W. Cagers Play Catch-up With Ivy Rivals at Home

All of the upperclassmen on the Harvard women's basketball team know the exhilaration of winning an Ivy League title--they have never failed to capture the championship.

But if the Crimson is to win a fourth consecutive conference crown this year, it will have to do so via a route with which no member of the squad is familiar--playing catch-up.

Fresh off its first consecutive Ivy losses in five years last weekend, Harvard (6-10, 3-2 Ivy) will host Princeton (10-7, 5-0) and Pennsylvania (7-10, 3-2) tonight and tomorrow, respectively. Both games tip off at 6 p.m.

For the first time since the 1994-95 season, when the Crimson posted an 11-3 record and finished second in the Ivy, Harvard finds itself out of first place. The Crimson is tied for third place with the Quakers. Both are trailing second-place Dartmouth (11-6, 4-1) by one game and the first-place Tigers by two games.

"I think there are a number of things that are different this year from last year," said co-captain Sarah Russell. "The reason Princeton is only as good as they are is that they have been consistent. We haven't been as consistent."

This weekend presents an opportunity for Harvard to move up in the standings. With Dartmouth scheduled to face Penn and Princeton as well, Harvard could emerge from the weekend in a three-way tie for first place should the Crimson sweep its games and the Big Green defeat the Tigers on Saturday night.

If Princeton holds off Dartmouth, Harvard is guaranteed to be no less than one game out of first place with two victories this weekend. However, one loss could spell disaster for Harvard, whose margin of error all but disappeared after its losses at Yale and Brown last weekend.

Princeton, the pre-season favorite for the Ivy title, enters the weekend as the Ivy League's new team to beat. The Tigers are 5-0 in conference play for the first time since double round-robin play began in 1982. After a 2-7 start, Princeton is currently on an eight-game winning streak--its longest since it won nine in a row during the 1977-78 season.

The Tigers are led by the guard tandem of Kate Thirolf and Maggie Langlas. Thirolf is third in the league in rebounding (7.2 per game), and she is coming off her season-high scoring output of 21 points against Columbia last Friday.

The key to Princeton's success, however, is its defense. The Tigers lead the Ivies in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense.

"We're not expecting them to take us very seriously," Russell said.

Penn has a one-two punch of its own, but unlike the Tigers, the Quakers' dynamic duo is an offensive-minded, inside-outside threat by the names of Diana Caramanico and Mandy West.

Caramanico was last season's Ivy League Rookie of the Year, and she is making a serious bid for Ivy Player of the Year this season. The sophomore forward averages 21 points and 12 rebounds per game to lead the Ivies.

West, a junior transfer from Boston College, scored 28, 31 and 15 points in Penn's three victories.

"They have a very strong inside game," said co-captain Suzie Miller. "Caramanico and West shoot the ball every time they touch it."

Last year, Harvard split a pair of nail-biters with Princeton in which the home team won each game.

Penn was a different story.

Harvard blew Penn away twice last season with 14 three-pointers in Philadelphia and another 15 in Cambridge.

If Harvard is to pull off the weekend sweep, it will have to do so without its leading scorer. Junior forward Laela Sturdy tore ligaments in her right ankle last Friday at Yale and could be out for the season. Sturdy was averaging 12.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game before her injury.

With Sturdy sidelined, Harvard will have to find its offense elsewhere, something it failed to do last weekend. The Crimson has plenty of weapons who can get the job done, but potential alone will not put points on the scoreboard.

"With Laela gone, we lose a lot of firepower," Russell said. "I think what we are worried about, though, is bringing the level of our team's game to the next level."

Senior center Rose Janowski has shown that she can carry the load, and the Crimson will look to her even more this weekend. Janowski has had some big games this year, most recently last Saturday's 18-point performance at Brown.

Harvard also has a slew of guards who will need to let the shots fly if the Crimson is to notch two weekend wins. Miller, junior Courtney Egelhoff and freshman Katie Gates are all excellent shooters who can drill the ball from a distance.

Ultimately, Harvard's success this weekend may hinge upon its guards' ability to score against Princeton's backcourt and its overall ability to contain the Caramanico-West combination.

Harvard has won the last three Ivy League titles in dominant fashion. This year the Crimson will have to win by coming from behind. It remains to be seen if a change will do Harvard good.