W. Hoops plays well but falls to princeton in OT

With 13.8 seconds remaining in the first Ivy League match-up of the new year, Princeton, the pre-season Ivy favorite, was down by one bucket, 55-53. Maggie Langlas, Princeton's high scorer of the game with 23 points and eight rebounds, drove to the basket with 6.6 seconds left on the clock. The score suddenly became 55-55. Penn had just one more chance for victory. Erin Ladley threw up the last jump shot of the game, but it was too late. The buzzer rang, ending regulation. During overtime Princeton owned the game. On January 4 at the Palestra, the Penn women's basketball team (2-8 overall, 0-1 Ivy League) opened its Ivy season against Princeton (1-0, 6-7). The two rivals went neck and neck throughout the entire game, but the Tigers rallied with 12 points in overtime to defeat the Quakers 67-58. Princeton, who came in with a three-game winning streak -- including a 2-0 mark at La Salle's First Union Classic on December 29-30 -- was ready for another close game. "We've had a lot of pressure situation games. Both games in the LaSalle tournament were close games that we've pulled out of in the end," Princeton coach Liz Feeley said, adding that, "we've been tested." Princeton did not solely rely on its ability to prevail in pressure situations. From the get-go the Tigers planned to "zone in on [Diana] Caramanico and [Mandy] West," Feeley said. With this game plan, the Tigers hoped to avoid a struggle at the end. Caramanico, Penn's power forward, and West, the team's point guard, are the marquee players of the Penn team. "Our team feels comfortable with the ball in their hands," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. Although the ball was in both players' hands for the majority of the game, neither player capitalized on her shot opportunities. Caramanico shot 4-for-23 from the field while West hit 4-for-17, including 0-for-5 from the three-point range. Despite Princeton's success in shutting down Caramanico and West, the Quakers gave the Tigers a struggle until the buzzer rang in regulation. However, Langlas' tying basket gave the visitors from Old Nassau the momentum they needed to prevail in overtime. Princeton's Hillary Reser opened the scoring in overtime with a 20-foot three pointer. That was the only field goal the Tigers scored out of their 12 points in overtime, as the other nine came courtesy of the charity stripe. "We put them away in overtime," said Reser, who scored five of her seven points in the extra session. "The momentum was with Princeton," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. "They came up big in overtime with foul shots." The Tigers were led by the dynamic duo of Langlas and junior Kate Thirolf. Thirolf had a double-double with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Despite Caramanico's shooting percentage, she led the Quakers with a double-double, 16 points and 15 rebounds. Penn center Jessica Allen also had a double-double, grabbing 11 points and 12 boards. West and Ladley both scored in double figures, netting 12 and 13 respectively for the Penn effort.