Basketball Recap: Jemiah Buford's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Princeton over Washington

Princeton and Washington squared off in some playoff action on Saturday, but Princeton had to settle for second. They took a 49-37 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Washington Hatchets. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 139th, while the Hatchets are ranked 19th).

Jemiah Buford

Field Goal Percentage

02/08/25 vs Washington	50%
02/07/25 vs Jasper	60%
01/30/25 @ Heritage Hills	67%
01/27/25 @ Vincennes Lincoln	57%
01/25/25 @ Tecumseh	56%
+ 4 more games

Several Tigers players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Jemiah Buford, who went 5 of 10 on her way to 10 points along with five boards and four steals. Buford is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as she's posted one of at least 45% in the last nine games she's played. Another player making a difference was Nya Dame, who posted nine points and three steals.

Washington's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Olivia Gilley led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds. That's the most boards Gilley has posted since back in December of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Katie Reed, who had 11 points and five rebounds.

Princeton's defeat dropped their record down to 11-13. As for Washington, the victory was the 21st in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 23-2.

Princeton does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Washington, they will challenge Greensburg at 7:00 p.m. on February 15th. One thing working in Greensburg's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last eight matches.