STANDING TALL: Princeton University women’s basketball player Tabitha Amanze goes up for a shot against Rhode Island last Wednesday. Junior forward Amanze scored 14 points in 15 minutes off the bench to help the Tigers top the Rams 66-54. Princeton, now 6-4, hosts Vermont on December 21. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Tabitha Amanze joined the Princeton University women’s basketball program in the fall of 2022 as a highly-touted recruit, having been ranked No. 43 in the ESPNW national rankings during her senior year at the Blair Academy.

But getting derailed by a knee injury before she could make her college debut, Amanze was sidelined for the entire 2022-23 campaign.

Last winter, Amanze returned to the court but saw limited action, averaging 2.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 15 appearances.

Amanze, a 6’4 native of Ogun, Nigeria, kept the faith while working to get up to speed.

“Coming in, having to redshirt that first year, there is a lot of anticipation, trying to keep my hopes up and my spirits alive,” said Amanze. “I knew it was going to happen, just coming into practice everyday and working hard and hoping for the best.”

As Amanze worked through her recovery, she got plenty of encouragement from the squad.

“My teammates make all the difference,” said Amanze. “When I come in, everyone is in such a good mood, everyone is so positive. It is just easier when you have the best people around you to work with everyday.”

Last Wednesday as Princeton hosted Rhode Island at Jadwin Gym, junior forward Amanze made a big difference, scoring a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 15 minutes off the bench to help the Tigers prevail 66-54 as they improved to 6-4.

In reflecting on her performance, Amanze credited her teammates with setting her up for success.

“They kept looking for me so it’s just my teammates, they know when I am in the right position,” said Amanze. “They know how to feed me. I have the best teammates so praise to them.”

Amanze has been doing her best to diversify her game. “I would say low post more, finding my position and holding it and knowing when to release and when to stay in the paint, when to move, and when to flash to people,” said Amanze, in reflecting on her biggest areas of progress. “I think that comes with a little bit of sitting and watching my freshman year, not being able to be on the court but being able to learn from the seniors. I would say my inside game a little more and also facing up from the line has been coming along a little bit better.”

Having come off the bench in all 10 games this season, Amanze has looked to make the most of her reserve role.

“Coming in, I am trying to maximize the opportunities that I get to my best ability,” said Amanze, who is averaging 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds a game this season.

With Princeton getting back on the winning track after losses at Portland and Utah, Amanze believed the Tigers are heading in the right direction.

“I would say our chemistry has gotten a lot better, we know how to find each other,” said Amanze. “We know the players’ strong suits and we know does Mari [Bickley] like to catch it there, does Tabby like to catch it here. I think we are playing a lot more together and more cohesively.”

Princeton head coach Carla Berube was not surprised by the strong performance she got from Amanze.

“This is the Tabby we have known all along, she is finally healthy and feeling good,” said Berube. “She is ready to contribute and she did it in a great way tonight. We kept feeding her and she executed really well.”

In Berube’s view, Amanze has been building toward that kind of effort.

“I think she has just been chomping and just getting herself prepared physically and mentally to be a huge contributor on the court this year,” said Amanze. “It is so fun watching her play. She is a dominant force inside on both ends. She hit a couple of great mid-range shots. She has the green light from there. She has a really nice shot, I am glad she was able to hit a couple of those. She can turn over either shoulder really well, she is really versatile inside.”

Coming back to Jadwin after six straight road games, the Tigers had a fun night against the Rams.

“It is nice just to be home, that was a long trip to the west coast and all of those others at Temple, Seton Hall, and Rutgers,” said Berube. “It was a long road. It is really good to be back here with our fans, our hoops, our gym. It was really nice.”

Berube got some nice performance across the board as sophomore Ashley Chea scored a game-high 18 points and was later named the Ivy League Player of the Week while sophomore Fadima Tall chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds, and five assists and sophomore Mari Bickley contributed seven points off the bench.

“We have got some young players playing some bigger roles this year, we have just stayed poised and composed,” said Berube. I am happy with that. It is great to see Fadima stepping up into bigger shoes and being an offensive threat out there. She is a great passer too. The younger players are finding their niche. It was great to see Mari come off the bench tonight and give us some really big minutes. That is something we have been looking for as well. I am just proud of our team for battling back from a couple of losses in a row and putting together a good win here against a tough URI team.”

With Tiger junior star guard Madison St. Rose having suffered a season-ending knee injury on November 16, Berube has needed her younger players to step up.

“There are a lot of challenges, we certainly miss her a lot with the leadership on the court, the way she can just settle us down, make big shots, and ply smart defensively talking a lot,” said Berube. “Our team has learned a lot from her. She is giving a lot of great input on the bench right now. It is a work in progress certainly.”

In the win over Rhode Island, the Tigers displayed some progress on defense.

“I am a little happier with our defensive effort, only allowing 54 points,” said Berube. “We had to adjust things when they started hitting some threes and [Sophia] Vital hit some big shots. We did a good job of making those adjustments in game.”

After an exam hiatus, Princeton will be happy to be at home for five straight games, starting by hosting Vermont on December 21.

“We have some tough ones, no game is easy,” said Berube. “Vermont is a perennial powerhouse. in America East so that is going to be tough one. We have some time for finals, they are on edge a little bit. We are going to have some practices but really efficient ones to get in and get out so they can make sure that they do really well on their exams. I am looking forward to several more games here in Jadwin.”

In the wake of the victory over the Rams, Amanze and her teammates are looking forward to the rest of the homestand.

“It has been a lot so this win is something we definitely needed,” said Amanze. “With finals coming up, it is just good to be home. Everyone is happy, everyone is in a good mood.”