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Princeton not an overnight success
During Courtney Banghart's first season at Princeton, the Tigers managed just seven wins in 30 games.
The next year Lauren Edwards and Devona Allgood arrived from California and North Carolina respectively and things began to change. When they were freshmen the Tigers went 14-14 and were 9-5 in the Ivy League. Reinforcements came in the following season with Lauren Polansky, Kate Miller, Niveen Rasheed and Megan Bowen joining the program.
The rest, as they say, is history. Princeton has won 41 of 42 games in the Ivy League over the last three years making three straight NCAA tournament appearances. The Tigers earned a No. 9 seed, the highest for an Ivy League school, and became the first Ivy school to break into the top 25 in the Associated Press poll.
It's been quite the ride for the Tigers.
"It has certainly has been a long ride and coming into our freshman year we didn't know what we were getting into," Edwards said. "Seeing the program grow, starting as freshmen and not knowing what to expect and now as seniors to have a top 25 ranking, being here in the NCAA tournament and sitting here it is pretty incredible.
"It has been pretty exciting. We wake up Monday and see a top 25 ranking in that AP poll and everybody was really pumped about that. This is the time of the year that we look forward to. It is March and we work our butts off from the time we stepped on campus for this moment. For it to finally be here and for it to be pulled together, getting through the Ivy League we played pretty consistently and it is pretty exciting to see our team come together and hopefully rise to the challenge."
Allgood is part of a class that has put the Tigers on the women's basketball map.
"It means a lot," Allgood said. "We came in as freshmen not really knowing where this team was going to go. It just shows that we should be able to play with a lot of pride because we have come so far. It shows our lack of complacency, I think it shows our hard work and the effort we put in over these past four yeas to be the team that we are today."
The next year Lauren Edwards and Devona Allgood arrived from California and North Carolina respectively and things began to change. When they were freshmen the Tigers went 14-14 and were 9-5 in the Ivy League. Reinforcements came in the following season with Lauren Polansky, Kate Miller, Niveen Rasheed and Megan Bowen joining the program.
The rest, as they say, is history. Princeton has won 41 of 42 games in the Ivy League over the last three years making three straight NCAA tournament appearances. The Tigers earned a No. 9 seed, the highest for an Ivy League school, and became the first Ivy school to break into the top 25 in the Associated Press poll.
It's been quite the ride for the Tigers.
"It has certainly has been a long ride and coming into our freshman year we didn't know what we were getting into," Edwards said. "Seeing the program grow, starting as freshmen and not knowing what to expect and now as seniors to have a top 25 ranking, being here in the NCAA tournament and sitting here it is pretty incredible.
"It has been pretty exciting. We wake up Monday and see a top 25 ranking in that AP poll and everybody was really pumped about that. This is the time of the year that we look forward to. It is March and we work our butts off from the time we stepped on campus for this moment. For it to finally be here and for it to be pulled together, getting through the Ivy League we played pretty consistently and it is pretty exciting to see our team come together and hopefully rise to the challenge."
Allgood is part of a class that has put the Tigers on the women's basketball map.
"It means a lot," Allgood said. "We came in as freshmen not really knowing where this team was going to go. It just shows that we should be able to play with a lot of pride because we have come so far. It shows our lack of complacency, I think it shows our hard work and the effort we put in over these past four yeas to be the team that we are today."
posted by Jim Fuller at
12:01 PM
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