FINAL DRIVE: Princeton University women’s basketball player Annie Tarakchian drives to the basket. Last Friday, senior forward Tarakchian scored a career-high 24 points and had 11 rebounds to help Princeton defeat Harvard 79-69 to start her final home weekend. A night later, she scored nine points and had 11 rebounds as the Tigers routed Dartmouth 68-42. The win improved Princeton to 23-4 overall and 12-1 Ivy League and set up a winner-take-all Ivy League title showdown with Penn (23-4 overall, 12-1 Ivy) slated for March 8 at Jadwin Gym. Tarakchian, for her part, was named the Ivy Co-Player of the Week for her weekend heroics along with Penn sophomore forward Michelle Nwokedi. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

The emotions were swirling for Annie Tarakchian as she took the court last Friday to start her final home weekend with the Princeton University women’s basketball team.

“It is so bittersweet; it is crazy to think that it is our senior weekend,” said senior forward Tarakchian, a 6’0 native of West Hills, Calif., whose classmates on the squad are Michelle Miller, Amanda Berntsen, Alex Wheatley, and Taylor Williams.

“My four classmates have made this journey so, so special. It is so funny how different everyone is but coach (Courtney) Banghart meshed us together and it just works.”

Tarakchian and her teammates had to work hard to overcome a talented Harvard team, pulling away to a 79-69 win after the Crimson drew to within six points early in the fourth quarter.

“Harvard always gives us a good run, they have a great offense,” said Tarakchian.

“They are really good at offensive rebounding, that tested us. Coach got into us a little bit, which we needed. It is fun to see us grow and there are always going to be moments of growth and Harvard helped us tonight with growing.”

Tarakchian got into the offensive flow, hitting 8-of-14 shots on the way to a career-high 24 points.

“I think we just clamped down and focused on what we needed to do,” said Tarakchian, who also grabbed 11 rebounds.

“We kept giving up offensive boards and having defensive lapses, we are better than that. It is March. We know our game plan and we know how we play. We have a standard and when we fall short of that, coach helps us out.”

After beating Dartmouth 68-42 on Saturday, Princeton moved to 23-4 overall and 12-1 Ivy League, keeping alive its hopes for another trip to March Madness, setting up a winner-take-all Ivy League title showdown for the NCAA bid with Penn (23-4 overall, 12-1 Ivy) slated for March 8 at Jadwin Gym.

“Our preseason opponents have really helped us grow and starting from Penn in the Ivies,” said Tarakchian, who had nine points and 11 rebounds in the win over Dartmouth and was later named the Ivy Co-Player of the Week for her weekend heroics along with Penn sophomore forward Michelle Nwokedi.

“I think we pride ourselves on getting better, day by day. We face good people every day in practice. Our second line is tough and they give us a good run every day.”

While Tarakchian was thrilled to start her final home weekend with such a big game, she was more focused on team success.

“This weekend is special; I am not going to attribute it to being the last one,” said Tarakchian, reflecting on her offensive outburst.

“It is hitting me kind of hard; everyone’s family is here and it is just a special moment. We have got to take it all in. I just want the win so if I have five points or I have 24, I just want the win. It is very nice to have a game like this; I am just looking to have some fun in this last stretch.”

Princeton head coach Banghart, for her part, acknowledged that she had to show some tough love to help the Tigers pull away down the stretch against Harvard.

“Our kids just owned up; I was pretty direct with them,” said Banghart. “At a timeout, I said basically that we are who we are because of how we defend and how we rebound and those two things have led us astray. There was a lot of looking at the bench for ‘bummer, shoot I missed that block out.’ I just said I had enough. We are going to clamp down and get the championship.”

Banghart liked the way Tarakchian handled things on Friday. “She was so great, 24 points and 11 rebounds, she was great on Saturday night last week,” said Banghart of Tarakchian, a first-team All-Ivy performer last year who is averaging 12.3 points and a team-high 9.4 rebounds this season.

“I think Annie’s slow start this year has been because she truly just wants to do whatever the team needs. I think what she needs to understand, and what I have been able to help her understand the last couple games, is that what we need her to do is to make shots and not get everybody else shots and not worry about everything else. She needs to rebound and make shots and the last two games, that is exactly what she has done.”

With Princeton riding a 12-game winning streak coming into the Penn showdown, Banghart has seen her team get better and better.

“I think we are more competitive on the floor while the clock is going,” said Banghart.

“We are way deeper on the bench, not only in energy but in accountability. We have a better understanding of situations. We are better and we are more experienced. Good teams get better in February and now we have to enjoy it.”

Banghart has certainly enjoyed coaching her Class of 2016. “There aren’t enough words or enough emotions to describe the journey that this group has been on and how they have gone about it,” asserted Banghart.

“They are truly accountable, they are better together. They have left such an impact on our program and on Princeton’s academic campus in a way that I am not sure another class will ever repeat. They came here with the expectation that they were going to do special things; a lot of people come with that expectation but they came with that work ethic. It is a really special class. The thought of tomorrow and the thought of Tuesday, it makes the winning less important. These are my ride and die guys and I am just so proud of what they have done.”

Tarakchian, for her part, is proud of the progress she has made individually under Banghart’s tutelage and the influence of her classmates.

“I have learned a lot from coach Banghart as a person, she is so competitive,” asserted Tarakchian, who had 902 points and 732 rebounds in her Princeton career through Saturday’s action.

“She believes in you when no one else does and I think that is huge. She helps you be confident in yourself and then to push each other to be better and to never be complacent. I think that being surrounded by such brilliance in my classmates and to be able to grow alongside those four, speaks for itself.”