NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Preview

Heading into its third consecutive NCAA Tournament, the 16th-seeded Harvard women's basketball team looks to do the unprecedented and seemingly impossible--defeat the number one seed.

Saturday night the Crimson (22-4, 12-2 Ivy) travels to Palo Alto to take on the Pac-10 champion, the nation's fifth-ranked team and the West region's number one seed, Stanford Cardinal (21-5, 17-1 Pac-10) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

No 16 seed has ever defeated a number one in either the men's or the women's tournament. Having to make history to advance to the second round, however, wasn't what Harvard had in mind.

With a relatively high Rating Percentage Index (RPI)--Harvard's 75th place in the RPI rankings was higher than seven other tournament qualifiers--the winningest regular season in Harvard history and its third consecutive Ivy League crown, the Crimson expected to garner a 14 or 15 seed.

A disappointing 78-67 loss to Dartmouth in the season finale coupled with the poor reputation of the Ivy League as a basketball conference, however, led to the Crimson being dealt a 16 seed for the second consecutive year.

"We were definitely disappointed at first with the 16 seed. It showed the lack of respect for the Ivy League and our team that the committee had," co-captain Allison Feaster said. "Then we just put it behind us because we knew that we had to focus on Stanford."

In last year's tournament the Crimson faced number one seed North Carolina, and was handed a 78-53 defeat. Now, facing a red-hot Stanford team on its home court, the odds are against the Crimson becoming the first Ivy team to advance past the first round in the women's tournament. Harvard, however, will look to use the valuable experience gained from last year's tournament in preparing for the Cardinal.

"We definitely learned a lot last year when we played North Carolina," senior Alison Seanor said. "We weren't really intimidated, but we weren't confident like we are this year. Now we know a little better what to expect, and what it's like to play a number one team."

Feaster leads Harvard in its quest for the upset. She finished the season leading the nation in scoring--to capture Harvard's first ever national scoring title--averaging 28.2 points per game and ended the year ranked 14th in the country in rebounding with 10.8 boards per contest.

If the Crimson is to stand a chance against the Cardinal, it will need yet another standout performance from its star.

Stanford, however, is sure to focus its defensive efforts on Feaster, so Harvard will need strong performances on of the best of the starting five, including Seanor and co-captain Megan Basil, as well as juniors Suzie Miller and Rose Janowski.

"Stanford knows all about [Feaster] and that she led the nation in scoring," Seanor said. "So they're going to double and triple team her, and force the rest of us to step up."

Seanor is fourth in the Ivies with 3.4 assists per game, while Miller leads the Ancient Eight and is ranked 16th in the nation with a .441 three-point field goal percentage. With most of the Cardinal attention going to Feaster, the Crimson will need other players to create scoring opportunities.

Miller, the Crimson's second-leading scorer, will also be counted on to take some of the pressure off of Feaster on the offensive end of the court. So to will the outside shooting of senior Sarah Brandt and the post play of junior Sarah Russell be crucial to the Crimson's success.

Stopping the Stanford attack, however, will be the Crimson's biggest obstacle. The Cardinal is riding a 15-game winning streak and comes into the tournament having won 19 of its last 20 games. Stanford began the season 2-4, but was without the services of its superstar forward Kristin Folkl during that stretch. Now the Cardinal will be forced into the same situation to finish its season.

Folkl, a second-team All-American and Player ofthe Year candidate, tore the anterior cruciate andmedial collateral ligaments in her left kneeduring practice on Tuesday and will miss the restof the Tournament. The loss of Folkl will clearlyhurt Stanford significantly.

Folkl's numbers for the season arejaw-dropping. The 6'2 junior finished the yearaveraging a team high 18.9 points and 9.2 reboundsper game, shooting an incredible 69.5 percent fromthe field. Making these numbers all the moreimpressive is the fact that they were all achievedcoming off of the bench--the Stanford standouthasn't started a game all season and only averaged25 minutes per contest.

The Cardinal may also have to face the Crimsonwithout another one of its stars, senior forwardVenessa Nygaard. Nygaard, an Honorable MentionAll-American, tore her ACL in the regular-seasonfinale against Oregon St. The 6'1" standoutaverages 14.9 points per game, shooting anoutstanding 46 percent from three-point land.

"Other than Nygaard, Stanford isn't that greatof an outside shooting team," Basil said. "So ifshe can't play we can focus more on stopping theirinside game, since they won't be able to hurt usas much from the outside."

Although Nygaard definitely will needoff-season surgery on her swollen knee, she isable to walk on it. Additionally, doctors havemedically cleared her to play, saying thatalthough the knee can give out at any time, italready requires surgery, so no extra damage willbe done by playing.

Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer has stated,however, that Nygaard will be held out of theHarvard game. Nygaard, though, insists that shecan play, and now faced with Folkl's injury, theCardinal may be forced to use her against theCrimson.

Harvard is not without injury problems of itsown. Sophomore forward Laela Sturdy suffered atorn medial collateral ligament in the Crimson'sloss to Dartmouth, leaving Harvard's front linedepleted heading into the Tournament.

Even without Folkl and Nygaard in the lineup,Stanford's strength will still be in itsfrontcourt, where the Cardinal boasts 6'2 seniorOlympia Scott--an Honorable Mention APAll-American--and 6'4 senior Heather Owen. Scottaverages 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds a game,while Owen drops 10 points and hauls in 5.2 boardsper contest.

"Stanford has an excellent frontcourt, so we'vebeen working really hard on our defense in thepaint," Basil said. "You can't stop them fromscoring, but with a tough inside presence, we canslow them down."

To contain Stanford's front line, the Crimsonwill look to its own Honorable MentionAll-American, Feaster. With an Ivy League-leading3.4 steals per game--16th best in thenation--Feaster likely would have been matched upagainst Folkl in key situations, setting the stagefor one of the better match-ups in the Tournament.With Folkl sidelined, how-ever, Feaster'sattention will turn to Scott and Owen.

Feaster will need help from Janowski to containStanford's bigger front line. Janowski will needto use her 6'2 frame and paint presence to deterScott and Owen.

Harvard, though, cannot focus solely on theStanford front line. Sophomore guard Milena Floresadds solid play from the point to the alreadypotent Cardinal attack. Flores has a 9.8points-per-game average to go along with her solid6.2 assists average, so she presents a threat toeither score on her own or dish off to openteammates.

Stanford will certainly miss the contributionsof Folkl and Nygaard. But even without them,Stanford is clearly a deep, talented team, theodds-on favorite to represent the West region inthe Final Four.

Despite being a huge underdog, the Crimson isnot discouraged. The entire team still believesthat it can shock the basketball world and pulloff what would rank as one of the greatest upsetsin Tournament history.

"We definitely feel that we have a chance towin," Feaster said. "We match up very well againstStanford, and if we play hard and everyone stepsup, we can give them a really tough game."

Even if Harvard falls short of its ultimategoal, a strong showing against Stanford will onlybe an additional positive to another superbseason. A good performance by the Crimson in theTournament will also do much to improve thereputation of the Ivy League, giving it therespect that it has long desired.

Also, as the end of the college careers ofseniors Feaster, Basil, Seanor, Brandt and KarunGrossman draws near, the Crimson would likenothing better than to go out with the same effortand quality of play that has marked the IvyLeague's all-time winningest class.

"We feel very confident, and the five seniorson this team have a lot of pride," Seanor said."This is our last season playing basketballtogether, and we want to end it with a bang."Crimson File PhotoINSEAN IN THE BRAIN: Senior ALISONSEANOR takes it strong to the hole in an earliergame against Boston University.

Folkl, a second-team All-American and Player ofthe Year candidate, tore the anterior cruciate andmedial collateral ligaments in her left kneeduring practice on Tuesday and will miss the restof the Tournament. The loss of Folkl will clearlyhurt Stanford significantly.

Folkl's numbers for the season arejaw-dropping. The 6'2 junior finished the yearaveraging a team high 18.9 points and 9.2 reboundsper game, shooting an incredible 69.5 percent fromthe field. Making these numbers all the moreimpressive is the fact that they were all achievedcoming off of the bench--the Stanford standouthasn't started a game all season and only averaged25 minutes per contest.

The Cardinal may also have to face the Crimsonwithout another one of its stars, senior forwardVenessa Nygaard. Nygaard, an Honorable MentionAll-American, tore her ACL in the regular-seasonfinale against Oregon St. The 6'1" standoutaverages 14.9 points per game, shooting anoutstanding 46 percent from three-point land.

"Other than Nygaard, Stanford isn't that greatof an outside shooting team," Basil said. "So ifshe can't play we can focus more on stopping theirinside game, since they won't be able to hurt usas much from the outside."

Although Nygaard definitely will needoff-season surgery on her swollen knee, she isable to walk on it. Additionally, doctors havemedically cleared her to play, saying thatalthough the knee can give out at any time, italready requires surgery, so no extra damage willbe done by playing.

Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer has stated,however, that Nygaard will be held out of theHarvard game. Nygaard, though, insists that shecan play, and now faced with Folkl's injury, theCardinal may be forced to use her against theCrimson.

Harvard is not without injury problems of itsown. Sophomore forward Laela Sturdy suffered atorn medial collateral ligament in the Crimson'sloss to Dartmouth, leaving Harvard's front linedepleted heading into the Tournament.

Even without Folkl and Nygaard in the lineup,Stanford's strength will still be in itsfrontcourt, where the Cardinal boasts 6'2 seniorOlympia Scott--an Honorable Mention APAll-American--and 6'4 senior Heather Owen. Scottaverages 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds a game,while Owen drops 10 points and hauls in 5.2 boardsper contest.

"Stanford has an excellent frontcourt, so we'vebeen working really hard on our defense in thepaint," Basil said. "You can't stop them fromscoring, but with a tough inside presence, we canslow them down."

To contain Stanford's front line, the Crimsonwill look to its own Honorable MentionAll-American, Feaster. With an Ivy League-leading3.4 steals per game--16th best in thenation--Feaster likely would have been matched upagainst Folkl in key situations, setting the stagefor one of the better match-ups in the Tournament.With Folkl sidelined, how-ever, Feaster'sattention will turn to Scott and Owen.

Feaster will need help from Janowski to containStanford's bigger front line. Janowski will needto use her 6'2 frame and paint presence to deterScott and Owen.

Harvard, though, cannot focus solely on theStanford front line. Sophomore guard Milena Floresadds solid play from the point to the alreadypotent Cardinal attack. Flores has a 9.8points-per-game average to go along with her solid6.2 assists average, so she presents a threat toeither score on her own or dish off to openteammates.

Stanford will certainly miss the contributionsof Folkl and Nygaard. But even without them,Stanford is clearly a deep, talented team, theodds-on favorite to represent the West region inthe Final Four.

Despite being a huge underdog, the Crimson isnot discouraged. The entire team still believesthat it can shock the basketball world and pulloff what would rank as one of the greatest upsetsin Tournament history.

"We definitely feel that we have a chance towin," Feaster said. "We match up very well againstStanford, and if we play hard and everyone stepsup, we can give them a really tough game."

Even if Harvard falls short of its ultimategoal, a strong showing against Stanford will onlybe an additional positive to another superbseason. A good performance by the Crimson in theTournament will also do much to improve thereputation of the Ivy League, giving it therespect that it has long desired.

Also, as the end of the college careers ofseniors Feaster, Basil, Seanor, Brandt and KarunGrossman draws near, the Crimson would likenothing better than to go out with the same effortand quality of play that has marked the IvyLeague's all-time winningest class.

"We feel very confident, and the five seniorson this team have a lot of pride," Seanor said."This is our last season playing basketballtogether, and we want to end it with a bang."Crimson File PhotoINSEAN IN THE BRAIN: Senior ALISONSEANOR takes it strong to the hole in an earliergame against Boston University.