| Princeton (21-6, 12-1 Ivy) at Penn (16-11, 9-4 Ivy) |
| Game Info: |
Tuesday, Mar. 12 at 5 p.m. |
| Location: |
The Palestra • Philadelphia, Penn. |
| All-Time Series Record: |
Princeton leads 49-23 |
| First Meeting: |
1974-75 |
| Series Streak: |
Princeton won the last nine meetings |
| Last Meeting: |
Princeton won 77-47 (Jan. 12, 2013) |
| Game Notes: |
Princeton at Penn |
| Live Media: |
Live Stats l Live Audio l Live Video ($) |
|
@PUTIGERS l @CoachBanghart |
This Week for the Tigers: Coming off winning its fourth
consecutive outright Ivy League title, the Princeton women's basketball team
(21-6, 12-1 Ivy) heads to Philadelphia to close out the regular season at Penn
(16-11, 9-4 Ivy) on Tuesday, Mar. 12 at 5 p.m.
Last Time Out: With less than 10 minutes in the first half,
the Tiger offense put it into high gear and went into halftime up by 20, 38-18.
They maintained their momentum, guided by four double figure scorers, and went
on to hand Yale a 77-44 loss to sweep the season series on Mar. 8.
The following night, Brown tested Princeton early and controlled
the scoreboard initially. After garnering their bearings and distributing the
ball with better fluidity, the Tigers jutted past Brown. The 80-51 victory
sealed the outright Ivy title for Princeton.
On Deck: Princeton awaits its fate in the NCAA
tournament. The Tigers will find out where they are headed for the first and
second rounds at the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Mar. 18.
Get Connected: Are you following Princeton on Facebook and
Twitter? Follow the athletics department at Facebook.com/PrincetonAthletics and
Twitter.com/PUTIGERS. Connect with the Tiger women's basketball team on
Facebook.com/PrincetonWBB or follow head coach Courtney Banghart on Twitter
@CoachBanghart.
Scouting Penn: Penn heads into Tuesday's meeting following
a 70-65 loss to Yale on Mar. 9. The Quakers are 16-11, 9-4 Ivy will finish the
year in third place in the Ivy League.
Alyssa Baron has been Penn's leader throughout the season,
tallying 14.1 points and 6.1 boards per game.
All-Time vs. Penn: Princeton owns the all-time
series versus Penn, 49-23. The series was established in 1974-75 and the Tigers
have won the last nine meetings.
In the first meeting this year, Princeton opened with a 13-0 run
and held a 35-16 advantage at halftime. The Tigers' extended their momentum to
outlast the Quakers 77-47 on Jan. 12.
Four-Peat Ivy Champs!: Boasting a 53-2 Ivy record the
past four years, Princeton can once again call itself the outright Ivy League champion. This is the
first time an Ivy program has earned four consecutive automatic berths into the
NCAA tournament. This group of Tigers are also the first since 1974-78 to win
four consecutive Ivy titles.
Dominating at Home: Princeton currently is riding a
20-game home winning streak. The squad has not lost at Jadwin Gym since Dec.
13, 2011.
Tigers Establish New Ivy Win Streak: This season Tigers set a new Ivy
League win streak record with 33 consecutive wins spanning the 2010-11 through
2012-13 seasons.
Harvard previously held the record with 32 straight wins from
1995-96 through 1997-98. Fortuitously Princeton snapped the streak with a 56-53
win on Feb. 7, 1998. The Crimson countered by snapping the Tigers' streak on
Mar. 1 in a 58-55 loss.
Rasheed Added to Fourth National Watch List: Niveen Rasheed is one of 20 NCAA
Division I women's basketball players named to the 2013 Ann Meyers Drysdale
Award Midseason Watch List, it was announced by U.S. Basketball Writers
Association (USBWA). This is the fourth national watch list Rasheed has been
named to this year. She already has been selected to the Wooden Award Women's
Preseason Top 30, 50-player Naismith Watch List and 33-player State Farm "Wade
Watch" list. She is the only Ivy League representative on any of the national
award watch lists.
Under 50: The Tigers have held 11 opponents to 50
points or less this year.
Top-30 RPI: The Tigers are tabbed No. 28 in the latest
RPI poll, having defeated five top-100 teams. Princeton has faced 10 top-100
teams, including four ranked in the top-30.
Commanding the Conference: Princeton owns a +28.2 margin of
victory over Ivy opponents in 2013. Princeton is 58-2 in league play since Feb.
27, 2008.
The National Scene: Princeton is ranked in the
top-100 in 15 different national statistical categories, including top-50
rankings in: scoring offense (21st), scoring defense (28th), scoring margin
(11th), field goal percentage (28th), field goal percentage defense (10th),
rebound margin (6th), three-point field goal percentage (44th), win-loss
percentage (39th), assists/game (18th) and assist turnover ration (17th).
Individually, Niveen Rasheed is ranked No. 69 in points, No. 71 in
rebounds and No. 39 in steals per game, and No. 94 in field goal percentage.
Almost +20: In addition to their dominance in the Ivy
League, the Tigers have put together sound victories all year. Princeton owns a
+19.6 margin of victory and has scored 70 or more points 16 times this season.
21-Wins or More: The past four years Princeton
has won 21 or more games.
Ranked Opponents: Princeton's meeting between
then-No. 19/22 UCLA on Nov. 25 marked the squad's first game versus a ranked
team this year. The Tigers have also faced three teams who were receiving votes
towards a national ranking in Rutgers, Delaware and DePaul.
The Tigers are 0-1 versus ranked teams and 1-2 versus receiving
votes programs. Overall, Princeton's three losses were by an average of 8.3
points.
College Insider Mid-Major Top-25: The Tigers slip a spot to No. 5 with
633 points in the Mar. 5 CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll.
A Look at the Losses: All six Tiger losses were
suffered on the road, with five at the hands of top-50 RPI opponents. Four
defeats were to current or formerly nationally ranked programs.
Tiger Milestones: Senior Megan Bowen reached the
500-point milestone versus Harvard on Feb. 16 and has scored 523 points over
her Tiger career. Classmate Kate Miller is at 511, eclipsing the milestone
versus Columbia on Feb. 22.
Program Points Record: Princeton's 99-point performance
at Yale on Feb. 10 eclipsed a 27-year-old program single-game points record.
The Tigers' topped their 97-point record from Jan. 14, 1986 versus Long Island.
Opponent Low: Princeton held Illinois State to only 23.4
percent (15-for-64) from the field, for a season-best mark in its 67-50 victory
on Dec. 19.
Assists 4 Africa: The Princeton women's basketball
team will be hosting Assists 4 Africa events at Jadwin Gym as part of the
Princeton Varsity Club Service Circle. Its efforts will raise money for Vivre
Ensemble Madeshael, the orphanage in Senegal the team visited in 2011, working
with Progress 4 Africa (501(c)3) charity.
To pledge a one-time donation search for "Assists4Africa" on
www.crowdrise.com or pledge an amount based on the number of assists the team
makes throughout the season. Please direct all questions to
PrincetonAssists4Africa@gmail.com.
Banghart Reaches Career Milestone: Sixth season head coach Courtney
Banghart won her 100th career game at the helm of the Princeton women's
basketball program in the Tigers' 93-46
win over UMBC. Banghart is now 116-65 all-time and 77-17 in Ivy play. Assistant
coach Milena Flores has been on Banghart's coaching staff throughout that span,
as well.
Preseason Poll Predicts Ivy Four-Peat: Behind 132 votes and 13
first-place nods, Princeton was predicted to win the Ivy League title for the
fourth consecutive season in the Ivy preseason media poll. Harvard was the only
other team to collect first-place votes, earning 120 points and three
first-place votes.
Ivy First: The Tigers made history a year ago by
becoming the only Ivy League women's basketball program to earn a national
ranking. Princeton was No. 24 in the final AP Poll of 2011-12.
Welcome Back: The Tigers welcome back 10 letterwinners
from a year ago, including unanimous Ivy Player of the Year Niveen Rasheed and
two-time Ivy Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Polansky. Princeton will be
led by a sturdy group of four seniors, looking to conclude their careers on top
of the League for a fourth straight season.
The Newbies: Five freshmen join the Tigers in 2012-13.
Princeton bolsters its lineup with a versatile group, each looking to become
immediate contributors. The Tiger newcomers are: point guard Amanda Berntsen,
guard Michelle Miller, guard/forward Annie Tarakchian, forward Alex Wheatley
and forward/center Taylor Williams.
Preseason Honors: The Tigers have already picked
up several preseason honors entering 2012-13. College Sports Madness tabbed
head coach Courtney Banghart as the Preseason All-Mid Major and Ivy League
Coach of the Year. Senior Niveen Rasheed was named the Preseason Ivy League
Player of the Year and to the Preseason All-Mid Major and All-Ivy First Team.
Ivy Domination: This year's senior class has
only seen two Ivy League losses throughout their careers, going 53-2. They have
won the last three consecutive conference championships and were members of the
first group to advance to the NCAA Tournament in Princeton history.
My Captain, Oh My Captain: Princeton's co-captains in
2012-13 are reigning Ivy Player of the Year Niveen Rasheed and two-time
Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Polansky.
New Faces, New Roles: In addition to five new players
on the court, the Princeton coaching staff saw some new additions. After two
years at the team's director of basketball operations Megan Griffith has been
promoted to assistant coach. Griffith replaces Melanie Moore.
Tyler Cordell was hired during the summer as the program's new
director of basketball operations. Cordell comes from Ithaca where she was a
graduate assistant with the Division III women's basketball team.
Status Update: Junior Nicole Hung suffered a
season-ending knee injury in November. Jess Shivers also will miss the entire
season due to being medically ineligible.