Playing their first game since garnering a top-25 ranking in the Associated Press poll, Princeton women’s basketball gutted its way to a win over Seton Hall, 75-71, in double overtime at Jadwin Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
The Tigers were led by senior co-captain Kaitlyn Chen, who tallied 21 hard-earned points on 4-for-11 shooting. However, the real hero for the Tigers was freshman sensation Skye Belker who scored 18 points and sank the game-winning jumper with 37 seconds to go in the second overtime. The native of Los Angeles was named the Player of the Game by the ESPN+ broadcast crew, which included former Tigers star player Julia Cunningham. Making her broadcasting debut, Cunningham did a remarkably good job of not betraying her pro-Princeton sympathies while providing interesting insights into what it’s like to play for Princeton coach Carla Berube.
In a battle for New Jersey supremacy, it was unclear whether this contest was a basketball game or a turnover festival. Perhaps it was the approach of the holiday season that inspired both teams to combine for 52 giveaways. Seton Hall was the more generous squad, turning the ball over 28 times compared with Princeton’s 24.
The game started slowly for the No. 25 Tigers, a disturbing pattern that has plagued Princeton in nearly every game this season. Madison St. Rose got the scoring started for the Tigers when she hit a silky smooth jumper to put the Tigers up 2-0 at the 8:35 mark of the first quarter. It would be her only basket until late in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers came up empty on their next six possessions, which allowed Seton Hall to build an early 8-2 lead. Frustrated by the play of her starters, Berube substituted a bigger lineup to help the Tigers contend with Seton Hall’s massive frontcourt.
A similar strategy had paid dividends against Indiana and the tactic worked again as Chet Nweke, Mari Bickley, Fadima Tall, and Ashley Chea entered the contest and immediately turned the game around. A Bickley trey with just under five minutes to go in the first quarter started the comeback. Another Bickley layup cut the Pirates’ lead to one. A Chea three followed by a layup by Nweke provided Princeton with a 14-10 lead. A long trey by freshman Fadima Tall extended the Tigers lead to 17-10. The quarter ended with the Tigers on top, 17-12.
Seton Hall shot its way back into the game in the second quarter. Coming off the bench, Sha’Lynn Hagans drilled back-to-back treys along with a jumper to tally eight consecutive points for the Pirates.
The first half ended with the two teams deadlocked at 29. Going into the locker room, both teams relied on their bench players to pull them through, with Princeton receiving 20 of its 29 points from its substitutes.
As the third quarter began, it became evident that several starters for Princeton were struggling, including especially Madison St. Rose, St. Rose has been Princeton’s leading scorer so far this season, averaging 18 points a game. But the bloom came off St. Rose in this game. The sophomore guard shot only 2-for-11 from the field and committed six turnovers, including two in the final seconds of regulation.
Meanwhile, the rebounding machine known as Ellie Mitchell also struggled to do her thing in the first half. Facing Seton Hall’s twin fortresses of A’jah Davis and Kae Satterfield, the Princeton co-captain managed to corral only one rebound in the first half and was kept off the scoreboard entirely. Mitchell was coming off a 16-rebound performance versus Indiana and currently ranks third in the nation with an average of 12.7 rebounds per game. Mitchell came out determined to play a better second half and succeeded to a degree. She finished the game with nine rebounds and two points before fouling out in the second overtime.
The game see-sawed in the third quarter as the turnovers began to pile up for both teams. As the game entered the fourth quarter, Princeton clung to a two-point lead, 48-46. Fatigue became a factor as both teams struggled to execute and make shots.
With 50 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, St. Rose broke her scoring slump and swished her second and final basket of the game – a corner three to put Princeton up five, 57-52. A turnover by Micah Gray appeared to hand the game to Princeton with 45 seconds to go. But Chen turned the ball over and the Tigers chose to lightly defend rather than risk a foul. Seton Hall cut the lead to 3 on a layup by Azana Baines with 21 ticks remaining.
The Pirates were forced to foul and put Chen on the line. The senior calmly sank both free throws to put the Tigers up by five again with only 19 seconds left. Another Baines layup brought the Pirates to within 3, but with only 13 seconds to go, Princeton seemingly had victory in hand. That changed when St. Rose, under pressure from Pirate defenders, lost the ball out of bounds.
Seton Hall still needed a three to tie, but Micah Gray’s look from behind the arc missed and Ellie MItchell secured the rebound. Game over, right? Not so fast. Mitchell hurriedly passed the ball to Nweke who in turn tossed the hot potato to St. Rose. But St. Rose wasn’t turned toward Nweke and the ball bounced off of her shoulders and out of bounds. Seton Hall would have one more chance.
After a lengthy review, the referees determined there was one second left on the clock. Seton Hall inbounded the ball to Gray who launched a desperation three. Remarkably, the ball banked off the glass and through the hoop to tie the game. Or did it? The replays clearly showed that the shot had left Gray’s hand just a fraction of a second after the game clock had expired.
But then something happened that I’ve never seen before. The referees conferred again and determined that although the clock had expired before Gray released the ball, the timekeeper had started the game clock too soon and therefore Gray’s shot should be counted. An incredulous Berube, already deeply frustrated by her teams’ inconsistent play, complained to no avail. The game was headed to overtime.
In the first overtime, the exhausted combatants traded blows. Skye Belker staked the Tigers to a two-point lead with a made mid-range jumper. Seton Hall answered and then Belker hit a huge three to put the Tigers up 64-61 with just under three minutes to play.
Seton Hall responded with a Gray trey, and the score was knotted at 64. A gorgeous reverse layup by Chen restored Princeton’s lead.
After a Princeton stop, Chen had a chance to put the Tigers up by two possessions when she headed to the free throw line, where she had been a perfect 10-for-10. Chen made the first free throw and then missed for the first time in 12 attempts.
The Tigers led 67-64 with 1:40 to go in overtime. But Gray hit another open three for Seton Hall and the game was tied again. The 5-foot-8 sophomore from Oklahoma City led all scorers with 24 points.
With the game tied at 67, Princeton had possession with 13 seconds to play. Berube elected not to call timeout and instead decided to rely on her senior floor general, Chen, to make a game-winning play. Chen milked the clock and pulled up for an off-balance jumper at the buzzer. It missed and the game headed to a second overtime.
The second overtime started ominously for Princeton as Mitchell picked up her fifth and disqualifying foul only 14 seconds into the session. Berube inserted Nweke in the hopes that the 6-foot senior could fill Mitchell’s very large shoes. She more than did so, grabbing an offensive rebound and using her size and athleticism to frustrate Seton Hall’s inside game.
The Pirates went cold down the stretch as fatigue took over. Chen put the Tigers ahead with two free throws, which were promptly answered by a Satterfield layup. After that, neither team could score for nearly three minutes until Ashley Chea sank one of two free throws to put the Tigers ahead, 70-69.
Seton Hall seized the lead with two free throws by Baines with 53 seconds to play. The lead would be short-lived. With the shot clock counting down, Belker canned a mid-range jumper to put Princeton back in front, 72-71.
With 28 seconds to go, Baines missed a jumper and Bickley muscled away a huge defensive rebound for the Tigers. Seton Hall was forced to foul, but Bickley only made one of two free throws, leaving the door open for the visitors. Fittingly, the Pirates threw the ball away on their 28th and final turnover of the night. The Tigers made three more free throws to escape with the victory, 75-71.
“Our biggest thing is defense and at the end of the game we got the stops we needed and the rebounds we needed,” Belker told ESPN+.
The Tigers are now 5-2 and travel north to play Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon.