STANDING TALL: Princeton University women’s basketball player Fadima Tall looks to unload the ball in recent action. Last Wednesday, sophomore Tall scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a losing cause as Princeton fell 68-63 to Iowa State in a First Four NCAA tournament contest. The Tigers ended the winter with a 21-8 record. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Justin Feil

The sting of the season-ending loss to Iowa State last week in the NCAA tournament may sit for a while with the Princeton University women’s basketball team.

But so will the achievements of the young Tigers, including making the program’s sixth straight NCAA tournament appearance.

Their First Four NCAA tournament game against the Cyclones at Notre Dame last Wednesday was a seesaw affair that ended with the Tigers on the wrong side of a 68-63 score against Iowa State, which advanced as the No. 11 seed in Regional 3 to play Michigan and ended up losing 80-74 to the Wolverines. Princeton’s lone senior starter, Parker Hill, finished with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, while the other four starters are sophomores, and three of them reached double figures in scoring.

“Making it to the NCAA Tournament is quite a feat in any year and definitely in a year where we’re young,” said Princeton head coach Carla Berube after finishing the season 21-8. “We had lost four starters from last year, but I thought Parker and her class were amazing leaders and helped this young team along in playing some really great basketball. We’re certainly upset and sad that we’re not moving on, but it was a great season nonetheless.”

Princeton picked up one of two at-large bids along with Columbia to give the Ivy League three entrants in the NCAA tournament along with Harvard, which won the league’s automatic bid. The Tigers went back and forth with Iowa State through the first three quarters and could not overcome a deficit in the fourth quarter.

“That third quarter was tough,” said Berube, whose team led 40-25 early in the period. “They came out of halftime and really took it to us and then they kind of sustained that through the rest of the game. I’m really proud of my team and my student-athletes and my staff for an incredible season.”

Princeton trailed only 11-9 midway through the first quarter with one of the Tigers’ sophomores, Ashley Chea, scoring their first seven points of the game. Iowa State scored the next seven points of the quarter to take an 18-11 lead into the second quarter. The Tigers seized control in the second quarter as the outscored the Cyclones 27-7.

“The first quarter we took some shots that just didn’t fall and they weren’t bad shots for us but I think there was definitely an emphasis on making sure we take the best shot we can get in the second quarter,” said Hill. “And then they fell a lot better because we were more patient and getting each other open more. I think we dialed it back a little bit in terms of how much we were rushing and just were trying to set each other up better.”

Fadima Tall, another sophomore, hit a basket with 16 seconds left in the quarter gave Princeton a 38-25 lead going into halftime. It was a great start to continuing their season.

“I think it’s a lot of just wanting to win for your seniors and for your team,” said Tall. “I think just having that encouragement, that energy from everyone around you, just the stuff we always harp about in practice, doing that was second nature and we wanted to do that the entire game.”

The third quarter was nearly exactly flipped. Iowa State forged ahead of the Tigers, rolling to a 27-9 advantage in the period in the game of runs. The Cyclones held a 52-47 lead going into the final quarter.

“We had some good looks in the first quarter, didn’t knock them down,” said Berube. “In the second quarter we did, and the vice versa happened with Iowa State in the third quarter, so it was a tough quarter. I thought there was just a few breakdowns, especially in transition where they got some easy looks from the three.”

Princeton continued to keep the game within two possessions through large parts of the fourth quarter. Sophomore guard Skye Belker got the Tigers as close as they would get late with a 3-pointer with 2:31 to go that left Princeton behind, 64-60. Iowa State closed out the game to end the Tigers season and the careers of the Princeton seniors.

“It’s a little tricky to explain how much it’s meant to me,” said Hill. “I’ve loved the time that I’ve been here. It always sucks to end your season and end on a loss and I think this game was winnable for us which stings a little bit more, but this program means a lot to me. I couldn’t be happier with where I ended up and I look forward to seeing what the rest of them do next year and the year after that.”

Hill produced one of her best all-around games in the face of Iowa State’s center, Audi Crooks, who finished with a game-high 27 points.

“We don’t see players like Audi Crooks in the Ivy League and that was an adjustment,” Hill said. “She obviously played a very great game today. Definitely we were working on being strong and trying not to foul because she does get a lot of and-ones, so trying to play straight up as much as possible and not stay in foul trouble, that was definitely something that I think I managed to do pretty well, just limiting her second-chance opportunities, trying to make shots as hard as possible but she’s a very good scorer and a very good finisher.”

Hill filled a big role for the Tigers this year. She started every game this season for the first time in her career. She started 10 games of the 30 games she played a year ago. Her numbers were up across the board, her scoring average doubling (from 3.5 to 7.3) and her rebounding average nearly doubling (from 2.6 to 4.7) as well. And in the biggest game of the year, she played like a veteran senior.

“Really, really proud of Parker and just the season she’s had, the year she’s had,” said Berube. “It’s been a battle with injuries but to see her playing her best basketball during her senior year, just really proud of her. It’s been fun to watch her journey and the journey of all of our seniors and I’m really, really proud of all of them and Parker definitely.”

Fellow senior Katie Thiers also saw minutes against Iowa State. The senior class leaves behind a young core that helped the Tigers place second in the Ivy League in the regular season even after losing their top player, Madison St. Rose, to a knee injury in the fourth game of the season. St. Rose will be a senior next year, and Princeton expects four sophomore starters to return. Tall led the Tigers with 19 points and seven rebounds Wednesday.

“Fadima is tough,” said Berube. “I think the beginning of the season, like the Portland game, you saw a young Fadima, a young, inexperienced Fadima to the end of the season here playing some of her best basketball of her career thus far. Just really proud of the work that she puts in and I think she’s going to be a tremendous player for us and leader and I’ll be looking forward to her future.”

Chea played all 40 minutes against Iowa State and finished with 15 points and three assists. Belker scored 11 points and had four rebounds. Another sophomore, Olivia Hutcherson, contributed six points, three blocks and a pair of rebounds.

“I’ve talked about it a lot, just how much growth that we’ve seen in those sophomores, especially Ashley and Olivia,” said Berube. “I thought Olivia had a really great game. Defensively, she was awesome. And Fadima as well. So like Fadima said, this is going to sting, but I think it can really fuel them in the offseason and in the post-season into the summer and into next fall.”

Princeton will return with high expectations again next winter. The Tigers will be looking to regain the Ivy League title and again advance to the NCAA tournament, this time with a core of players that faced that challenge this year.

“You can’t simulate this kind of experience other than just going through what it’s like to play on this stage, and I’m excited for the future,” said Berube. “It’s hard to think about that right now as I care so deeply about our seniors. They left an incredible legacy, and I think the young group is going to just carry that on.”