W. Hoopsters Pass Road Test

They say there's no place like home, but the Harvard women's basketball team has not needed the friendly confines of Lavietes Pavilion to jump to a hardly-contested 5-0 start in league play.

The Crimson (11-6, 5-0 Ivy) returns home this weekend after playing 12 of its last 13 on the road with matchups against Penn (6-10, 2-2) tonight and Princeton (3-13, 2-2) tomorrow. Harvard, which is riding a 17-game league winning streak, enters tonight's contest in first place in the Ancient Eight, one half-game in front of Cornell.

"I'm sure Penn and Princeton are really eager to beat us to make the league more competitive," freshman forward Laela Sturdy said. "So these games are really important to maintain our dominance in the league."

The Crimson has been especially dominant against the Quakers in recent years. Although the overall series is close, 22-14 for Harvard, the combination of last year's Crimson prowess and Quaker woefulness led to two blowout victories for the Cantabs.

But this year's Quakers are anything but woeful. Penn has already posted two wins--over Columbia and Yale--a feat it did not accomplish until its 24th game of the season last year. Penn's last game was a one-point loss to second-place Cornell.

The Quakers have been more successful this season despite graduating Natasha Rezek--the school's third all-time leading scorer--mainly through balanced offense. Penn has a plethora of weapons, from the strong perimeter shooting of junior guard Colleen Kelly--who lit up Columbia for 29 points Friday--to the inside presence of junior Michelle Maldonaldo--whose 11.8 rebounds-per-game tie her for third in the nation.

Penn also has several young players who are making an impact early in their careers. Point guard Chelsea Hathaway and center Shelly Fogarty, both freshmen, are each two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week selections.

Youth, however, often means inexperience, and with a freshman at the point, a veteran Crimson defender could make it a long night for the Quakers.

"[Penn and Princeton] are both young teams, so we'll be pressuring them a lot," said co-captain Jessica Gelman, who will likely have the task of guarding Hathaway. "I'll yell 'ball' a lot to try to make her nervous."

Gelman's floor leadership has been one of many keys to Harvard's success this season. Gelman recorded a double-double against Brown last Friday, tallying 14 points and 11 assists, before adding 18 the following night against Yale.

The Crimson can also rely on the return of junior forward Allison Feaster, who suffered a twisted ankle in the opening minute against Yale. Feaster takes a 21.2 point-per-game scoring average into tonight's matchup, including 30 points against Brown. "Charlie" has also recorded 12 double-doubles, so her inside presence cannot be denied.

Despite her obvious dominance, there is much more to this team than Allison Feaster and Jessica Gelman.

The play of junior forward Alison Seanor--who poured in 10 points and grabbed five rebounds against Yale--has been superb of late, and Harvard's bench play has excelled all season. Sturdy, who got the call at the four-spot when Feaster went down against Yale, responded with 13 points and four rebounds.

"We have a lot of strong players on the bench who are always ready to step in," Sturdy said. "I'm used to practicing against Allison Feaster, so playing against some Yale player is not that difficult."

Princeton will have a multi-faceted Harvard attack to contend with Saturday night. The Tigers' 3-13 overall record is deceiving, as they have faced a tough non-conference schedule that included games against George-town and George Washington. The Tigers have posted victories over the Lions and the Elis and, like the Quakers, suffered a one-point heartbreaker against the Big Red last weekend.

Harvard will have to play tough interior defense against Princeton, which sports the 56.8 field goal percentage of forward Lea Ann Drohan. Harvard's front-court should be able to play Drohan physically, because of its team depth, and because she is a Shaq-esque 50 percent free-throw shooter.

On paper, Harvard should be sitting pretty with two victories at the end of the weekend. But Harvard's players know the game is not played on paper.

"I trust that we will beat both teams, but you have to be prepared every night in this league because every team is capable of winning," Gelman said.