SOUTH BEND, Indiana — Sophomore guard Ashley Chea walked off the court last, her head hanging down.
The unanimous first-team All-Ivy point guard tried to will her team to victory, but star sophomore center Audi Crooks, sophomore forward Addy Brown, and the Iowa State Cyclones proved too much.
Chea scored seven points in the first two minutes and then just eight in the remaining 38, as the Tigers (21—8 overall, 12—2 Ivy League) fell to Iowa State (23—11, 12—6 Big 12), 68–63, on Wednesday night. For Princeton, the loss ends a season of youth, with a starting core of four sophomores leading the Tigers through high and low.
Wednesday night, the Cyclones brought no surprises. Crooks proved why she was unanimous First-Team All-Big 12, scoring 27 points, and Brown added 22 points while playing all 40 minutes. Crooks’s performance came while primarily being defended by senior forward Parker Hill, who had a double-double with 12 rebounds and 10 points on the day.
“We don’t see players like Audi Crooks in the Ivy League, and that was definitely an adjustment,” Hill told The Daily Princetonian. “We were working on being strong and trying not to foul.”
Both sides dominated one quarter, with Princeton outscoring Iowa State 27–7 in the second and the Cyclones returning the favor with a 27–9 margin in the third. Iowa State maintained a small margin in the other two quarters of play, as their stars took control towards the end of the fourth.
Despite the loss, this was arguably head coach Carla Berube’s most impressive season in charge of the Tigers. Princeton returned just two starters and grew throughout the season with a young core, once again asserting themselves at the top of the Ivy League.
“[This season] was a great mix of youth and senior leadership,” Berube said postgame.
Sophomore forward Fadima Tall, who did not play at all in last year’s March Madness loss to West Virginia, led the Tigers with 19 points while drawing the difficult role of defending Addy Brown.
“Fadima is tough,” Berube said. “Really proud of the work that she puts in, and I think she’s going to be a tremendous player for us [in the future].”
The Cyclones’ two stars opened up the game, combining for 13 points in the first quarter. Princeton initially struggled to adjust to the Cyclones’ scheme on both sides of the court, going 5–18 on field goals while missing a few open looks.
The tables turned in the second as the Cyclones learned what Ivy League defense is all about. Relying on Hill and junior forward Tabitha Amanze to stop Crooks inside, Princeton held Iowa State to just two points in the first five minutes of the quarter.
The momentum shifted Princeton’s way, and the Tigers took it and ran, going on a 14–0 run in the last three and a half minutes of the quarter. Led by Chea’s eight points, the team surged ahead while Tall shined, neutralizing Brown and adding five points in the frame.
“There was definitely an emphasis on making sure we’re taking the best shot we can get in the second quarter, and then they felt a lot better,” Hill said of the offensive success.
At the half, an ecstatic Tigers squad ran into the locker room full of confidence as they seemed to have figured out the Cyclones. Outscoring Iowa State by a jaw-dropping 27–7 margin and forcing eight turnovers, Princeton led 38–25 at the break.
Just as quickly as the tides turned in the second for Princeton, they did in the third for Iowa State. Crooks and Brown played nearly all ten minutes, as Iowa State shot 58% in the quarter. Princeton’s shots, which all seemed to fall in the second quarter, missed their mark.
By the time Iowa State took a three-point lead on a fast-break layup, a furious Berube called timeout to calm her players down, bringing in senior forward Katie Thiers and junior forward Taylor Charles. Thiers is a contributing Features writer for the ‘Prince.’
“I think that we were a little gassed,” Berube told the ‘Prince’ postgame. “We need[ed] some help from our bench.”
Still, Princeton couldn’t right the ship. When Iowa State senior guard Emily Ryan put an exclamation point on the third quarter with a buzzer-beating layup, the Cyclones had a 52–47 lead going into the fourth. Notably, Chea was held to only four shot attempts — and no field goals — in the second half while being primarily defended by Arianna Jackson.
Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly spoke about the help-defense strategy he employed on Chea, which proved to be the difference maker.
“When you play a great player, you work really hard, you help a lot, and you hope they miss a couple,” Fennelly said. “It was a player and a half on her the whole second half.”
Princeton caught their footing in the fourth, with Belker connecting on her first three of the game and following up with a layup on the ensuing possession. But Princeton could only keep pace with the Cyclones, failing to bring the game within one possession despite multiple attempts.
Princeton’s final chance came on a Belker three-point attempt with fifteen seconds left, but her shot tantalizingly rolled around the rim before falling into a defender’s hands. Berube’s disappointed face said it all.
For Princeton, yet another game that looked so promising at the half had fallen just out of reach, as Iowa State advanced to the second round with a 68–63 win.
The loss stings for the Tigers, who will lose five seniors next year.
“I’ve loved the time I’ve been here, and it always sucks to end your season and end on a loss,” an emotional Hill said. “This program means a lot to me and I couldn’t be happier where I ended up.”
The remaining Tigers will surely use this loss as fuel for next year’s fire, as a healthy will-be senior guard Madison St. Rose will rejoin the young core.
“I look forward to seeing what the rest of them do next year and the year after that,” Hill said.
Max Hines is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com
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