last five minutes of the first quarter, and after one period of play, the Tigers were down just 22–16.
Portland’s press constantly hurt the Tigers’ attempts at offensive consistency. The Pilots forced turnovers on Princeton’s first three possessions of the second quarter, bringing their lead again and again to ten points.
“Portland’s press was very aggressive,” Head Coach Carla Berube told The Daily Princetonian. “They’re very good at it. They’re very experienced, having lots of seniors and grad students, and we’re a bit young in our backcourt and on our team, and just really hadn’t seen that kind of pressure.”
The Tigers found strength as the quarter progressed, turning to their youth with first-year guard Cristina Parrella scoring eight points for Princeton in the second quarter.
Also helping the Tigers rally was senior forward Katie Thiers, a Washington native who scored four points within the final two minutes of the quarter to make it a one-possession game. For Thiers, who had friends, family, and former coaches make the trip to watch, the game was a rare homecoming.
“It was awesome,” Thiers wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “For me, basketball has always been about the people, so being able to play with this team in front of the people I love was so joyful and fun.”
Thiers is a staff Features writer for the ‘Prince.’
In just the first two minutes of the second quarter when Portland had stretched their lead, Princeton turned the ball over three straight times. In their 16–6 run to close out the last eight minutes of the half, Princeton turned the ball over twice.
For most of the third quarter, the Tigers appeared to do their job. While they had a four-point lead going into the TV timeout, the turnover problem still lurked as they had committed five in the frame thus far. To close out the quarter, Portland forced four in just over a minute, regaining a five-point lead.
Heading into the fourth, the Pilots increased their attack, forcing turnovers and limiting shots. Princeton took just nine shots in the fourth quarter, leading to only nine points. Running away offensively, Portland soared to a 19-point advantage, defeating the Tigers 74–55.
“We just didn’t get enough shot attempts because of all of our turnovers,” Berube said. While they shot 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from long-range, Princeton mustered just 51 shots overall and only nine three-point attempts.
“If we’re not focused and trying to take care of the basketball, then games can go awry really quickly,” Berube said.
Tigers fall in dramatic fourth quarter at Utah
Ready to switch the narrative about the weekend after the blowout Portland loss, Princeton came back from an 18-point deficit against Utah, but their late effort wasn’t enough to win the game, falling 79–76.
What hurt Princeton the most in the first quarter wasn’t Utah’s ability to score, but rather their ability to draw offensive fouls against their opponents. Possession after possession, the Tigers were called for four offensive fouls.
Even with their limited offensive possessions, the Tigers managed to stay in the game. Sophomore guard Skye Belker tied it up at the end of the first with a halfcourt shot. The play was textbook, with Hill setting the screen on the Utah defender at midcourt to give Belker the space to shoot.
“They [Utah] take threes and they take layups. They are very, very good in transition. They also were hurting us on the offensive glass in the first half,” coach Berube told the ‘Prince.’
Entering the third trailing 40–34, the Tigers looked tired. Gianna Kneepkens and Kennady McQueen made a set of threes, which helped the Pilots stay on top this quarter. To end the third, Belker scored from behind the arc, but Kneepkens made a jumper to extend the Utah lead to 13.
At the start of the last quarter, it seemed like it would be Utah’s game — Princeton was down 64–51. However, the Tigers were not done fighting, with Thiers scoring two points at the 9:22 mark and Belker making a layup with 8:15 left to go. A 9–1 Princeton run nearly brought the Tigers all the way back before Kneepkens converted two free throws to halt the momentum.
“Coming into the fourth quarter, the team knew that we needed to play better and play harder in order to get back into the game,” Belker told the ‘Prince.’ “We are a team that is fueled by our defense, so we really made an emphasis on that end of the floor and securing rebounds, because we knew that the scoring would come.”
A testament to that defense was when sophomore Ashley Chea stole the ball and went coast to coast for another quick two points, cutting it to a one-possession game. The score would stay 67–70 until the Utes’ Mayè Tourè made two free throws. Despite foul action in the final moments of the game, poor shooting from the line sealed the 79–76 loss for the Tigers.
The Tigers had a quick turnaround, facing the University of Rhode Island (4–8, 0–0 Atlantic 10) on Wednesday. The Orange and Black emerged victorious 66–54 to bounce back from this pair of defeats.
Max Hines is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Emilia Reay is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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