COMING THROUGH: Princeton University women’s basketball player Ashley Chea heads upcourt in recent action. Last Sunday, junior guard Chea scored a game-high 22 points to help Princeton defeat DePaul 71-41. The Tigers, who improved to 7-1 with the victory, were slated to host Seton Hall on December 2 before playing at Belmont on December 6. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
It was “Orange Era” day as the Princeton University women’s basketball team hosted DePaul last Sunday and Taylor Swift tunes blared over the Jadwin Gym sound system throughout the contest.
For Princeton junior guard Ashley Chea, the Swiftie soundtrack helped spark her best shooting performance of the season as she tallied 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-13 from 3-point range, to help the Tigers pull away to a 71-41 win and improve to 7-1.
“It was Taylor Swift night and I love Taylor Swift,” said Chea with a smile. “It is one of the times where I can actually hear it during the game and my teammates won’t get mad at me. My teammates kept on passing me the ball. It is our home court and we are out here every single day and that gives me an extra boost of confidence for sure.”
Chea maintained her confidence as she got off to a sluggish start this season, shooting .352 (25-71) from the floor and .219 (7-32) from 3-point range coming into Sunday.
“I just kept on shooting the ball, my coaches never said that there was a bad shot which gave me confidence to keep on shooting the ball,” said Chea, who was scoring 9.1 points a game this winter after averaging 12.6 last season. “I think I was just in a slump the first few games.”
While Chea worked through her shooting slump, she focused on setting up her teammates.
“I didn’t even need to shoot the ball in the first few games because we have such amazing players,” said Chea. “They just make my job so much easier, all I have to do is pass them ball. I know for a fact that nine times out of 10 they will make the shot. It makes me feel a lot better to want to pass the ball to them.”
The focus on playmaking is part of the plan for Chea this season.
“This year coach (Carla Berube) told me the main thing for me is to be an assister and be a point guard,” said Chea, who is second on the team in assists with 28. “I don’t need to score which I am not mad about at all.”
While Chea enjoys being an assister, she is more than happy to put up shots when she has the hot hand.
“I think now it is just me being a point guard and finding that balance between having to score, having to pass the ball, and having to play defense with steals,” said Chea.
As a point guard, Chea looks to set the tone. “I think one of the main things for me this year is also to lead by example,” said Chea. “On the court, Skye, Liv, Maddie and Fadima have a voice and I do too. But I think as a point guard, one of the main things is to lead by example and to show them what Tiger basketball is and what coach tells us to do the entire season.”
On Sunday, Tiger basketball was about all hands on deck as starter Fadima Tall was sidelined by a leg injury.
“Coach makes us run a lot in practice, especially in the preseason,” said Chea. “That just makes us really in shape. We had nine players today and all of us played and we didn’t even look that tired. I think that is a testament to what coach has done to us in practice.”
Princeton head coach Carla Berube was impressed by how her shorthanded squad took care of business against DePaul.
“It is a good bench, we got good contributions,” said Berube. “We finally had a good first quarter and started in a good way so that was good to see.”
Senior Taylor Charles had a very good game as she took Tall’s place in the starting lineup, scoring five points with nine rebounds, seven blocked shots, and three assists.
“Taylor gave us great minutes, she is solid, she has been solid in all four years here,” said Berube. “Now she is getting more of that opportunity to play. To see her start and have a great game is great. She is a great leader. She is sort of like our mother hen. The young players look up to her so much. She is just a great role model.”
Another reserve, sophomore Toby Nweke, gave the Tigers some good minutes, scoring nine points and grabbing four rebounds.
“Toby runs the floor so hard that you are going to find her in transition,” said Berube. “Defensively she is so solid and strong, it is hard to drive by her. I thought she played well defensively, she got on the boards well and made some tough shots.”
Berube enjoyed seeing Chea make a lot of shots against the Blue Demons.
“Ashley found it alright, she took a lot of shots,” said Berube. “When her shot is on, she has the green light absolutely. It is great to see her making shots. I know she loves shooting in this gym.”
Junior guard Skye Belker was on as well, scoring 15 points with eight rebounds and five assists.
“It was good to see Skye playing well through four quarters,” said Berube. “She has been our fourth quarter star. She had a great game, a full game, making plays for her teammates, rebounding the ball, and making her pull-up jumpers in the lane. It was just a great all-around game for her.”
With Princeton slated to host Seton Hall on December 2 before playing at Belmont on December 6, Berube is looking for her players to keep making a full effort.
“We are playing some good basketball, we have a tough stretch ahead of us with Seton Hall, Belmont, and Rutgers before we have a little bit of a break,” said Berube. “We have to push through and keep getting better. We have to get healthy and stay healthy. I am happy with where we are at right now.”
Reflecting on Princeton’s 7-1 start, Chea is proud of the squad’s daily commitment to getting better.
“I am super impressed by how quickly we can turn around from our past game to the next game,” said Chea. “We have played three games this week and every single day at practice, we practice harder and harder and we are still just as focused as we were for the game before.”