The Princeton women’s basketball team split a pair of Thanksgiving weekend contests against two nationally ranked opponents from power conferences at the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida.
Playing on Thanksgiving Day for the first time in coach Carla Berube’s career, the Tigers dominated No. 22 Oklahoma, 77-63, at Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Then, on Saturday morning, the Tigers fell prey to a hot-shooting No. 19 Indiana Hoosiers squad, 72-63.
The weekend began in picture-perfect fashion for Princeton. Coming off an impressive West Coast swing in which the Tigers nearly upset No. 3 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, Princeton received votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 and Coaches polls for the first team this season.
A Thursday matchup with an undefeated Sooners squad of the Big 12 Conference provided an opportunity for the Tigers to garner even more national attention. They seized the opportunity the way Ellie Mitchell grabs a rebound.
The mid-afternoon contest was never close, as Princeton jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the first quarter. The Tigers were led by Madison St. Rose’s early three-point shooting and overall playmaking. The sensational sophomore from Old Bridge, N.J. dazzled with a 26-point performance, the same career high she set against Duquesne in the season opener.
The Tigers thoroughly dominated Oklahoma in virtually every respect. Both teams were sloppy at times, combining for 35 turnovers. But Princeton was the steadier unit, shooting 33-for-69, or nearly 48%, compared to only 24-for-69 for the Sooners, or 35%. Princeton also dominated the boards, outmuscling the Sooners 50-37 in rebounds. Senior center Ellie Mitchell alone was responsible for 18 of them. She also tallied five points and doled out a game-high six assists.
Although no one should have been surprised that Princeton beat OU, the way the Tigers dominated the Sooners probably did shock some people. To many close observers of this Tigers team, however, it was clear that Berube’s squad had been building to a game like this. The Tigers had looked impressive in all four prior contests and seemed due for a breakout performance.
The story was different on Saturday morning against an old nemesis, the Indiana Hoosiers. Followers of Princeton hoops will recall that Indiana of the Big Ten ousted the Tigers from the 2022 NCAA Tournament in a gut-wrenching second-round defeat, 56-55. In that game, Indiana built a 10-point lead at the end of the first half and then hung on for dear life to escape with a one-point victory.
On Saturday, the script was similar although a bit more lopsided for Indiana. The Hoosiers came out shooting lights out while Princeton struggled early to find its footing, a trait that has plagued the Tigers more often than not this season. While Princeton failed to score in its first four possessions, the Hoosiers drained two threes to take a 6-0 lead.
St. Rose broke the spell with a jump shot at the 7:53 mark, but Indiana generated high-quality looks from just about anywhere on the court. The Hoosiers stretched their lead to 16-3 on a Mackenzie Holmes layup with 3:50 to go in the first quarter.
Berube adjusted by going with a bigger lineup and the gambit paid off as senior Chet Nweke, a 6-0 senior forward from Woodbine, Md., made a series of plays in the paint to spark an 8-0 run by the Tigers. By the end of the first quarter, the Tigers were back in the game, though trailing 16-11.
Princeton’s momentum didn’t carry over into the second stanza. The Tigers came up empty on their first two possessions, while Indiana’s Sara Scalia found her shooting touch, scoring nine points over a five-minute stretch. The Hoosiers parlayed 6 of 9 shooting from behind the arc to build a daunting, 17-point lead at half, 41-24.
The Tigers fought back valiantly in the second half, cutting the lead to as little as six in the fourth quarter, but every time Princeton seemed to be on the brink of making a comeback, IU used the three ball to reestablish order. In the end, the Tigers fell by nine, 72-63.
In defeat, the Tigers were led by Katlyn Chen, who scored 16 hard-earned points on 5-for-16 shooting. Indiana was led by Scalia and Holmes, who tallied 28 and 20, respectively. Overall, the Hoosiers went 28 -for-54 from the field, for nearly 52% shooting. The Tigers were 25-for-60 for 41.7%.
There were some bright spots for the Tigers. In addition to Nweke’s second quarter contributions, Mitchell came up big against Indiana. The 6-1 senior finished second in scoring for Princeton with 11 points, tied with St. Rose. She also grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds. Overall, Mitchell secured an incredible 34 rebounds on the weekend.
Prior to traveling to Fort Myers, Berube made clear that the two Florida games against powerhouse opponents would serve as a measuring stick for the her squad. So, how did the Tigers measure up? For the most part, very nicely. By dominating a powerful Oklahoma team, the Tigers fully established themselves as top-25 worthy.
The loss to Indiana was humbling, but not catastrophic. Indiana gave the Tigers a dose of their own medicine by playing tough defense and capitalizing on Princeton’s offensive miscues. But Berube’s squad deserves credit for fighting its way back into the game and “winning” the third and fourth quarters against Indiana.
Look for the Tigers to build upon that success as they head home for a matchup against Seton Hall on Wednesday.