Beanpot Battle: Women Cagers Tackle Gritty BU

Harvard women's basketball knows two simple words that could mean everything in tonight's matchup against Boston University at Briggs Cage.

"Press" and "run."

"[BU's] a fast-breaking, pressing, scrappy team," Co-Captain Deb Flandermeyer said. "But we're definitely ready to play them."

"BU's a tough, physical team, and they like to put on the pressure and run," Head Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "But that's OK for us, because that's what we like to do, too."

Harvard's last game was a 93-73 win over Central Connecticut State last Wednesday, but with Saturday's contest at UMass literally blown off the schedule--the weekend storm prevented Harvard from travelling to Amherst--the Crimson is getting as antsy as a five-year-old on Christmas Eve.

But it doesn't look like lack of game time will hinder the Crimson's performance.

"We're very excited," Co-Captain Erin Maher said. "We're ready to show that we can play with the rest of the teams from Boston."

Not only is this squad primed to play--they're ready for some down-and-dirty hoops.

In addition to the fast-paced playing style both teams covet, Harvard boasts a clear height advantage. Flandermeyer (6'3") and sophomore Tammy Butler (6'1") top off the Crimson roster, while BU's dominant front line player is only 5'11."

"We need to get the ball inside all night, and focus on stopping their center," Flandermeyer said. "We have to use our height advantage."

BU's Julie Schmidt (who averages 15 points per game), Jill Sosnack (20 ppg), Ann Marie Olsen (10 points, 7 rebounds per game) and notoriously speedy point guard Andrea Higgins will lead the Terrier attack.

"Player for player, we are the better team," Maher said. "We just have to focus and get it together."

The game begins at 7p.m.. Admission is free.

California Dreamin'

But anyone who follows women's basketball at Harvard knows that it might be a bit difficult to concentrate on just BU tonight. It's inevitable that visions of Cardinals are dancing, pressing, rebounding, scoring and leaping in Crimson heads.

Harvard leaves this Wednesday for the Stanford Tournament, scheduled for December 18-19, and hosted by none other than the defending NCAA champions.

THE NOTEBOOK: Flandermeyer is just 14 points shy of the 1,000 point milestone, a mark teammate maher passed earlier this season against Lehigh. Flandermeyer will be only the seventh player to accomplish this feat...Maher is leading the Ivy League in scoring, averaging 18.0 points per contest. She also leads the league in three-point percentage, hitting 52.2 percent of her bombs...Butler is the Ancient Eight's leading rebounder, grabbing WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: IVY LEAGUE STANDINGS

Team  Conf.  Overall  Home  Away   Streak Princeton  0-0  4-1  3-0  1-1  Won 4 Harvard  0-0  2-1  2-1  0-0  Won 1 Cornell  0-0  3-2  2-0  1-2  Won 1 Columbia  0-0  3-3  1-1  2-2  Won 1 Brown  0-0  2-2  1-1  1-1  Won 1 Yale  0-0  2-2  1-0  1-2  Won 1 Dartmouth  0-0  0-2  0-1  0-1  Lost 2 Pennsylvania  0-0  0-4  0-1  0-3  L ost 4 STATISTICAL SCORING LEADERS

League  Overall

Player/School  GP  Pts  Avg  GP< Tab>Pts  Avg Maher, Harvard  0  0  0.0  3  54  18.0 Weaver, Brown  0  0  0.0  4  71  17.8 Dieterle, Penn  0  0  0.0  4  62  15.5 Kalich, Yale  0  0  0.0  4  61  15.3 STATISTICAL REBOUNDING LEADERS

League  Overall

Player/School  GP  Reb  Avg  GP< Tab>Reb  Avg Butler, Harvard  0  0  0.0  3  43  14.3 Dieterle, Penn  0  0  0.0  4  46  11.5 Rezek, Penn  0  0  0.0  3  31  10.3