Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
Playing against a power-conference opponent, the Princeton women’s basketball team fell behind early, trailed by four at half, then rallied in the second half to grind out a big win.
On Saturday afternoon, that’s exactly what the Tigers did. Again. Except this time, Princeton’s offense exploded to take down Penn State, 100-93, in the opening clash of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
The Tigers (4-1) scored 66 points in the second half to set a new program record. The 100 points scored by the Tigers overall were the most in a game by the Orange and Black since a 107-44 lashing of Wagner on Dec. 21, 2016.
The Tigers were led by Skye Belker’s 27 points, a career high, Madison St. Rose’s 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Fadima Tall’s 22 points, a career high. Tall also added six rebounds, four steals, and three assists.
In defeating the Lady Lions (4-1) for the second time in three tries in program history, and knotting the season series against the Big Ten at 1-1, the Tigers somehow overcame a career-high 39-point performance by Gracie Merkle, Penn State’s behemoth 6-foot-6 center, who surpassed 1,000 points for her career in the game.
Although the Tigers tried to double and triple-team Merkle, they couldn’t stop the redshirt junior from Mount Washington, Ky., who shot a remarkable 19-for-23 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. Nearly all of Merkle’s points came in the paint against a depleted Tigers interior defense.
“Gracie Merkle is really tough, and they find her really, really well,” coach Carla Berube told Ivy Hoops Online. “They run great things for her. Luckily, she can’t play 40 minutes and also threes are more than twos. I think that was the reason we were victorious.”
For the fifth game in a row, Berube’s squad came out sluggish, trailing 24-10 at the end of the first quarter. Once again, the Tigers struggled to take care of the ball against pressure, turning the ball over seven times in the first stanza and allowing Penn State to score 10 points off those miscues.
“It was a tough start out of the gate, but I think we’re just kind of used to it.” Berube said. “But we got things going when we got some stops and got in transition.”
Princeton’s shooting picked up in the second quarter with Toby Nweke coming off the bench to contribute five points on 2-for-2 shooting.
The Tigers also took better care of the ball in the second quarter, turning it over only three times. Yet for the third game in a row, the Tigers trailed by four at half, 38-34.
In the third quarter, the Tigers came out firing on all cylinders.
After going 3-for-8 from distance in the first half, the Tigers hit six of nine from behind the arc in the third stanza to seize a two-point lead, 65-63.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers counter-attacked each time Penn State made a push.
An and-one layup and bonus by Belker put the Tigers on top by six, 77-71, with just over seven minutes to play. There was no limit to this Skye. The junior guard from Los Angeles displayed scoring touch from distance, the mid-range, and the free throw line in tallying nine points in the final quarter.
“Skye was awesome,” Berube told Ivy Hoops Online. “You can see that three-level scorer right there, from threes to to pull-up finishes at the rim, and just really smart with the basketball, making plays for her teammates, doing the little things. I love that she’s seeing that ball go in the hoop and feeling confident in her play. It was great to see that.”
Ashley Chea inserted the dagger by hitting a pair of late treys. The junior from Flintridge Prep in southern California finally found her range, converting a jump shot for the first time in three games. Chea finished the game with 13 points and seven assists, tying a career high.
Down the stretch, the Tigers somehow found the energy to push the pace and exploit Penn State’s defense in transition, despite coping with foul trouble and receiving only 16 minutes of playing time from three bench players.
The triumph gives Princeton wins over the ACC, Big East, American Athletic, and Big Ten conferences only five games into the season.
Princeton (4-1) will play again tomorrow against Maryland Eastern Shore at noon ET. As was the case with today’s matchup, Princeton’s contest tomorrow will not be televised or streamed.