PRINCETON: PU women’s hoops set for encore

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
So what does the Princeton University women’s basketball team do for an encore?
After going 31-1 and reaching the second round the NCAA tournament a year ago, the Tigers come into this season with a No. 25 pre-season ranking and a target on their backs every time they step on the floor.
“It says a lot,” Princeton coach Courtney Banghart said of the No. 25 ranking. “It shows that there is great trust at the national level for the product that we bring out here year after year. It’s a combination of last year’s success, but I think there is also some real true trust out there that we have tried to earn.”
Princeton lost its point guard with the graduation of Blake Dietrick. But the rest of the pieces are in place for the Tigers to make a run at another Ivy League title.
“Blake was critical because she was fearless, she was relentless and she was our point guard so she dictated our possessions,” said Banghart, whose team will open the season tonight at Jadwin Gym against American. “Annie (Tarakchian) and (Alex) Wheatley and Michelle (Miller) have such a strong presence on this team but it is a little bit different because they don’t have the ball in their hands all the time.
“Amanda (Berntsen) will be starting at the 1. We play structured offenses where it doesn’t really matter who the 1 is. But Amanda will have the ball in her hands early on.”
Princeton has won five of the last six Ivy League titles and lost just five league games over that span. The Tigers have always done it with defense and this year should be no different.
“Every year we have won it we have been the best team in the league defensively,” Banghart said. “This team can score. We spend a lot more time on the defensive end here and because we are hard to guard our defense gets better. We’re going to have to have a consistent effort and the sooner our freshmen can learn to defend at this level the sooner they’ll help us.”
Banghart likes her freshmen class and has high expectations for the group, which is led by Sydney Jordan and Qalea Ismail.
“We have a really dynamic freshmen class,” Banghart said. “It probably has a chance to be as dynamic as our current seniors were. And there is probably as much national attention on them. But they are joining a program that is really solid so it is probably a little bit different in that you are committing to a Top 25 ranked program and you physically and pace wise probably aren’t quite ready for the college level.”
Over the last six years Princeton has managed to find a way to replace players who always seemed to be irreplaceable. With Dietrick gone, Vanessa Smith steps into a bigger role this year and others will be expected to take a step forward as well.
“I hope they all see the development of themselves allows us to be successful,” Banghart said. “If every player is a little bit better than you’ll have a bigger role year after year. I think the development of our players is one of the major foundation points of our program.”
And those who have graduated are never far away. The current players know the alumni are watching closely to make sure the program doesn’t miss a beat.
“The alums are in their ear a lot,” Banghart said. “We can’t get rid of Niveen (Rasheed). We can’t get rid of Blake. A lot of our alums will be back for opening weekend. They are getting told often that there are people who blood, sweat and tears for this program and now it is their turn to carry it. I think legacy is important at Princeton and our kids have bought into that.”
Princeton closes out the weekend with a game against Duquesne on Sunday at Jadwin. The pre-Ivy League home schedule also includes games against Michigan, Monmouth, Pittsburgh, Fordham and Hampton, while the Tigers will play the likes of Seton Hall, Rider, Cal-Irvine, Ohio State and Dayton on the road.
“Our schedule is really brutal,” Banghart said. “I think people who have looked at it understand that. It is one of the best schedules in the country. We’re going to be home a lot which is nice. Opening day is always a new role for everybody and we’re going to see where we are. It’s not a sprint but I like to win every game we play. That will be the goal on Friday and the goal again on Sunday.” 