Sideline Dispatches: 03/01/2010 - 04/01/2010

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Postgame Stats

Same story as the first half, really. Princeton shot just 28.3 percent for the game, and St. John's shot 45.8%. That's really the entire difference. Neither team could hit from beyond the arc - both were 1-10 - and both teams rebounded at about the same rate (Princeton grabbed 16 of 44 available offensive rebounds, St. John's 14 of 39). The Tigers had more turnovers, but that didn't decide the game (16-12). The Red Storm attempted more free throws, but Princeton made more.

The only difference was the shooting. Especially in the first half, Princeton was getting makable shots but they weren't going down. They ended up shooting 40% in the second half, finally finding some net, but couldn't come up with enough stops near the end to make it a game.

Individually, Rasheed paced the team with 11 shots, but needed 14 attempts to reach that number. Allgood shot just 3-10 from the field, well below her average, and Edwards was just 3-14; both finished with eight points. Edwards paced the team with a season-high 13 rebounds, while Polansky had four assists.

For the victors, Da'Shena Stevens shot a remarkable 9-13 from the field, finishing with a game-high 19 points. The Red Storm also got double-doubles from Shenneika Smith (13/12), and from Centhya Hart off the bench (10/11).

Princeton was able to dictate the pace - the game clocked in at 66 possessions, below the Tigers' average - but they couldn't put the ball in the basket, which is ultimately what it's all about.

Stay tuned for further coverage of this game from the Daily Princetonian online and in Monday's issue.

Update: I doubt most of you care all that much now that the Tigers are eliminated, but No. 14 Louisiana Tech's Shanavia Dowdell has 22 points with five minutes left in the first half, the main reason why Tech is leading host school No. 3 Florida State by seven.

End 2nd, 65-47 St. John's

Princeton finally started to make a few shots near the end of the game, but it was too little, too late for the Tigers. There's no shame in losing to this St. John's team, though, that I thought might have been underseeded. The Red Storm gave undefeated UConn its toughest test of the season (granted, 14 points is not extremely close, but that's UConn for you). And St. John's is definitely playing its best basketball now - they're probably 8-10 points better now than they were at the beginning of the year.

1:06 2nd, 63-43 St. John's

St. John's brings out Smith and Hart, to applause. Meanwhile, senior Tani Brown, in the waning moments of her collegiate career, is still diving for loose balls.

1:45 2nd, 61-41 St. John's

An Edwards runner rims out, but Princeton forces a turnover on the other end. Miller misses a jumper from the elbow, but redeems herself by drawing a foul on Stevens. Rasheed exits, to the applause of the crowd; although it didn't end the way she would have liked, it's hard to have a better rookie season than she did.

3:52 2nd, 61-41 St. John's

Allgood gets another shot to drop, pulling the Tigers back within 20 at the last media timeout. FSU fans are now here in full force, as the sidelines are now probably 80% full.

4:15, 61-39 St. John's

Rasheed is starting to take this game over offensively, driving from the top of the key and hitting a pull-up jumper. Tigers still can't get stops, though.

5:50 2nd, 55-37 St. John's

Da'Shena Stevens can't handle a feed under the hoop, and St. John's turns the ball over. On the other end, Rasheed makes a beautiful pass from the free throw line to Edwards cutting backdoor, the kind of play I'm sure head coach Courtney Banghart wishes she had seen more of earlier this game.

6:48 2nd, 55-35 St. John's

Rasheed makes a very athletic steal in transition, but is stripped going to the hoop, and the ball goes out of bounds. Princeton runs a nice inbounds play and gets Micir open under the basket, resulting in a three-point play.

7:13 2nd, 55-32 St. John's

Cheryl does a nice job of defending Da'Shena in a Stevens-on-Stevens matchup, but the latter rebounds her own miss and finishes. Micir misses a pair of triples on the other end.

9:06 2nd, 53-31 St. John's

After a turnover, Princeton brings its starters back, minus Allgood and plus Stevens. Edwards drives but misses a tough floater in the lane, the rebound is a held ball, and the arrow points to the Red Storm.

10:00 2nd, 52-31 St. John's

Kate Miller swishes home a long two from her favorite spot, the right baseline. But Sky Lindsay answers on the other end with a jumper from the top of the key.

11:23 2nd, 50-29 St. John's

After a pair of free throws from Allgood, Krystal Hill almost banks in a three from NBA range, but it spins out. Johnson is called for a foul on the other end, and Joy McCorvey is shooting two.

13:03 2nd, 50-27 St. John's

A Rasheed jumper from the right baseline falls, and the Red Storm switch into a zone, forcing the Tigers to shoot from the outside. Rasheed misses a six-footer, and Johnson airballs a three, while Smith picks up four points on the other end.

14:00 2nd, 45-25 St. John's

Sky Lindsay hits an acrobatic layup, but Laura Johnson answers with Princeton's first three-pointer of the game.

Around the Country

No. 1 Tennessee has a commanding lead over No. 16 Austin Peay, 49-22. In other action, No. 7 LSU is beating No. 10 Hartford 51-22, and No. 5 Michigan state holds a slim 51-46 lead over No. 12 Bowling Green.

And in the men's bracket, Villanova and St. Mary's are tied at 17. BYU and Kansas State tip off at 8:05, during my plane ride home, which angers me because I think that game will be great.

15:15 2nd, 43-22 St. John's

St. John's is running a full-court trap, not a strategy you usually see from a team with a 20-point lead. It works once, forcing a turnover that leads to a fast-break bucket by Smith. But the next time down the court, Princeton beats the press, resulting in an easy layup for Rasheed.

16:22 2nd, 41-20 St. John's

Princeton called for an offensive foul off the ball, which has been relatively common for them this season - they're physical to create space, but if the refs are calling tight, they can get burned. St. John's misses on the other end, but a loose rebound leads to a bucket and one from Da'Shena Stevens.

18:00 2nd, 38-20 St. John's

After another look that goes in and out, Micir finds Polansky for a backdoor layup. But Stevens answers with a pair of layups, extending the lead to 18.

Halftime Stats

Really, the entire game boils down to this: Princeton is shooting 20% (7-35) from the field, without any made threes. That's easily their worst shooting output of the season, and would even be lower than any they've allowed.

The perplexing thing is, from my vantage point right in the Princeton frontcourt, I don't feel like they're taking that many low-percentage shots. They're not getting the wide-open looks that they often have, but considering the fact that they're playing against a top-20 team I feel like they're getting pretty good attempts. I don't know if it's the big gym (which sometimes is said to affect shooting) or if they've just been unlucky, but the shots aren't falling. Up and down the lineup: Edwards is 2-10, Allgood 2-8, Rasheed 2-7, and Micir 0-7.

St. John's is 15-32 from the field (47%), which is the entire difference. Princeton is outrebounding the Red Storm (12 of 28 possible offensive rebounds, compared to 6 of 20 for St. John's), losing the turnover battle but only 7-4, and even in free throw attempts. Edwards is having a terrific day on the glass, with 10 boards already.

Although the game seemed pretty hectic near the beginning, this is actually a slow-paced game: 33 possessions, below Princeton's average. They'll want to pick up the pace in this half, though; more possessions means more scoring opportunities, which they need to get back in this.

End 1st, 34-18 St. John's

Micir gets an open look from beyond the men's line, but it too gets halfway down and comes out. Princeton goes into halftime down by 16 - the largest deficit the Tigers have faced at any point this season.

:25.3 1st, 34-18

Princeton forces a miss, and will hold for the last shot. But they'll have to beat the Red Storm press first.

:55 1st, 34-18 St. John's

Two consecutive shots from Allgood hit inside the cylinder but don't fall. After another Red Storm bucket, Edwards gets free for a midrange jumper from the baseline, but misses short.

1:08 1st, 32-18 St. John's

Edwards beats her defender and gets to the rim with a beautiful baseline drive...but it hits the inside of the rim and bounces out. It's been that kind of day for Princeton on the offensive end. Smith hits a jumper on the other end, and the lead is 14 again.

2:22 1st, 30-18 St. John's

Allgood misses both free throws. The sophomore has had a tough day, as the Ivy League field goal percentage leader has missed a number of makable shots.

But she breaks the skid with a bucket from the right post on the next possession. An offensive foul on Stevens at the other end gives Princeton some momentum.

3:36 1st, 30-16 St. John's

The Red Storm seems to be running Princeton ragged right now. Three Tigers go after a loose ball in the frontcourt off an Edwards miss, leaving only Micir and Allgood back in transition. McKenith converts on the acrobatic finish.

Allgood is fouled on the other end while shooting a jumper, leading to the media timeout and finally giving the Tigers a break.

5:00, 28-16 St. John's

Sharpshooter Kelly McManmon has had a couple clean looks from beyond the arc, and finally gets one to fall. She gets another one wide open on the next possession, but fortunately for the Tigers it misses.

5:22 1st, 25-16 St. John's

Stevens gets a shot to drop after bouncing on the rim five or six times. On the other end, Rasheed gets to the paint but cannot finish. After the Red Storm throws the ball away in transition, Princeton gets called for a shot clock violation. They're down nine, largest deficit of the game so far.

6:50, 23-16 St. John's

Edwards is fouled on a drive, and makes both foul shots to cut the deficit to five. Princeton drops the pressure on the other end, switching to a zone, but McKenith barely beats the shot clock with a floater on the other end.

8:04 1st, 21-14 St. John's

The Tigers turn the ball over again, and they'll need to cut those if they want to stay in this game. Stevens makes an acrobatic basket on the other end and draws a foul on Rasheed, a call that drew the ire of the Princeton bench. She could not complete the three-point play, however.

9:10, 19-14 St. John's

Miscommunication leads to a Princeton turnover, and McKenith is there for the putback on the other end. But true to form, neither team has turned it over much this game. Princeton's starters are back in, but they lose the ball again on offense after two held balls.

11:15 1st, 17-14 St. John's

Hart makes two of two free throws. Princeton breaks the press, leading to a two-on-one. Miller gets a nice look from five feet, but it doesn't fall; a number of good looks haven't been dropping for the Tigers. Stevens gets the rebound is fouled, making both freebies.

11:35 1st, 15-12 St. John's

Princeton finally breaks its scoreless streak with a nice drive by Johnson. Hart is shooting two at the other end after the media timeout.

12:44 1st, 15-10 St. John's

St. John's extends the lead on Stevens's first basket of the game. Princeton gets a stop on the next possession, but needs to find a way to start scoring. Tigers have four subs in now alongside Micir: sophomore Laura Johnson at the point, junior Krystal Hill at the two, freshman Kate Miller at forward, and senior Cheryl Stevens at center.

14:06 1st, 13-10 St. John's

A bad outlet pass from Edwards leads to a midrange jumper from Smith, who already has seven points. McKenith then carves up the Princeton D on a miss, earning a bucket and one; she misses the free throw, but Centhya Hart gets the rebound and scores, a foru-point possession.

15:45 1st, 10-7 Princeton

Micir misses a three from the right corner - Princeton's outside shooting hasn't quite been the same as it was early in the season. But Edwards is there for the rebound, and puts it back in. The Tigers have been very strong on the boards so far.

15:56 1st, 8-7 Princeton

Finally, a chance to catch our breath, at the first media timeout of this fast-paced contest. Not sure the tempo of this game will work in Princeton's favor, but they're ahead right now. Both teams are having trouble getting stops, and are getting up and down the court pretty quickly, shooting early in the shot clock. Smith and Rasheed trade buckets, and Princeton retains a one-point lead.

17:30 1st, 6-5 Princeton

St. John's breifly reclaims the lead on a bucket and one from Shenneika Smith. Princeton breaks a trap press on the next possession, and Allgood scores to make it 6-5.

18:00, 4-2 Princeton

St. John's is aggressively fronting the post, and a lob pass finds Rasheed, who evens the score. Moments later, Edwards beats the Red Storm down the court in transition and finishes, giving Princeton a 4-2 lead.

19:20 1st, 2-0 St. John's

Princeton wins the tip, but gives the ball back on a held ball. St. John's tries to feed Stevens in the post and the play gets broken up, but the Red Storm find Joy McCorvey for the game's first basket.

Starting Lineups

We're just moments away from tipoff, and the starting lineups have just been announced.

For Princeton:

#3 G Lauren Polansky

#23 G Addie Micir

#24 F Niveen Rasheed

#30 G Lauren Edwards

#44 C Devona Allgood

And for St. John's:

#1 G Sky Lindsay

#3 F Da'Shena Stevens

#5 G Nadirah McKenith

#25 F Joy McCorvey

#31 G Shenneika Smith

They're alternating teams as they announce the lineups (one player from Princeton, then one from St. John's, etc). I'm not sure I've ever seen that before.

People are starting to file into the arena now. The Donald L. Tucker Center has a listed capacity of 13,800. I'm notoriously horrible at estimating crowd sizes, but I'd expect that we're a little under 1,000 right now. Expect more people to come in as the game continues, as the home team, No. 3 Florida State, plays after this game.

What to watch for

First and foremost, one of the interesting battles in this game will be the pace war. St. John's played at a blistering 76.4 possessions per game in the nonconference season, and although that number came down somewhat in the Big East, they will still try to push the tempo. Princeton has athletes that can run, but is generally more comfortable playing a more deliberate style. One particular battle that will be interesting will be how St. John's starts its offense after a basket or deadball. Princeton usually has point guards Lauren Polansky and Tani Brown shadow the ballhandler the length of the court to take time off the shot clock, but the Red Storm generally tries to push the ball upcourt very quickly and get into its set early.

Another interesting key to this game will be how well both teams handle the ball. St. John's and Princeton are both excellent at avoiding turnovers - each team turned the ball over on less than 20% of its possessions in league play. If either team starts coughing it up and losing possessions, it will be tough to recover from.

Finally, watch for some interesting positional battles in the post and up top. The Red Storm like to feed leading scorer Da'Shena Stevens in the post, but the Tigers have defended extremely well down low this year. And St. John's likes to run high pick-and-rolls for freshman point guard Nadirah McKenith, which may be the toughest test yet for Princeton's perimeter defense, which is predicated on switching on screens.

Common Opponents

Princeton and St. John's have three common opponents this season:

Both teams opened their season at Stony Brook. Neither game was competitive; the Tigers won, 68-43, while St. John's cruised to an 89-52 victory.

St. John's also played Columbia in nonconference play in a NYC-area battle. The Red Storm had some trouble defensively, but pulled out a 75-63 victory. Meanwhile, Princeton played the Lions twice in league play. The first game, at Columbia, was a 77-55 rout, but the rematch was much tougher, as the Tigers were tied at the half before pulling away for a 68-57 win.

If you're a Tiger fan looking for some optimism, I asked a Columbia sportswriter who saw both teams what she thought about Princeton's chances, and she thought the Tigers could play with the Red Storm:

"The Columbia-St. John's game kind of reminds me of the Columbia-Princeton game at Jadwin. The first half was very competitive and the second half was competitive until St. John's was able to open it up a bit and we couldn't recover. I didn't know much about St. John's going into that game, and basically the first half made me think they were not one of the elite Big East teams."

The final common opponent is Rutgers, who is a 9-seed in the Sacramento regional. Princeton jumped out to an early lead over the Scarlet Knights, but fell behind by one at halftime and couldn't recover, falling 60-50. Meanwhile, St. John's played at Rutgers on February 24, coming away with a 60-52 victory.

We're now a half-hour from tip-off. The game is scheduled to start at 12:21.

Women's NCAA Tournament vs St. John's

Hello, this is Kevin Whitaker here in Tallahassee, where the 11th-seeded women's basketball team will be taking on No. 6 St. John's. The Red Storm finished tied for fourth in the Big East, and bring a 24-6 record into the tournament, but Princeton is one of the hottest teams in the nation, having won 21 consecutive games, all by double digits. The Tigers have only two losses this season, and went a perfect 14-0 in the Ivy League to win their first outright league title since the '70s.

There are more similarities between these two teams than you would think. Both teams are led by underclassmen: Princeton's leading scorers are freshman Niveen Rasheed and sophomore Lauren Edwards, while the Red Storm is paced by sophomore Da'Shena Stevens and freshman Shenneika Smith. Also, neither of these teams has much tournament experience. This is Princeton's first NCAA tournament appearance ever, and St. John's has been to the dance only twice in the past 22 years.

St. John's comes into the game ranked No. 17 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll. Princeton received votes in each, and was the first team listed outside the top 25 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

The game will be one of four shown at this time on ESPN2, and is viewable in its entirety on ESPN360.com.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

PRINCETON WINS 11-10

Scott MacKenzie finishes things early into the overtime period with a high-to-high straight past Gvozden. Jack McBride had the assist and Chris Bates and the Tigers will head home with another strong win under their belts.

Look for further coverage of this game, as well as the women's game against Duke, in Monday's edition of the Prince.

Tied 10-10, first overtime

Princeton gets a couple of chances towards the end of the fourth but can't put it away.

We now head into the second overtime of the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic. It's been a pretty exciting day so far.

Just a little refresher on the rules: overtime period are four minutes long, and each team gets an extra time out. It's a "golden goal" format where the first goal wins.

TIED 10-10 WITH FOURTEEN SECONDS LEFT

Sleeping giant Michael Kimmel finds his first hole in the Princeton defense and rips a shot right through it. The game is tied with fourteen seconds left and it looks like we're heading to the second overtime of the day.

Time out Princeton, 0:37 remaining

Princeton takes a time out before the final seconds.

In a side note, ESPNU made Jeff Froccaro the Player of the Game... and the game isn't even over yet.

Time out Hopkins, 1:20 remaining in the final quarter

This game is shaping up to look a little like the Duke-Maryland game. Hopkins has some time to even things up, but look for the Tigers to really clamp down defensively and keep the Blue Jays out of the box.

Princeton leads 10-9, 4:44 remaining in the final quarter

Hopkins' Zach Palmer reminds us with a sick goal that Froccaro isn't the only freshman on the field. Four minutes is an eternity in college lacrosse, so this game is far from over.

Princeton leads 10-8, 5:40 remaining in the final quarter

Jeff Froccaro gets his fourth goal of the game and his seventh in two games, securing his place as one of the likely Inside Lacrosse Players of the Game for the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic.

Hopkins possession, 9:15 remaining

The crossbar also deserves a lot of credit on both sides. It's done a good job of keeping balls out of the net as well (I count at least 4 times).

Princeton possession, 10:41 remaining

Tyler Fiorito comes up with another big save. He's been very solid throughout the day and deserves a lot of the credit for keeping the Hopkins offense in check.

Princeton possession, 12:37 remaining in the fourth quarter

Princeton is currently outshooting Hopkins 34-19 for the entire game as we reach the final minutes.

Princeton leads 9-8, final minutes of the third quarter

Jeff Froccaro gets his second hat trick in only his second collegiate game. Unreal.

Tied at 8-8, 3:46 remaining, third quarter

Blue Jay Max Chautin gets an unassisted goal. I can't really say that Fiorito had a chance on that, but who knows.

Princeton is outshooting Hopkins 9-5 in the half.

Princeton leads 8-7, 5:53 remaining, third quarter

Hopkins' Steven Boyle takes about 7 seconds to bring the score back to 8-7. This is turning into a shooting contest.

Princeton leads 8-6, 6:00 remaining, third quarter

Jeff Froccaro literally slaps the ball into the net after Gvozden manages to get a stick on Chris McBride's shot.

Princeton possession, 6:40 reamining, third quarter

Princeton is controlling the ball around the Hopkins goal and is trying to find an opening.

Princeton leads 7-6, 7:09 remaining, third quarter

The Blue Jays' Tom Duerr gets his second goal. Princeton needs to tighten its defense of at least get a long possession to slow down Hopkins' offensive rhythm.

Princeton leads 7-5, 8:48 remaining, third quarter

Hopkins' Kyle Wharton gets on the board. He's been less of a presence this game than one might think.

First half stats

Shots

Princeton -- 18

Johns Hopkins -- 14

Ground balls

Princeton -- 10

Johns Hopkins -- 12

Faceoffs

Princeton -- 6/13

Johns Hopkins -- 7/13

Turnovers

Princeton -- 6

Johns Hopkins -- 4

The stats are pretty standard for a close game of this sort. The only thing of real note are the turnover numbers. Princeton will want to keep that number down in the second half. Turning the ball over against a team like Hopkins is a risky proposition on any day, let alone in a big setting like this one.

Princeton leads 7-4, end of the first half

Princeton takes a 7-4 lead into the locker room, something coach bates will surely be happy with. The Tigers have come out and have done well to keep the Hopkins offense away from Tyler Fiorito. That's almost due to Princeton's relentless offense as much as their defense. When the Princeton goal has been threatened, Fiorito has lived up to his Face-Off Classic reputation and come up with the big saves.

Princeton has a chance to pull away with this when the second half opens, but they're going to have to focus more on keeping their defense strong than anything else. Hopkins will almost definitely come out firing on all cylinders and if the Tigers aren't careful, they could find the game tied up in a matter of minutes.

Princeton leads 7-4, 1:27 remaining

Jack McBride nets his third goal of the game to extend the Princeton lead. Rob Engelke gets the assist.

Tyler Fiorito at it again

Fiorito makes a highlight reel save to maintain the Tigers' lead. Neither team has let their intensity slip and the game will almost definitely remain competitive going into the second half.

Time out Princeton, 10:04 remaining

Princeton has a solid lead right now but can't get too comfortable. Hopkins' offense isn't one that you can take for granted.

Indulgent side note #2

There's a lot of chatter in the press box about Princeton's uniforms. I still think they're awesome.

Princeton leads 6-4, 13:14

Tyler Moni sidearms a canonball right past Gvozden's right hip. Hopkins calls a time out to try and regroup and break up some of the Tigers' momentum.

Princeton leads 5-4, 13:46 left

Chris McBride absolutely slings a high-to-high shot past Gvozden. I feel bad the the goalie; it can't be easy to stare that shot down.

Tied at 4-4, end of first quarter

Jack McBride closes the quarter with a goal. As the teams head into the second session, Princeton is outshooting Hopkins 12-8.

Princeton possession, final minutes of the quarter

Princeton has kept the ball deep in Hopkins territory for the final minutes of the quarter. There's an attempt to create something but a few sloppy passes have made that hard to do.

Hopkins leads 4-3, 3:50

Nate Matthews nets another Hopkins goal off an assist by Michael Kimmel.

Tied at 3-3, 4:13 left

Hopkins' Chris Boland scores at 4:23 and freshman Jeff Froccaro comes right back with a Princeton goal. Expect this game's score to get into the double digits.

Tied at 2-2, 5:46 left

Princeton's Tyler Moni ties up the game off of an assist by Rob Engelke. If Engelke can continue to facilitate the Tigers' transition game the way he did against Hofstra, Princeton will be in good shape.

Hopkins leads 2-1, 8:07 left

Hopkins' Chris Boland stays calm through some tough Princeton defense to put the Blue Jays up 2-1. Princeton wins the ensuing faceoff and does well on the transition to get some strong chances in Hopkins territory.

Indulgent side note

Princeton's uniforms are awesome.

Tied at 1-1, 11:39 left

Hopkins' Tom Duerr responds quickly with a hard and fast corner shot that Fiorito had no chance against. It looks like we're in for a horse race here.

Princeton leads 1-0, 13:32 left in the quarter

The Tigers started things off with a bang. Jack McBride ripped a shot past Gvozden to open up the early lead. Hopkins is currently on a long possession and is looking to settle down.

Live, from M&T Bank Stadium!

We're live with the men's lacrosse team at M&T Bank Stadium for the 2010 Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic!

The game's start time was delayed a little big thanks to a late surge from Duke that pushed their game against Maryland into overtime. Everything is now set to start for Princeton-Hopkins, and we're excited to be with you.

Starting lineups:

Princeton

Attack -- Jack McBride, Chris McBride, Rob Engelke

Midfield -- Scott MacKenzie, Mike Grossman, Mike Chanenchuk

LSM -- Jonathan Meyers

Defense -- John Cunningham, Jeremy Hirsh, Long Ellis

Goalie -- Tyler Fiorito

Johns Hopkins

Attack -- Steven Boyle, Tom Duerr, Kyle Wharton

Midfield -- Michael Kimmel, Max Chautin, Zach Palmer

LSM -- Chris Lightner

Defense -- Matt Drenan, Sam DeVore, Tucker Durkin

Goalie: Michael Gvozden

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