New York Roadtrip Matches W. Hoops Against League Foes

The Harvard women’s basketball team travels to the empire state this weekend to battle Cornell today and Columbia tomorrow.

Riding a wave of eight consecutive victories, the Crimson (17-5, 8-1 Ivy) has stormed to the top of the Ivy League standings. Cornell (14-9, 8-2) lies in second while Columbia (11-11, 5-5) still has a chance to close out the season above .500.

In addition, Harvard sophomore Hana Peljto was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the second time in as many weeks. Peljto put up 21 points and eight rebounds against Penn last Friday and recorded 22 points and a career high 19 rebounds against Princeton the following night.

A similar accolade was bestowed on Harvard freshman Reka Cserny as she was selected as Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the fifth time this season. Cserny had a career high seven steals along with a game high 26 points in Harvard’s match up against the Quakers.

Both players will lead the Crimson in its matchup against second-place Cornell who trails Harvard by only a half a game.

Friday’s contest comes only two weeks after the Crimson defeated the Big Red to claim the top spot in the league. That win came before a home crowd and was tightly contested till the final minute of play. Down 59-47 with two minutes left, the Big Red mounted a comeback.

The Big Red cut Harvard’s lead to three, 59-56, with still forty seconds left when Cornell forward Lynell Davis stole a backcourt pass intended for Cserny and converted it to two points on the other end.

After a quick Cornell foul, sophomore guard Dirkje Dunham converted both shots of her one-and-one opportunity to seal the win for Harvard.

“We got a little tentative, conservative and cautious and that got us in trouble,” Delaney-Smith said after the first meeting between the teams. “We will not let that happen again.”

A Cornell win would propel the Big Red past the Crimson in the standings going into the last month of the season. A loss would drop them a game and a half back, but still guarantee Cornell its second winning season since the 1972-73 season.

The Big Red’s tri-captains will also be playing their last home series at the Newman arena. The three seniors, Do Stevens, Breean Walas, and Melissa Kock will leave as the winningest class in the program’s history, but not before vying for an Ivy League crown.

On Saturday Harvard will travel into Manhattan to face Columbia.

The Lions will be playing their last home game of the season with a chance to record a win against the Crimson. It would only be Columbia’s second win over Harvard.

Coming off a big loss to Yale, Columbia will use a balanced attack against the Crimson. The Lions have five scorers that average more than seven points per game.

Columbia is also one of the better hands teams in the league, averaging 15 assists and over five steals per game. Defensively, the Lions are not as strong, and have allowed an average of 72 ppg. Nevertheless, letting down its guard after the big Cornell game could prove costly for the Crimson.

“Our offense is so strong that I think it’s going to take care of itself,” said senior guard Jenn Monti on Jan. 31 “It’s our defense that’s going to win or lose games.”