TALL ORDER: Princeton University women’s basketball player Fadima Tall puts up a shot in a game earlier this season. Last Wednesday, junior star forward Tall scored a career-high 28 points to help Princeton top Rutgers 81-63. Tall, who also matched her personal best with five steals and added four rebounds and three assists, was later named the Ivy League Player of the Week. The Tigers, now 10-1, play at George Mason on December 20 before hosting Temple on December 22. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Draining a rainbow three-pointer two minutes into the game, Fadima Tall got the scoring going for the Princeton University women’s basketball team as it hosted Rutgers last Wednesday.
“When you see a shot go into the basket, it is going to give you a little bit of oomph,” said junior forward Tall. “It was nice to see.”
The shots keep falling for Tall as she tallied a career-high 28 points to help Princeton pull away to an 81-63 win over the Scarlet Knights and improve to 10-1.
“I had a couple of teammates tell me,” said Tall, reflecting on passing her previous career-high of 22. “I didn’t focus on it too much but it is fun to get there.”
As has been their calling card this season, the Tigers sharpened the focus in the fourth quarter as they outscored Rutgers 30-19 over the last 10 minutes of the contest.
“I don’t know, it is something about that quarter; we just realize that it is here, now it is time to turn it up,” said Tall, who also matched her personal best with five steals and added four rebounds and three assists and was later named the Ivy League Player of the Week. “We play a lot of five-minute games in practice. We want to break it down into two five-minute games and just hone in and realize it is time to lock in and be ready to go. We are working on getting it to four quarters.”
The Tigers got good work from its talented starting lineup against Rutgers as Olivia Hutcherson and Ashley Chea each scored 16 points with Maddie St. Rose chipping in 11 points.
“We have so many three-level scorers, so if one person is missing a shot, they are getting a lay-up or they are going to go and switch what they were aiming for or feed someone else who is hot and continue the rhythm,” said Tall. “There is never a day where all of us are off as we are all talented players and really feed off of each other. We realize just swing the ball, someone is going to score. It is going to be a good shot no matter where it goes.”
With no players on the Princeton roster taller than 6’2, Tall has moved into the post this season after playing guard/forward in her first two years with the Tigers.
“It is just height; I am like 6 foot and we are playing 6’3, 6’4 players in the non-conference,” said Tall, reflecting on the challenge she has faced in her new spot on the floor. “That is always going to be a challenge but others on my team are still going to help me on the defensive end. It has been a learning curve but we are getting there. It should be easier height-wise in the Ivy League offensively. I didn’t know the five spot coming into it. It is just realizing my opportunities and that I can get mismatches on the perimeter. It took me a while to realize that.”
Princeton head coach Carla Berube was thrilled with Tall’s performance in the win over Rutgers.
“This is who Fadima is, she had a really great game tonight,” said Berube of Tall, who is averaging 16.1 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds a game. “Playing the five makes her a really tough matchup with the way she can pop, the way she can get by defenders and the way she can finish at the rim. She was just on one tonight. She was feeling it and we tried to get her the ball as much as we can. The ball just seems to find her hands a lot too as the play breaks down. It is because her teammates are really confident in her.”
Junior standout Hutcherson was on the ball against Rutgers as she had four rebounds, two assists and two steals in addition to tallying 16 points.
“It is toughness; she is such a great defender but now her defense is fueling her offense and fueling our offense too,” said Berube of Hutcherson who has been wearing a face mask due to a nose fracture. “She was the recipient of some great passes to her in transition. She gets out in the passing lanes to get some steals and get some easy buckets. Also she took that top of the key three. She got fouled on a little runner inside. She is playing with a lot of confidence, her team has a confidence in her and the staff does. Good things happen when she is on the floor.”
Once again, good things happened for Princeton in the fourth quarter.
“Rutgers played a great game, they were tough and it was a tough matchup for us,” said Berube. “Our defense was pretty good in that fourth quarter for some runs and we got some easy scoring opportunities. Ashley got us going too with some huge shots. She hits that corner three on the baseline on an out of bounds play. She is really good at that and she hit a top of the key three. Maddie got going a little bit too which was great to see. It was a great all-around effort from the team.”
With the Tigers taking an eight-game winning streak into an exam break, Berube believes that the hiatus comes at a good time.
“For their mental health so they can focus on their finals,” said Berube, whose team will return to action when it plays at George Mason on December 20 and then hosts Temple on December 22. “We are a little bit banged up so this time off can be good and hopefully we can ramp it back up and get ready for two tough games before the holiday break. George Mason and Temple will be two really tough games. George Mason is a really, really good team as is Temple.”
Tall, for her part, is confident that the Tigers will be ready to go when they get back on the court.
“I definitely think it is a break that is needed,” said Tall. “We have 11 people, we are definitely feeling it in our bodies a little bit. This is exactly what we need to refresh, start over, and come back even better.”