LIVING IT UP: Princeton University women’s basketball player Olivia Hutcherson puts up a free throw in recent action. Last Saturday, junior guard/forward Hutcherson matched her career high with 20 points to help Princeton defeat Cornell 72-61. Hutcherson was later named the Ivy League Co-Player of the Week along with Harvard’s Saniyah Glenn-Bello. The No. 23 Tigers, now 18-2 overall and 6-1 Ivy League, host Penn on February 6. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Olivia Hutcherson had some extra inspiration as she took the court last weekend for the Princeton University women’s basketball team when it hosted Columbia and Cornell.
Her father, Kenneth Hutcherson, who played college basketball at Samford and Alabama, made the trek from the Atlanta area to Jadwin Gym to see his daughter in action.
“My dad is a pretty calm guy; he is up there, he is not making any dramatic faces or anything,” said junior guard/forward Hutcherson, a 6’0 native of Johns Creek, Ga. “After the game he might give me a few critiques. I think he is just really excited to see me out here because this is what I have been working for ever since I was little. He introduced me to basketball and this was the goal.”
Hutcherson delivered some exciting performances to make her dad proud, producing a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds on Friday as Princeton lost 73-67 to Columbia and then matched her career-high with 20 points to help the Tigers bounce back a day later with a 72-61 win over Cornell. Hutcherson was later named the Ivy League Co-Player of the Week along with Harvard’s Saniyah Glenn-Bello.
Coming off the tough loss to the Lions which saw Tiger star guard Madison St. Rose leave the game with a leg injury that sidelined her for Saturday, Hutcherson and her teammates were determined to make up for her absence.
“We knew we needed to step up because obviously Maddie is a great player and we need her out there,” said Hutcherson. “I think we did a great job at trying to fill in those gaps.”
As the Tigers prepped for the Cornell game, they were looking to get back to basics in terms of tactics and mentality.
“Shoot around today was very focused,” said Hutcherson. “We were going over a lot of plays. We really just focused on what we know how to do. So we know if it is a curl, we need to switch and stuff like that. We were just really focused on bouncing back and being resilient.”
Hutcherson showed her focus in the first quarter against Cornell, making her first four shots.
“That definitely got me on a roll, my teammates were hyping me up,” said Hutcherson, who ended up going 10 of 13 from the floor on the day. “I was just excited. We were all really excited to have this game and just get back to how we know we should be playing.”
With Princeton clinging to a 48-46 lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Tigers picked it up down the stretch.
“The score was close up until then, we just knew we had to pull away,” said Hutcherson, who also contributed seven rebounds and three steals in the win. “We didn’t want to take it down to the buzzer and need another Ashley Chea buzzer beater. We did a good job of just keeping the energy. We were of course tired and they were too because we both played yesterday. We were just resilient and pushed through that.”
Hutcherson has been doing a much better job offensively this season as she is now averaging 12.2 points a game, up from 4.2 last season.
“I think the biggest difference is my confidence,” said Hutcherson, who has totaled 60 points in her last four games. “My teammates are finding me and they are instilling confidence in me. My shots have been going in recently. That is big, that is helping me know that I can also score if somebody else isn’t having a great game. All five on the floor can score in double digits.”
That confidence stems, in part, from the work Hutcherson put in over the offseason.
“A big thing I have been working on is just my patience on the post-ups, creating that contact and then not rushing into the moves,” said Hutcherson. “If the ball is in my hands, they are going to have come get it from me. If they close in on me, I can kick it out. If they don’t, then I have the time to figure out how the defense is playing me and make those moves. I worked on that a lot over the summer. I have still been working on that because there have been times where I was a little too rushed.”
Princeton head coach Carla Berube liked the way her players made a move in the fourth quarter.
“It just took us a little bit to figure out how to defend, they have some great scorer in [Rachel] Kaus and [Emily] Pape and some really good role players around them,” said Berube, whose team improved to 18-2 overall and 6-1 Ivy League with the win. “As we sometimes do, it takes us to the fourth quarter to get it going. I think we were just finding each other. When you are getting stops and you get some momentum, you are feeling better. We got some good looks up the sideline into our post. It was good to see that many assists and not a lot of turnovers. It was just taking care of the ball and making sure that we were getting a good shot in every possession. It was a great bounce back win.”
The Tigers got a very good performance from Hutcherson against the Big Red.
“She has been awesome,” said Berube. “It wasn’t her best game last night. Even though I thought she played really hard, she had quite a few turnovers. I know she wanted a better one today. She was a beast on the boards. She was tough inside. She was guarding Emily Pape a little bit too, so we had her doing a lot of things out there. She runs the floor hard and that is why she is getting some good looks inside.”
In reflecting on Hutcherson’s process, Berube pointed to her work ethic.
“I think it has a lot to do with confidence and also the work she has put in,” added Berube. “The development that she has had goes to show what she has done in the summer. Our assistant coaches, Jordan [Edwards] and Lauren [Gosselin], work a lot with her, finding ways for her to score in the post with the way she can elevate, the way she can just step through and get her shots and elude the defense. She is just an incredible athlete who has a really high motor. With those offensive boards and put backs, she is tough in there.”
The backcourt combination of Ashley Chea and Skye Belker hit some big shots for the Tigers against Cornell. Chea, who went 0-for-8 from the floor against Columbia, scored 11 points while Belker tallied 20.
“Ashley was ready to have a big bounce back. Her plus-minus tonight was 22, so when she was on the court things were happening,” said Berube. “It was far and above anyone else. She had a much better game today, getting us into our offenses. She made a couple of shots here and there. Skye was great. She shot the ball well. When she got her pull up and she is open that is just like a layup. She had a great game, she found her teammates well.”
The Tigers also got some good minutes off the bench from Grace O’Sullivan, Emily Eadie, and Taylor Charles.
“We had played a lot of minutes last night, so to have those contributions was huge,” said Berube. “I thought Grace really came in and helped out. We needed that. We said to Emily in the locker room, things went in a positive way when she was in there with some finishes inside and big rebounds. Tay is always someone we can trust out there making good plays.”
In Berube’s view, the Tigers needed to focus on gritty play as they looked to bounce back from the Columbia loss which snapped a 15-game winning streak.
“We talked about last night and what could have been better,” said Berube, whose team is now ranked No. 23 nationally and hosts Penn on February 6. “It wasn’t really Xs and Os stuff, it was more like the toughness and the boxing out and the things you can control.”
Hutcherson, for her part, believes the team’s combination of toughness and skill makes it hard to beat.
“It just shows that we are such a talented team, anybody on this team can score in double digits,” said Hutcherson. “I think it is really big that if Maddie is out, we have people who can step up and just help us get the win.”