TALL TALE: Princeton University women’s basketball player Fadima Tall looks to pass through the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Sunday, sophomore guard/forward Tall recorded a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, both career-highs, as the Tigers rolled to a 64-51 victory over Middle Tennessee State. Princeton, which improved to 8-4 with the win, was slated to host LeMoyne on December 31 and then start Ivy League play by hosting Cornell on January 4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Fadima Tall realized that she would have to raise her game this winter for the Princeton University women’s basketball team when star guard Madison St Rose went down for the season in November due to a knee injury.

“Personally, I know that I have to contribute more, not only rebounding-wise but offensively,” said sophomore guard/forward Tall, a 6’0 native of Silver Spring, Md. “That is just finding my shot throughout the game and being more of a distributor, looking for those assists and those points on offense.”

Last Sunday as Princeton hosted Middle Tennessee State, Tall made a huge contribution, recording a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, both career-highs, as the Tigers rolled to a 64-51 victory over the Blue Raiders and improved to 8-4.

Tall and her teammates were fired up to get back in action after the holiday/exam break.

“We needed to get the rust off and play a really hard game; I  think it would prepare us for the Ivy League season coming up,” said Tall of the Tigers who last played on December 21 when they defeated Vermont 60-45. “We settled into the game. We understood how they are playing us defensively and we understood what was working on offense. We were finding corners open and moving the ball really well on offense.”

After hitting her career-high of 13 points four times this season, including the last three games heading into Sunday, Tall was thrilled to break through with 16 points.

“Thank God,” said Tall with a laugh. “I check the stats every game, it has been 13 for a while. I am happy to finally be on that upward spiral.”

Tall is definitely on an upward trajectory this season, averaging 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds a game so far this winter, up from 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds as a freshman.

“I think confidence,” said Tall, reflecting on her progress. “Last year, I was worried about what shot to take or am I in the right spot. Now that I have had a chance to find my groove with the people on the team, I can find my shot easier. I know that they will have my back if I miss a shot or it doesn’t go my way on offense.”

In addition to her increased offense production, Tall is becoming a force on the boards as her previous single-game high in rebounds was 10 before Sunday.

“It is aggressiveness for sure, we get after it at practice,” said Tall. “I don’t think there is a team that is working as hard as us in practice right now so it is second nature when we come into the game.”

In stifling the Blue Raiders, the Tigers were aggressive at the defensive end, setting the tone by holding Middle Tennessee to six points in the first quarter.

“I think knowing the scout really helps, knowing what they want to do,” said Tall. “At the end of the day, it is just about outworking them. We can know what they want to do as much as we want but if they are working harder, it is not going to work. I think we did our job today on defense.”

Princeton head coach Carla Berube credited her players with producing a good job all around as they returned to action.

“It was great to get back against a really quality opponent,” said Berube. “They are really, really tough. I thought we did a great job. We executed the game plan, especially defensively.”

Berube was thrilled with how well Tall played at both ends of the court.

“It is so great when she has 13 boards and five of them are on the offensive end,” said Berube. “She is just getting after loose balls, she is getting us second chance opportunities. We knew she could do this, that is why we recruited her. She makes us so much better. She talks a lot, she has so many important intangibles defensively. She gets her hands on a lot of balls. She is making plays.”

The Tiger backcourt of sophomore standouts, Skye Belker and Ashley Chea, made a lot of plays against the Blue Raiders. Belker scored a team-high 17 points, highlighted by going 10 for 10 from the free throw line, while Chea contributed eight points and three rebounds.

“They play very well together, they are pretty poised,” said Berube. “I thought Skye did a great job of attacking and getting to the free throw line and making every one of them.”

Princeton made things hard for the Blue Raiders with their stellar defensive performance.

“We just did a great job executing the scout,” said Berube. “We were going to defend their actions and took away what they wanted to do. Their No. 2 (Anastaslia Boldyreva) is really tough inside. I thought our bigs did a great job. We dug in really well and doubled when we needed to and then got out on [Jalynn] Gregory, their best 3-point shooter, and made it hard for her to get good looks. I am really proud of the way we executed the game plan.”

With Princeton slated to host LeMoyne on December 31 and then start Ivy League play by hosting Cornell on January 4, Berube is looking for her players to sharpen things.

“We had some unforced turnovers so it’s just working on the execution of our offense and of course our defending,” said Berube. “We are nonstop working on our defense still. There were a couple of times we weren’t there on help when we needed to be.”

Looking ahead to starting Ivy play, Berube believes her team is where it needs to be as it looks to earn the program’s seventh straight league regular season title.

“We are excited for it,” said Berube. “We are building, we are getting better and better each game. It is great to be back after the break playing again and getting better.”

In Tall’s view, Princeton has what it takes to be back in the title hunt.

“From where we were at the start of the season, I feel very confident,” said Tall. “Going into Ivy League, we know our strengths now and we can keep building towards that throughout the season.”