The Princeton Tigresses led for 28 seconds in the first quarter and for the final two minutes and 15 seconds in the fourth quarter.

All told, they held the lead for only 2:43, but that was all they needed to pull out a 47-42 victory over rival LaSalle-Peru in the Ottawa Girls Holiday Tournament Friday afternoon at Kingman Gym.

“We got down by more than we wanted to in the first quarter (16-9). You’re never going to gain it all back at once. But we felt like we got ourselves in a good position down five at the half,” Princeton coach Tiffany Gonigam said.

“I think in the third quarter it was a two-point game and ‘Hey, this is what we want to do, just keep chipping away at it.’ They just kept fighting.”

Seniors Camryn Driscoll (23) and Keighley Davis (12) combined for 35 to lead the Tigresses to their ninth straight victory to start the season.

L-P coach Adam Spencer knew that math wasn’t going to add up well for his Cavaliers.

“They had 23 and 12, so that’s 35. If we’re struggling to get to 40, right, and if they’ve got two girls with 35, it’s going to be a night,” Spencer said.

“That’s how our season has been. We’re looking for somebody to score. Most games we don’t have anybody in double figures.”

It’s no secret for the Tigresses, as the Driscoll-Davis duo rolls, so do the Tigresses.

“That’s who we’re going to look for all the time,” Gonigam said. “They’re just steady for us. They’re constant. They’re seniors. They’ve been through a lot of experience. A lot of games. So we know we can rely on them in close games.”

L-P scored the first six points of the game on the way to a 16-9 lead with Drew Depenbrock (7) and Alexus Hines (6) doing most of the damage, each with a 3-pointer.

Driscoll kept the Tigresses close scoring eight of their nine points.

“Twenty two (Driscoll) took over. You can tell she plays a lot of basketball,” Spencer said. “The Davis girl has been on the top of that press for four years. They kind of know their spots.

A putback by Danika Burden and a hoop by Davis drew the Tigresses within 23-17 at the half.

Burden brought the Tigresses even at 30 with another rebound basket and 3-pointer by Davis evened the score again at 33.

Hines put the Cavs back in the lead at quarter’s end with a layup.

A basket in the post by Margaret Boudreau and two tosses from the charity striped pushed the Cavs’ lead to 39-35 early in the fourth quarter.

Then the Tigresses went to work. In a bit of role reversal, Driscoll scored on the break on a pass from Davis and then drove the lane for two more to tie the game at 39.

Freshman Payton Brandt scored in the post at the 2:15 mark to give the Tigresses a lead they would never give up, padding it with two free throws 22 seconds later.

Davis scored on a runout and Driscoll dropped in a pair of free throws to send the Tigresses to victory.

“We kind of wore down and had some fouls,” Spencer said.

Hines and Depenbrock each had 12 points for the Cavs (4-6).

Both teams will return to action Saturday against Joliet Catholic Academy with the Cavs playing at 10:30 a.m. and the Tigresses at 4:30 p.m.