51·çÁ÷

'xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags' />Jan. 27, 2004'xml:namespace prefix = o ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office' />

Contact: Amanda Brickell

Hamilton, NY — The 51·çÁ÷ women’s basketball picked up its second runaway victory in as many games with an 87-57 win over Princeton in non-conference action Tuesday night at Cotterell Court.

51·çÁ÷ dominated early taking off on a 14-point run ignited by five straight foul shots and capped by a jumper from Malissa Burke (Traverse City, Mich.) at 12:13 giving the Raiders an 18-4 lead.  Princeton chipped away at 51·çÁ÷’s lead and would come as close as eight points with just under four minutes remaining in the half.  At the break the Raiders held a 34-25 advantage heading into the locker room.

The Raiders shot 42.3 percent on 11-of-26 from the field and were solid at the line making 11-of-15 freebies in the first.  The Tigers were 10-for-31 from the field and three-for-eight from three-point range.  A pesky Raider defense caused 11 turnovers, but the Tigers were close behind with nine.  51·çÁ÷ held a slight edge in rebounding with 20 boards while Princeton brought down 19.

The Raiders opened the second with a 12-2 run to increase their advantage to 43-28 by the 15 minute mark and would not look back.  51·çÁ÷ protected the ball well on offense committing just three second-half turnovers while forcing 11.  Shooting a solid 49.1 percent from the field, 51·çÁ÷ led by as many as 32 before the dust settled and the Raiders came away with the 87-57 win.

Burke and Junior Emily Braseth (E. Grand Rapids, Mich.) put up 20 points apiece combining for just under half of 51·çÁ÷’s points.  Braseth’s tenacious defense caused her to come away with a career-high six steals.  Burke’s performance gives her 1,235 career points and moves her into ninth place on 51·çÁ÷’s all-time scoring list.

Leandra Fuller (Harrisburg, Pa.) added nine points and joined teammate Meghan Curtin (Bronx, N.Y.) with a team-high six rebounds on the night.  Devon Warwick (Amesbury, Mass.) saw considerable action in the contest putting up a season-high 12 points in nine minutes of play.  Freshman Carly Brescacin (Tecumseh, Ont.) pulled down a career-high six boards in the victory.

The Raiders, who are 2-0 against Ivy League opponents this season, move to 11-7 overall with the victory while Princeton falls to 4-10 overall.  51·çÁ÷ is back in action on the road Friday as they face Bucknell at 5:30 p.m. in conference play.  The team then closes out the Patriot League weekend in a Sunday afternoon contest at Lehigh.  Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.