HAMDEN — During the final minute of the second quarter, Quinnipiac women’s basketball attempted to get a shot off before the 30-second mark. But Princeton’s defense proved formidable everywhere except the glass, with the Tigers allowing three shot attempts from Quinnipiac before fouling graduate student forward Caranda Perea.
As Perea attempted her first free throw, the ball landed on the left side of the rim, wedged between the hoop and the backboard. It was stuck, much like Quinnipiac’s offense at that moment.
But Quinnipiac persisted, improving to 3-0 in a back-and-forth 74-66 victory over Princeton Saturday afternoon.
The Bobcats started hot, with Perea scoring the first nine points for Quinnipiac. The Altoona, Pennsylvania native finished the game with a double-double, putting up 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“I really come into the games trying to control what I can control,” Perea said. “Playing hard and my effort is something I can control, I didn’t even realize (the double-double) until after the game when someone told me.”
However, things started to cool down as Princeton settled and balanced out the score by the end of the first quarter.
While Quinnipiac focused on getting its playmakers the opportunity to score, Princeton ran a more balanced style of play. The Tigers’ quick ball movement was present on every possession — the team would give up a good shot for an even better one.
The conductor behind Princeton’s pass-oriented play is sophomore guard Ashley Chea, who proved she can not only distribute on offense but score as well. After scoring a contested three-pointer in the second half, Chea held the ball on the next offensive possession, waved off help from her teammates and scored an isolation mid-range shot to keep the Tigers neck-and-neck with Quinnipiac.
All game long, Princeton’s post-up offense served as the kryptonite for the Bobcats. It seemed like nine times out of 10 when the Tigers went to the post, it resulted in a bucket. A decent 30 of Princeton’s 66 points came from the paint.
“I think we just need to look back at the film and learn from it,” Perea said. “I think there’s just lapses in certain things and we’ll grow with each game and be better.”
Quinnipiac missed the presence of freshman point guard Gal Raviv, who received two quick fouls at the start of the game and headed to the bench until halftime.
Her return to the floor in the second half rejuvenated the Bobcats on offense. During the halfway mark of the third quarter, Raviv hit a James Harden-esque stepback from beyond the arc to increase Quinnipiac’s lead to six. The guard finished with 21 points in 27 minutes.
Things turned for the worst for Princeton during the fourth quarter. Junior guard Madison St. Rose appeared to suffer a non-contact injury during a shot attempt.
Quinnipiac was able to stave off any potential Princeton comeback down the stretch.
“We are really stringing together some great weeks,” head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “We want to remain very hungry day to day but today we get to celebrate a great win against a great program.”
The Bobcats will take on Cornell at M&T Bank Arena on Nov. 21 looking to increase their win streak to four. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
