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ANNIE TARAKCHIAN ILDN HALFTIME INTERVIEW

PRINCETON, N.J. – Blake Dietrick became just the 22nd player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau as the No. 22/24 Princeton University women's basketball team opened Ivy League play with an 83-54 victory over the University of Pennsylvania.

Extending its Ivy record start to 17-0, Princeton won its 10th-consecutive conference opener against Penn (7-5), improving to 13-2 against the Quakers under eight-year head coach Courtney Banghart.

Needing just seven points to join the Tigers' 1,000-point club, Dietrick reached the milestone on a three-pointer with 7:39 remaining in the first half. Hitting 5-of-6 triples, she finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds.

Knocking down seven of her 10 shot attempts, Michelle Miller had 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Alex Wheatley was 6-of-11 from the floor, posting 13 points and six boards, while Annie Tarakchian grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds. Playing 28 minutes, the junior also added eight points and four assists.

With the score knotted at 2-2, Wheatley ducked into the paint for two before Miller drove baseline and kicked it out to Amanda Berntsen for a wide open three-pointer. Getting out in transition, Dietrick capped off a 7-0 Princeton spurt that staked the home team to an early 9-2 edge.

Battling back, Penn trimmed the deficit to two with a 10-5 run over the next 2:25. Putting the brakes on the Quaker rally, Tarakchian drained a triple from the left side before a Miller pull-up jumper and Dietrick free throw stretched the margin to 20-12.

After a Kara Bonenberger layup inside of the eight-minute mark made it 20-17, Dietrick dialed in a triple at 7:39 to surpass the 1,000-point plateau. Miller padded the cushion with a jumper before Berntsen connected on 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to extend the lead to 26-17.

Ahead by six in the latter stages of the opening period, the Tigers outscored the Quakers 9-5 in the half's final 4:47. Wheatley kicked off the run with a free throw before a Dietrick layup coupled with another Miller jumper upped the margin to 11. A Wheatley bucket on Princeton's ensuing possession gave the Tigers their largest lead of the frame at 33-20.

Holding onto a 35-25 lead at the intermission, the Orange and Black netted the first 11 points of the second period. Tarakchian opened the scoring spree with a three from the top of the key before Berntsen knifed into the paint for two.

After forcing a steal, Wheatley went coast-to-coast to give the Tigers a 42-25 advantage. Miller continued the Princeton run with a basket at 16:39 before Wheatley closed out the stretch with a layup the next time down the floor.

Netting the Quakers first points of the period with a jumper at 15:48, Beth Brzozowski momentarily trimmed the Penn deficit to 46-27, but Princeton answered with another dominating 10-2 run to build a 27-point margin. Wheatley got things started with back-to-back layups before Dietrick sunk a three following a Bonenberger bucket. Vanessa Smith then went 3-for-4 from the free throw line to make it 56-29 with 12:52 remaining in regulation.

Up by as much as 33 with 3:25 on the clock, the Tigers shot 50.0 percent (33-66) from the floor and 50.0 percent (9-18) from long distance. Limiting the Quakers to 39.2 percent (20-51) shooting, Princeton finished with a 44-32 rebounding edge while also helping to force 17 turnovers. Dishing out 22 assists as a team, the Tigers' eight turnovers matched a season low.

After a 20-day hiatus for exams, Princeton will return to action on Friday, Jan. 30 at Harvard.