Princeton passes one tourney test, faces another at Indiana
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Coach Carla Berube and the Princeton Tigers returned to Meeting Corridor with a business-like strategy Sunday.
Positive, there have been joyous smiles over Sue Fowl’s postgame textual content message to Berube after the Eleventh-seeded Tigers eradicated Southeastern Convention tourney champion Kentucky in Saturday’s first-round NCAA Match sport.
In any other case, not a lot modified after Princeton earned its first NCAA tourney victory since 2015 and the second in class historical past. Quite, everybody targeted squarely on the following massive impediment — beating third-seeded Indiana on its dwelling court docket Monday night time.
“It’s nice to be right here getting into the second spherical tomorrow,“ Berube stated along with her ordinary nonchalance. “It’s going to be an incredible problem taking over Indiana on this nice facility, with I’m positive many, many followers. We’ve turned the web page. Actually excited for the win final night time, however we’re not glad.”
Why ought to they be?
The Ivy League champs have received 18 consecutive video games, 16 by double digits. The Tigers (25-4) have received 42 consecutive convention video games, the longest Division I streak by any girls’s or males’s group, they usually’re one win away from reserving the primary Candy 16 journey in class historical past.
They usually’ve executed all of it after taking an 18-month hiatus from organized basketball due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Berube and her gamers didn’t get an opportunity to show themselves within the 2020 NCAA tourney, which was canceled, or final March once they watched everybody else play after league officers canceled the season.
“It wasn’t a straightforward 12 months off. We needed to join with one another via Zoom, we had to determine easy methods to get higher on our personal,“ guard Grace Stone stated. “It was robust. I used to be watching from my front room and it nearly didn’t really feel actual watching all these groups play. However I believe it made us hungrier.”
It actually confirmed towards Kentucky.
However what they noticed from the surging Hoosiers on tv final March was a group advancing to its first Elite Eight. What they see on movie now’s an enormous, robust, skilled, group motivated by making one more deep postseason run — enjoying it second NCAA sport on its dwelling court docket.
Indiana (23-8) wants one win to tie the college’s single-season victory mark. Grace Berger and Ali Patberg broke the college’s profession document with No. 89 Saturday towards No. 14 Charlotte.
And if they will work out to get win No. 90 towards Princeton they’d be going to a different Candy 16. It received’t be simple
“They minimize onerous, they play onerous and you’ll’t take a play off with this group,” Indiana coach Teri Moren stated, describing Princeton’s offense. “For those who bounce to the ball, they will beat you with a minimize and I believe that’s the place they put stress on you.“
HOME FINALE
Berger has already introduced she’ll return a fifth season, however Patberg will play her dwelling finale towards Princeton. She’s appeared in 4 NCAA tourneys in seven school seasons.
Patberg spent her first two years at Notre Dame, the primary as a medical redshirt, then sat out 2017-18 after transferring to Indiana. Patberg has performed the final 4 seasons for Moren and he or she’s not prepared for the journey to finish simply but.
“I’m making an attempt to remain within the second as a result of I need to win, I need to win unhealthy,“ Patberg stated. ”I’m making an attempt not to consider it, truthfully, however I’m grateful I’ll get one other alternative at Meeting Corridor and I need to profit from it. We need to profit from it.“
MEYERS MATCHUP
Moren plans to begin with Patberg on Ivy League participant of the 12 months Abby Meyers, who scored a career-high 29 factors in Saturday’s win. And it’s clear to Moren simply how troublesome defending Myers shall be.
“She’s most likely a greater athlete than she appears to be like,“ Moren stated. “To say she is on 10 on a regular basis, so far as her exercise, can be an understatement. She has a floater sport, an up-and-under sport. What we’ve seen with Ali is that each time Ali has a problem, she’s been nice.”
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