TALL ORDER: Princeton University women’s basketball player Fadima Tall looks to pass the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, sophomore guard/forward Tall scored a team-high 17 points as Princeton fell 64-60 to visiting Columbia in an Ivy League first place showdown. The Tigers, now 18-6 overall and 9-2 Ivy League, play at Harvard on February 28 and at Dartmouth on March 1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Princeton University women’s basketball player Fadima Tall drew inspiration from some of the program’s former standouts as the Tigers hosted Columbia last Saturday evening in an Ivy League first place showdown.

“I think just having the people here who made this team was very encouraging,” said sophomore guard/forward Tall, referring to former players who were on hand as the University held its annual Alumni Day celebration. “They were at our shootaround and gave us words of encouragement. Then you have Ellie Mitchell and Julia Cunningham talking to me on the sidelines as I am in-bounding the ball. It is always nice to have.”

Trailing Columbia 27-24 at halftime, the Tigers put together a an encouraging third quarter, outscoring the Lions 20-11 to forge ahead 44-38.

“We always find a way to end our quarters well but one of our problems has been starting that new quarter fresh and not letting the other team get their momentum,” said Tall.

Unfortunately, Columbia seized momentum in the fourth quarter, going on a 13-0 run and then holding off the Tigers to earn a 64-60 before a crowd of 2,431 at Jadwin Gym. The loss dropped the Tigers to 18-6 overall and 9-2 Ivy League while Columbia improved to 19-5 overall and 10-1 Ivy. The setback snapped a 29-game home winning streak for the Tigers and Columbia became the first Ivy foe to sweep Princeton in a season since Penn did so in the 2016-17 campaign.

In reflecting on the fourth quarter, Tall acknowledged that the Tigers lost their composure a bit in the face of the Lions onslaught.

“They came out in a different press and they turned us over in the first two minutes,” said Tall. “I think we did get frazzled a little bit and that gave them a little bit of a boost. We just have to be better at overcoming that.”

As the Tigers battled back down the stretch, Tall gave Princeton a boost as she drained a three-pointer with four seconds left in regulation to narrow the Columbia lead to 62-60. Getting fouled on the shot, Tall missed her free throw on purpose in hopes that the Tigers could get a rebound and score the tying bucket. The Lions, though, got the rebound and added two free throws to seal the game.

“I didn’t know it was going in and then I hear my teammates on the sideline and my coach saying ‘miss it, miss it,’” said Tall, who ended up with a team-high 17 points in the loss. “I have never done that before. I think I missed it fine. There was a little altercation that didn’t go our way.”

Princeton head coach Carla Berube believed things were going the Tigers’ way after its third quarter surge.

“I thought we had a great third quarter, we shot the ball well,” said Berube. “I thought we executed well. We made some tough shots and got some good stops. I thought we had some great momentum going into the fourth quarter.”

Berube credited Columbia with executing well in the fourth quarter.

“Then the tides changed, they hit some big threes,” said Berube. “We turned it over a couple of times, some inopportune turnovers at that point. It was tough.”

While Princeton hung tough, the sharp shooting of Lions star Reilly Weiss, who ended up with a career-high 34 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, made the difference.

“It was a combination, when you turn the ball over, great teams are going to execute at the other end and make you pay for it,” said Berube. “They found their best player (Weiss) and got her some open looks. She made some tough shots. It was tough to stop her when she is feeling that hot. We had our opportunities. We are looking forward to hopefully seeing them again.”

With Princeton having lost 58-50 at Columbia on January 20, Berube saw progress in the rematch.

“I thought we did, for the most part, take care of the ball better versus their press,” said Berube. “There were not too many live ball turnovers. I thought we executed better and just had a better flow of our offense.”

The all-around play of Tall helped keep Princeton in the game.

“Fadima was great on both ends of the floor,” said Berube. “Defensively getting her hands on any ball that is even near her to hitting big shots, posting up strong and making some great interior shots and lay-ups. She is so strong and it is tough to stop her. I wish we had gotten the ball inside even more than we did, it happened last game as well. They are tough, they are smart. They are a good defensive team and they make things difficult offensively.”

Heading to New England next weekend to play at Harvard on February 28 and at Dartmouth on March 1, Berube is confident that the Tigers will produce a strong effort. “I think we have to take care of business for the rest of the season and in our sights right now is Harvard,” said Berube. “That is the next game on our schedule up in Cambridge.”

In Tall’s view, taking care of business for all 40 minutes is the main focus going forward.

“I think starting and finishing our quarters, I feel like we either start too soft or start too slow and we give them a chance to get on a run,” said Tall. “This was one of the games where we fell too deep in a pit to get back. Our middles are fine, we just have to work on keeping that mentality the whole game.”