An Almost At UConn

UConn 69, Princeton 64? 

That was an extraordinary performance by the Princeton women's basketball team last night, on the home court of the powerhouse in NCAA women's basketball history. There were 8.731 fans in Storrs last night, and that fan base is not used to seeing games on the Gampel Pavilion court that are close in the final minutes. 

The game last night? Would it be close in the final quarter? Um, yes. Princeton went from down 12 at the end of the third to almost pulling this one out. 

Princeton cut it to two twice in the final 46 seconds and had a chance to tie with time ticking away. You don't need to know anything else other than that to know that this was an amazing effort by the Tigers.

It would have been easy for Princeton to fold its tent in the final quarter and see the final margin reach 20 or more. Instead, Princeton scrapped to the buzzer, even with Julia Cunningham limited to 28 minutes due to foul trouble. 

Grace Stone led the Tigers with 20, and Kaitlyn Chen had another big game, with 18 points and seven assists. In the end, though, it was a career-best 29 points from Aubrey Griffin, the daughter of former Seton Hall star and longtime NBA player Adrian Griffin, that did in Princeton. Aubrey Griffin was ridiculous against Princeton, attempting 17 shots (from the field and foul line combined) and seeing 16 go in. Griffin was 11 for 11 from the field; had she been merely 10 for 11, it might have been a different ending.

Griffin's numbers sparked UConn to a 60 percent shooting night from the field and 50 percent from three-point range. Carla Berube, the Princeton head coach, learned the importance of defense as a player on that court in the 1990s, when she was part of one of UConn's 11 NCAA titles. 

Berube's Princeton teams have embraced her defense-first philosophy, and the Tigers are not used to allowing the shooting percentage numbers that UConn, one of the top shooting teams in the country, put up.

If you knew prior to the game that UConn was going to have a 60 percent shooting night and make half its threes, you would have guessed the final score would be a blowout. Berube's teams, though, do what great defensive teams do on nights when the other team's shots are falling: they cause turnovers.

Last night, UConn turned it over 27 times. This is a team that averaged pretty much half that number coming into the game.

Berube's teams play hard and tough, and that's what happened last night. It's the same attitude that allowed Princeton to beat Kentucky and lose to Indiana by one in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season.

A win over Indiana would have meant a Sweet 16 game against UConn. Instead, Princeton had to wait until last night to get its shot at the Huskies. And yes, UConn is battling injuries. But this is still UConn you're talking about. There are no slouches on that team. It's filled with the best of the best — and Princeton gave them all they could handle.

The Ivy League season will start for the women at Harvard at noon on New Year's Eve, and then there is a Jan. 6 home game against Columbia. Those are dates to circle on your calendar. 

The Tigers have three games before then, beginning at home against Delaware Sunday at 6, in the second event at Jadwin that day, after the wrestling team hosts Rutgers at 2. The other two women's basketball games this month are at Rutgers Thursday and then home against Rhode Island on Dec. 28.

As December rolls along, there will be fewer and fewer events. This weekend will not have a lot going on, but most of what is will be at home. 

In addition to women's basketball and wrestling, Jadwin will also see a men's basketball game tomorrow against Monmouth tomorrow at 7 and a track and field meet during the day. 

There are also two home men's hockey games, against RPI tonight and Union tomorrow, both at 7. The women are on the road, with two games at Mercyhurst.