Women's Basketball Weekly Release - Week 14

Complete Women's Basketball Release in pdf format

Photos courtesy of Harvard and Princeton Athletic Communications

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Princeton (12-5, 3-0 Ivy) held on to first-place in the Ivy League standings after winning its 26th and 27th-straight Ivy games last week. But Harvard (12-6, 3-1 Ivy) and Dartmouth (5-13, 3-1 Ivy) also went 2-0 on the week to stay a half-game back of the Tigers.

Princeton’s conference winning streak is second only to No. 1 Baylor, which has won 32-straight regular-season conference games. The Tigers won their two games last week by an average of 38.5 points, defeating Cornell, 77-46, and Columbia, 87-41.

Against the Big Red, seniors Niveen Rasheed and Megan Bowen and sophomore Blake Dietrick combined for 50 points and hit 22 of Princeton’s 34 field goals. In the Tigers’ win over the Lions, five players scored in double figures, led by Rasheed’s 15 points.

Penn (9-8, 2-1 Ivy) went 2-0 on the week as well, defeating Columbia, 52-40, and Cornell, 65-56. Penn limited the Lions to just nine points on 2-of-20 shooting in the second half of their contest. Sophomore Kara Bonenberger and freshman Keiera Ray combined for 37 points while shooting 13-of-16 from the charity stripe to lead the Quakers to their win over Cornell. Bonenberger scored a career-best 22 points while hitting all seven of her free throws, including four in the final 1:16 to clinch the victory.

Cornell (10-8, 2-2 Ivy) was led by senior Clare Fitzpatrick, who averaged 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 52.9 percent from the field (9-of-17) and Columbia (2-16, 0-4 Ivy) saw senior Tyler Simpson score in double-figures in back-to-back games.

Harvard was led by sophomore Temi Fagbenle, who averaged 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 steals as the Crimson defeated Yale, 67-54, and Brown, 68-58. Harvard grabbed a season-high 50 rebounds against the Bulldogs, its highest total since recording 55 against Columbia on March 2, 2012. Against the Bears, the Crimson found itself trailing, 28-17 with 9:38 remaining in the first half, before outscoring its opponent 51-30 through the rest of the game to win by 10. Junior Christine Clark finished with 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in the victory.

Dartmouth has its first three-game winning streak since the 2010-11 season and its first three-game Ivy winning streak since the 2008-09 campaign, when the Big Green went 13-1 in Ivy play en route to winning the League. Dartmouth defeated Brown, 49-41, and Yale, 63-48, for its first Ivy road sweep since that 2008-09 season. Senior Faziah Steen led her team with 11 points against the Bears and 19 against the Bulldogs and now has scored in double-figures in five-straight games.

Brown (7-11, 1-3 Ivy) junior Lauren Clarke scored 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time in her career, recording her career-best sixth 20-point effort of the season. Yale (6-12, 1-3 Ivy) was led by sophomore Sarah Halejian, who averaged 12.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in the two games.

Back-to-back conference games continue this week as Princeton and Penn will travel to Brown and Yale and Harvard and Dartmouth will host Cornell and Columbia.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the third time this season and the 10th time in her career, senior Niveen Rasheed (Danville, Calif.) was named Player of the Week. Rasheed scored a game-high 21 points in Princeton’s win over Cornell on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, while recording five rebounds, two assists and one steal. In the Tigers’ win over Columbia, Rasheed posted game-highs in points (15) and rebounds (16), marking her highest rebounding total since recording 18 against DePaul on Dec. 13, 2011.

Rasheed, who was named to the State Farm "Wade Watch" on Monday, earns the 10th Player of the Week award of her career, tying her with Columbia’s Judie Lomax (2009-10) for fourth all-time in Ivy League history.

Rasheed's Statistics for the Week

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Harvard sophomore Temi Fagbenle (London) had the best two-game stretch of her career, which is saying something for the player who had received six Rookie of the Week and two Player of the Week honors. Fagbenle finished a rebound shy of a double-double in consecutive games, scoring a career-high 20 points at Yale along with nine rebounds, followed by 14 points and nine boards at Brown.

Fagbenle takes home her seventh Rookie of the Week award of the season, tying her for fifth all-time in Ivy League history with four players, including Penn’s Alyssa Baron (2010-11). Harvard has now earned 14 weekly awards this season, a new school record and one shy of the all-time record of 15, set by Princeton in 2009-10.

Fagbenle's Statistics for the Week

HONOR ROLL
Kara Bonenberger, Penn (So., F – Walnutport, Pa.)
6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 50.0 FG%, 100.0 FT% at Columbia
22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks, 50.0 FG%, 100.0 FT% at Cornell

Christine Clark, Harvard (Jr., G – Tucson, Ariz.)
6 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal at Yale
19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals at Brown

Lauren Clarke, Brown (Jr., G – Colts Neck, N.J.)
20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 100.0 FT% vs. Dartmouth
20 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 50.0 3FG%, 100.0 FT% vs. Harvard

Blake Dietrick, Princeton (So., G – Wellesley, Mass.)
17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 87.5 FG%, 66.7 3FG% at Cornell
12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 50.0 FG%, 50.0 3FG% at Columbia

Clare Fitzpatrick, Cornell (Sr., F – Southbury, Conn.)
11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 62.5 FG% vs. Princeton
12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks vs. Penn

Sarah Halejian, Yale (So., G – Wyckoff, N.J.)
10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 66.7 3FG% vs. Harvard
15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 100.0 FT% vs. Dartmouth

Allie Messimer, Yale (Sr., G – The Woodlands, Texas)
7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 50.0 3FG% vs. Harvard
14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 60.0 3FG%, 83.3 FT% vs. Dartmouth

Keiera Ray, Penn (Fr., G – Aurora, Ill.)
7 points, 2 rebounds at Columbia
15 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks at Cornell

Faziah Steen, Dartmouth (Sr., G – Detroit)
11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 100.0 FT% at Brown
19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 63.6 FG%, 83.3 FT% at Yale

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Friday, February 8
*Princeton at Brown, 6 pm
*Columbia at Dartmouth, 7 pm
*Cornell at Harvard, 7 pm
*Penn at Yale, 7 pm

Saturday, February 9
*Columbia at Harvard, 6 pm
*Penn at Brown, 6 pm
*Cornell at Dartmouth, 7 pm
*Princeton at Yale, 7 pm

KEY
*-Ivy League contest