Women's College Basketball
Princeton University 83, Rider University 57
LAWRENCEVILLE--Junior Cintella Spotwood (Trenton/Trenton Central) and senior Amanda Sepulveda (Perth Amboy/Hun) each scored 14 points, but it was not enough as the Broncs fell to cross-town rival Princeton Tuesday evening.
"Princeton is a really good ball club," said head coach Lynn Milligan. "Courtney (Tiger head coach Courtney Banghart) is doing a really good job over there. They took advantage of every one of our mistakes."
The loss was the fifth in a row for Rider (1-7).
Princeton (6-2) out-scored Rider 20-4 to start the second half, nine points by freshman guard Niveen Rasheed, to take a 62-36 lead with 14:52 left to play. Rasheed finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five steals.
"Princeton is really clicking right now," Milligan said. "They have some young kids that are playing well and their upperclassmen, specifically Micir are also playing well."
Trailing 24-13, Princeton went on a 20-4 run, eight points by junior guard Addie Micir of Newtown, PA (Council Rock North), to take a 33-28 lead with 4:31 left in the first half. Micir finished with a game-high 22 points, along with six rebounds.
"We came out lackadaisical to start the game," Rasheed said. "We didn't have the same intensity as we did against Rutgers. Once we saw that we were down, we knew we had to pick it up."
"This is the first time that we didn't have a lead to start a game," said Princeton head coach Courtney Banghart. "I was proud of how we battled back. As far as Rasheed, she just plays. Whether it is Rutgers, UCLA or Rider, she just loves to play the game. It's 40 minutes of fun for her and you love to see that as a coach."
The Tigers out-scored Rider 9-2 over the final 3:30 of the first half to take a 42-32 lead at intermission.
Rider freshman Caitlin Bopp (Baltimore, Md./Inst. Of Notre Dame) grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench and senior Tammy Meyers (Willingboro) added 13 points and three assists.
"Defensively, Caitlin has really been an anchor for us," said Milligan. "This is two games in a row with 15 rebounds. She is also making strides offensively. Once she gets both together, she will be outstanding."
With the score tied at 9-9, Rider went on a 12-0 run, four points each by freshman Dior Brown (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) and Meyers, to take 21-9 lead with 11:15 left in the first half. Brown finished with seven points off the bench.
"The team you saw in the first eight minutes, that is the team I think we can be," said Milligan. "It is getting the players to believe that. We need to extend the eight to 12 minutes of who I think we are to 40."
Princeton leads the all-time series with Rider 19-8 but the Broncs have won four of the last eight meetings. The Broncs last defeated Princeton on December 29, 2007 (45-42) at Rider on a three-point buzzer-beater by Amanda Sepulveda. The Tigers won last season (68-54) in Princeton.
"They are our neighbors," Banghart added about Rider. "I really like their staff. They have been really welcoming to me and I hope I've been a good friend to them. It's fun to play a program you care about and I hope to build kind of a fun rivalry."
Rider turned the ball over 28 times. "We are making some bad decisions offensively," Milligan said. "The team knows what pass we want them to make, completing that thought process is the issue right now. We are a split second late on some of our decision making. Some of our players, especially the younger ones are pressing a little bit and almost trying too hard."
After struggling much of the season shooting, Rider made 41 percent from the floor (21-51) and 43 percent (6-14) from beyond the arc. "Our shooting was a step in the right direction," Milligan added. "The last time we shot that high of a percentage, we also had a high amount of turnovers. We did not give ourselves enough opportunities on the offensive end."
Rider stays in the Ivy League with a trip to the University of Pennsylvania Saturday afternoon.
"Penn is a good ball club," Milligan said. "We beat them last season so it will be a revenge game for them. They have a new coach and present some new things for us to defend. Playing at the Palestra is going to be a great experience, it is one of the most historic buildings in the country."
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