No. 25 Princeton women’s basketball beats Seton Hall in 2OT thriller

PRINCETON — It wasn’t the most comfortable win for the Princeton women’s basketball team, but usually the best ones aren’t.

With a final score of 75-71, the 25-ranked Tigers were pushed to their limit by in-state rival Seton Hall.

Four quarters weren’t enough to decide a winner, and it took not just one, but two overtime periods for Princeton to finally pull through. Senior guard Kaitlyn Chen led Princeton with 21 points and freshman guard Skye Belker added 18, including the go-ahead jumper in the second overtime.

A controversial call that led the game to overtime happened when the Tigers led by three with one second left when Seton Hall’s Micah Gray, who finished with a game-high 24 points, caught the ball and banked in a three-pointer off the glass to tie the game at 59-all.

Except, it wasn’t an actual buzzer-beater. She had not released the ball quick enough before the game clock expired, but upon further review the officials realized that the clock itself had been delayed by just fractions of a second, which meant that if the clock had been started on time, Gray would have gotten the shot off in time.

The officiating crew caught that, made the right call, and this competitive game went into overtime.

But as much debate as this call sparked amongst fans in Jadwin Gymnasium, both coaches and teams understood and respected the call in what was turning out to be a really friendly and competitive rivalry between these two schools.

“I thought they handled themselves wonderfully by speaking to us,” Seton Hall coach Anthony Bozzella said in regards to the buzzer-beater call at the end of the game. “[...] Officiating like that is what makes the game well. They talk to you, they let you play, they are great.”

“I was yelling ‘they started the clock to early’ and they were like ‘I got it, I got it’, and to their credit they stop-watched it, and I thought she got it (Gray’s shot) off during the game, I was surprised when I looked at the scoreboard and the buzzer was red before she shot it, but they were great and they handled themselves well”

In the first overtime, Princeton couldn’t seem to shake Seton Hall, as Gray carried her scorching hot shooting into overtime, hitting two back-to-back 3-pointers to keep the Pirates in the game.

While Gray couldn’t be denied this game, Princeton’s leading scorer Madison St.Rose was the exact opposite, as she practically couldn’t buy a bucket on the court. The 5-foot-10 sophomore guard finished with 7 points on 2-for-11 shooting.

Although St.Rose was having an “off night”, as Princeton’s coach Carla Berube described it, she kept her head in the game, hitting a huge 3-pointer to give the Tigers a five point lead with just under 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

“There are just days you’re not at your very best, but she also had a really big shot,” Berube said. “I’m sure she’ll be back ready to compete on Sunday at University of Rhode Island, but there’s nothing to say just keep working.”

But one thing this Princeton team prides itself on is perseverance and playing for the person next to them. Which is exactly why other role players from the bench were able to step up to provide some baskets and make plays for the team.

Junior forward Parker Hill, who finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 blocks, served as a glue piece for the team on both sides of the ball, and she also emphasized the importance of the women who are coming off of the bench as well.

“I think, especially when we take it towards the end of the game, Ellie (Mitchell) fouls out, and this guy has four (fouls) and people are having foul trouble, bench stuff is very important,” Hill said about the players coming off the bench. “Especially when you have two overtimes, get extra fouls, and it just gives the players that start a break, and you have spurts of energy and can reset the momentum.”

That same toughness and determination is what willed the Tigers through two overtimes to get their fifth win over Seton Hall in their last nine matchups.

It wasn’t the type of ending that either coach expected in terms of the contentious call, but it was the competitive, fiery, and energetic matchup that they predicted from each other. For Princeton, it’s been like that all season. It had plenty of tough and gritty games against elite talent.

Princeton faced No.3 UCLA, barely losing, 77-74, No.20 Oklahoma, whom it defeated, 77-63, and a loss against No.19 Indiana, 72-63. The Tigers have shown that they are one of the best teams in the country, going toe-to-toe with other elite competition, including Seton Hall. These types of games build character, and sharpen the players.

These are the type of games that Berube knows will help build the team up as its faces more tough teams down the line.

“We’ve had so many close games in this early season, it’s great to be playing your Big East, and your Power Fives to challenge us and to play against some of the best coaches and players,” Berube said. “It also helps our net, and it gets us prepared for the Ivy League, which is the most important part of the season”

Princeton has a few more non-conference games against challenging teams like Villanova and Rutgers, but these are games that will be sure to have the Tigers battle-tested and ready to take on the Ivy League.