TOUGH FINISH: Princeton University women’s basketball player Abby Meyers drives to the basket in a game earlier this season. Last Friday, freshman Meyers scored a team-high 13 points in a losing cause as 12th-seeded Princeton fell 77-57 to fifth-seeded Maryland in Raleigh, N.C. in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The defeat left the Tigers with a final record of 24-6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Even though the 12th-seeded Princeton University women’s basketball team only trailed fifth-seeded Maryland 31-26 at halftime in a first round NCAA tournament game last Friday in Raleigh, N.C., Courtney Banghart saw red flags on the horizon.

“I liked the score but we weren’t able to generate the type of offense and the discipline defensively that we had the weekend before,” said Princeton head coach Banghart, whose team had routed Penn 63-34 in the Ivy League tourney final on March 4 to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tourney. “We just could never really get a handle on the game.”

In the early stages of the third quarter, Maryland seized control of the game, going on an 8-0 run and never looking back on the way to a 77-57 win.

“It was our worst outing of the year,” lamented Banghart, whose team was outrebounded 43-25 and shot 37.7 percent from the field (20-for-53) as it ended the winter with a 24-6 record. “You only get one chance in the NCAA until you earn another one.”

Banghart credited seniors Leslie Robinson, Kenya Holland, and Tia Weledji with earning the respect and affection of their teammates.

“This group has shown how far leadership can take you,” asserted Banghart. “It is that quote that Brad Stevens always says, good players make for good teams, great teammates make for great teams and our seniors were just really great teammates.”

With sophomore star Bella Alarie, the Ivy Player of the Year, returning along with freshman standouts Carlie Littlefield and Abby Meyers, and a trio of juniors in Sydney Jordan, Gabrielle Rush and Qalea Ismail, the Tigers appear to be in very good position heading into next season.

“We have a lot of young guys who had considerable minutes,” said Banghart.

“They have learned from the older guys how to be a teammate and the combination of talents and teammates makes you a really great team.”

In Banghart’s view, the younger guys will benefit from the hard experience of the loss to Maryland.

“It is such a big atmosphere; it is a survive and advance mentality,” said Banghart.

“It is the mortality of your season hanging in the wings. Like anything, you get better at it the more you do it. The group that played a lot of minutes for us hadn’t played significant minutes before in this environment.”

In the meantime, the Tigers will focused on getting better individually as they get to work this spring.

“With a young team, you have a lot of physicality to work on; we have got to be in the weight room and get those bodies cut more and more to be college ready,” said Banghart.

“Individually, we break them down very carefully in terms of what their next steps are as athletes and players.”