Courtney Banghart has been here before. Her team, Princeton, hasn’t.
So when the Princeton women’s basketball team plays today against St. John’s in Tallahassee, Fla., in the opening round of the NCAA women’s tournament, Banghart at least has an idea what to expect.
Or does she?
“Even though I’ve been here four times — two as a player, two as an assistant coach — it’s different,” Banghart said. “As a player, you’re like, ‘Who am I guarding, when is the game, and what time’s the meal?’ As a coach, so much more goes into it.”
Banghart, 32, says she is still learning how to be a head coach. Clearly, she’s learning fast. In her third season, she has guided Princeton to a 26-2 record including a 14-0 mark in the Ivy League, good enough to be the 11th seed in the Dayton Region, The Tigers have won 21 straight games, last losing to Rutgers on Dec. 1.
A two-time All-Ivy League performer at Dartmouth, Banghart helped the Big Green to two conference titles. She hit a school-record 97 3-pointers as a junior during the 1998-99 season, and finished her career with a school record 273. She had been an assistant coach at Dartmouth for four seasons when Princeton athletic director Gary Walters called in 2007.
Despite having won eight Ivy titles, the Princeton women had never gone to the NCAA Tournament. Five of their titles had come before the Ivy League had an automatic bid to the NCAAs, and twice — in 1999 and 2005 — Princeton shared the regular-season championship with Dartmouth but lost playoffs for the postseason bid.
Walters liked Banghart’s energy, and he favors coaches who were standout players in their sport; it gives them credibility with their players, he said. He believed Banghart could turn things around at Princeton, though he had no idea she would do it this soon.
“My expectation usually is that you think they may be able to do it in the fourth year, but realistically, you expect it in the fifth year,’’ he said.
After going 7-23 in her first year, Banghart’s first recruiting class — which featured 6-3 center Devona Allgood and 6-foot guard Lauren Edwards — helped Princeton improve to 14-14 (9-5 in the Ivy League) last season.
This year Banghart added a pair of friends from California, Niveen Rasheed and Lauren Polansky, who have had a huge impact as freshmen. Rasheed, a 6-0 power forward, was the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Year after leading the Tigers in scoring (15.6 ppg), rebounding (8.8 rpg) and assists (80, in 28 games). Polansky, who played summer ball with Rasheed, took over as the starting point guard and has 73 assists in 26 games.
The duo is part of the enviable collection of talented Tigers. Another Californian, Edwards (13.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg) joined Rasheed on the All-Ivy first team, and 6-0 junior Addie Micir (12.6 ppg and 66 3-pointers) and Allgood (10.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, .574 field-goal percentage) were second-team selections.
A beefed-up schedule next season — Rutgers is still on tap, but Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, USC and Seton Hall have been added — will make another 26-2 record difficult. But with 10 of 12 players on the roster returning, they should still dominate the Ivy League.
Beyond that, the question now is: can Princeton — if the Tigers keep it up — someday break into the elite of women’s college basketball?
Banghart thinks yes.
“If Princeton can get the majority of kids that are qualified to play in the Ivy League to come here, there’s enough smart talent. Stanford’s doing it,” she said. “I mean, there’s enough talent that is also very bright and is goal-oriented and wants a great degree.
“We just have to get them. We can’t spread ‘em out across the league. We just have to get ‘em. That’s why I’m here.”
Colin Stephenson may be reached at cstephenson@starledger.com