The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Villanova holds off Princeton to stay unbeaten
PRINCETON, N.J. » The Villanova women’s basketball needed a stop to keep its unbeaten start to the season alive and repel an upset-minded Princeton.
The plan was to switch everything.
Bridget Herlihy blocked a 3-point attempt as time expired and the 25th-ranked Wildcats held on to beat the Tigers, 62-59, despite failing to score in the final four minutes after they took a nine point lead on Wednesday night.
“We go over that situation stuff in practice everyday,” senior guard Alex Louin said. “We just wanted to switch everything and make sure they didn’t get an open look. Bridget was actually pretty clutch. She had a couple 3s and had that block.”
Louin finished with 16 points, Adrianna Hahn had 15 and Mary Gedaka chipped in 12 off the bench for Villanova (6-0), which is ranked in the Associated Press poll for the first time since 2004.
“We think it puts a target on our back,” Louin said. “When we’re playing top-25 teams, we’re extra aggressive because if you beat at top-25 team your hopes of going to the (NCAA) tournament increase exponentially.”
Princeton (3-2) led for over 24 minutes in an attempt to knock off a ranked opponent for the first time since a victory over No. 18 Rutgers in 1978.
“I don’t think they’re the better team, which says a lot for where we are,” Tigers coach Courtney Banghart said. “You don’t like to squander opportunities and this was an opportunity.”
Sophomore Bella Alarie scored a game-high 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds.
“If you haven’t had a chance to see her live,” Banghart said, “she’s worth it.”
Alarie, who spent the summer playing for USA basketball’s U-19 team, entered play averaging 17 points per game. She was connected on all three of her attempts from beyond the arc and was 6-for-6 at the line.
“Our team fought the whole game,” Alarie said. “I thought a lot of people stepped up. There was a lot of heart (and) energy on the court. Near the end of the game, we were cheering each other on more. We knew it was a toe to toe battle.”
Villanova used a 14-5 run in the fourth quarter to take a 62-53 lead. Herlihy, who had a career-best eight points, scored five during the run.
Alarie had all 11 Tiger points in the fourth quarter until Abby Meyers made a layup with 40.9 seconds left that cut the deficit to three.
Neither team scored in the final 40 seconds — Hahn missed a pair of free throws and after Princeton advanced the ball with a timeout, Herlihy blocked Gabrielle Rush’s 3-point attempt.
“Eventually, we made some big shots and were able to get up nine,” Villanova coach Harry Perretta said. “We’ve been doing the same thing every game and just hanging on at the end. … I don’t know how much longer it can last, but right now it’s good enough.”