Tigers run by Rider

Pritchard, PU women use explosive first half

By: Justin Feil
   It may have looked like a nice gesture for a hometown kid when Ali Pritchard drew the start in the second game of the Minnesota Tournament, but the Princeton University women’s basketball forward has shown she belongs since being installed in the lineup permanently Dec. 1.
   "Ali is playing great," said Tigers head coach Richard Barron after his team’s 74-45 win over Rider on Tuesday. "Her attitude has been great. She’s bringing a physical presence. She’s got a lot of skills. She can shoot the ball, pass the ball, dribble the ball. She’s not a great athlete, not super fast or tall or jumps, but she’s got a big enough body she can bang with people. She’s comfortable enough on the perimeter that she can guard out there, play out there. She’s kind of a mismatch problem for other people. She’s tough enough to try to compensate for that on the defensive end when she gets a mismatch."
   Pritchard helped the Tigers exploit a talent matchup and continue moving forward with Tuesday’s big win over Rider. Her first basket two and a half minutes into the game gave Princeton a 6-4 lead and it just continued to balloon from there, all the way to a 30-point halftime cushion, 47-17. With the win, Princeton improves to 4-6 while Rider fell to 0-7. It was the second win in three games for Princeton, which lost Saturday at 19th-ranked Rutgers.
   "We thought we made some steps in the Rutgers game in terms of physical intensity, in terms of just playing hard all the time," said Pritchard, who finished with 10 points and equaled Casey Lockwood for a team-high six rebounds Tuesday. "We wanted to transfer that and do that for 40 minutes. We didn’t accomplish that tonight. We let them back in it in the second half, but I thought we dictated well the first half. They were playing at our tempo. We were running. I thought we looked really good.
   "The next step for us, and we need to make it quickly, is to do that for 40 minutes," she added. "That’s been our goal — 40 minutes of our best basketball. And we know that’s possible. That’s what it takes to be a great team. That’s what we aspire to be. That’s the goal, 40 minutes of good basketball, Princeton basketball."
   Princeton hosts St. Francis (Pa.) 7 p.m. Saturday at Jadwin Gym. Pritchard will be looking to make her sixth straight start. The Rider game marked the third straight time she has scored in double figures, a first in a career in which she has played in all but two games since arriving at Princeton from Apple Valley, Minn.
   A forward, Pritchard is just 5-foot-11, but uses her strength to defend down low and can take taller players outside on offense. Her pair of three-pointers Tuesday gives her nine in her last three games after making just four in her first seven contests.
   "She’s shooting the ball great right now," Barron said. "She’s playing with a lot of confidence. She’s stepping up as a leader on the team. She’s setting the tone in practice and games. We’re really proud of the way she’s playing and we hope that will continue as we go forward."
   Going forward includes playing the way the Tigers did in the first half, not easing off as they did in the second half, and continuing to focus on eliminating the turnovers that have hampered Princeton this season. Princeton had 17 Tuesday, just seven in the first half.
   "We’re trying to push the ball and with pushing the ball, there’s a lot more opportunity for mistakes," Pritchard said. "And turnovers have plagued us thus far. We’re really trying to cut down on those and take care of the ball. That’s another focus. That’s part of playing 40 minutes of good basketball is really eliminating our turnovers so we can get good shots. That’s another thing — getting good shots.
   "I thought we made really good decisions and had some people step up and play really well. Layups are high-percentage shots."
   Meagan Cowher led the Tigers with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Four Princeton players reached double-figure scoring as Caitlin O’Neill and Lockwood also had 10 points apiece. It was the second time the Tigers have had that balance this season as they’ve gone to a more up-tempo attack.
   "It is coming along," Barron said. "You don’t know until the end. Hindsight is going to tell us whether it’s enough. As a coach, I feel like you have to continue to expect them to do well. Until we get to that, we’re not going to be satisfied. One thing you worry about as a coach is, are you pushing them too hard? Are you creating too much pressure? I don’t think that’s the case. I think we have seen improvement. It’s important to remind them of that, but if they become satisfied with that, they become complacent and let down their guard."
   Pritchard fits in fine with the new style, which was born out of the loss of All-Ivy League center Becky Brown to graduation. The first month has given the Tigers time to adjust to their new offensive philosophy.
   "We’re undersized," Pritchard said. "I’m not exactly a natural post. I’m undersized in general. Ariel (Rogers, another forward) is not terribly huge. This pushing the ball, it does suit us well. We are athletic. We are fast. There was a high emphasis on being in shape this preseason. We worked our tails off. We really want to see the fruits of our labor for that by being able to push the ball. And I think we have good shooters on our team. Coach has done a good job of instilling confidence in us, telling us we’re good shooters and if we’re open to get our feet set and shoot it.
   "Getting open looks for threes in transition was not something we looked for last year. It was like, wait for Becky, look at Becky. Now it’s like, have confidence, shoot the ball if you’re open, especially recently we’ve been shooting well beyond the arc."
   In three of their four wins, the Tigers have scored 70 or more points. The Tigers got a glimpse of just how well their style can work in the first half against Rider as they were a three-pointer away from 100-point pace. The example that the Tigers can take from the game isn’t just about the scoring.
   "The biggest thing is we’re so capable of playing 40 minutes of dictating basketball," Pritchard said. "But it honestly comes down to execution and discipline, having the discipline to not turn the ball over, having the discipline to play every defensive possession like it’s the last 30 seconds of the game to go to the NCAA Tournament. That sense of urgency is something we’ve really been stressing.
   "I really think the first half we had that. We were taking good shots, making good decisions. So that’s encouraging. What we need to take from this game is we really need to give the full 40-minute effort. Sixteen minutes isn’t acceptable. Twenty minutes isn’t acceptable. Thirty-five minutes isn’t acceptable because those five minutes against a good team can be the downfall. That’s the change that needs to happen and it needs to happen fast, as in, now."
   Barron agrees. If the Tigers could put together a full 40-minute effort like their first half, they will be a tough team to stop in January and February. If they play like they did in the second half, when they exchanged baskets with Rider, it will be a much harder road to an Ivy title.
   "I would have liked to have seen our core group start off the second half with the same intensity that they started the second half," Barron said, "or an even higher level of intensity in anticipation of Rider coming out to try to make a run. That was where the disappointment comes for us. That sets the tone for everyone down the line."
   The Tigers dictated play in the first half Tuesday right from the start. It was the fifth straight start for Pritchard, who again showed why she has moved into the starting lineup.
   "Part of the challenge of being an athlete is being ready whenever your number is called," Pritchard said. "The past couple years and earlier in this season, I had to be ready coming off the bench when my number was called. Now it’s just the same mindset. You’re ready when the tip-off starts, whether you’re on the court or you’re on the bench. It’s just a matter of when the opportunity arises, and right now it comes up right when the tip-off goes up. That’s when I’m out there. That’s been an easy transition to make because I’ve always been ready."
   Hun School graduate Amanda Sepulveda played 12 minutes for Rider. The freshman guard had a rebound, steal and assist.