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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Princeton finally breaks its scoreless streak with a nice drive by Johnson. Hart is shooting two at the other end after the media timeout.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We're just moments away from tipoff, and the starting lineups have just been announced.
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.
Princeton and St. John's have three common opponents this season:
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.
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