Ivy Play Continues for Crimson

The Harvard women’s basketball (8-8, 1-1 Ivy) continues its Ivy League season with a pair of games at home this weekend. The Crimson is set to play Penn (3-13, 0-1 Ivy) on Friday and Princeton (4-13, 1-0 Ivy) on Saturday.

Harvard avenged its one Ivy League loss to Dartmouth in the teams’ second meeting. On Jan. 26 in New Hampshire, the Crimson came back from being down, 28-20, at the half to pull out the 47-34 win.

Solid play on the defensive end helped Harvard achieve victory over the Big Green. The Crimson had a season-high 54 team rebounds on the day. In addition to rebounds,

“I would have to credit our defense,” head coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. “It was extremely tough and gritty.”

Delaney-Smith noted that both Penn and Princeton’s records can be misleading and the Crimson will have to come out with intensity against both teams.

“There are very different teams but if you look at win loss record is very deceptive because they are both very strong teams,” said Delaney-Smith.

Harvard can expect a physically demanding game out of Penn.

“We are ready to be tough, especially in the low post. ” junior Katie Rollins said. “They are going to bring their ‘A’ game.”

After starting off the season with a 3-3 record, the Quakers went on a ten-game losing streak. In its last contest, Penn lost to Seton Hall, 67-50.

Penn does have some scoring threats that Crimson will need to keep an eye on. Junior Carrie Biemer is the team’s high scorer, averaging 11.9 points a game. Quaker junior Kelly Scott also averages double digits with 10.8 points.

The last time Penn defeated Harvard was in 2004 in a narrow 73-72 victory.

Princeton will offer more of a challenge for the Crimson. Princeton’s victory over Penn on Jan. 12 snapped the Tiger’s seven-game losing streak. Three of those losses came from teams ranked in the top 25 in the nation.

A major part of Harvard’s game plan will be shutting down the Tigers’ high scorer. Senior Megan Cowher leads her team and the Ivy League with 17.8 points per game. Cowher is also a presence under the boards, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game.

“Cowher is one of the stronger players in the league,” said Delaney-Smith. “She attracts the double and we are going to have to help out on defense.”

Princeton also features potent outside shooters in Addie Micir and Ali Prichard, who respectively boast .400 and .379 shooting percentages from behind the arc.

The Crimson will rely on its core of veteran players to lead the team this weekend. Senior captain Lindsay Hallion leads the league with a .792 free-throw percentage. Rollins is first in the Ivies in field goal percentage at a.554 clip.

Along with its usual contributors, the Crimson will look to freshman Emma Markley to once again be a presence this weekend. Markley is coming off an impressive showing at Dartmouth, where she scored a career high 13 points and had eight rebounds in just 15 minutes of play.

“She is a new and added dimension that people haven’t seen on film, so she will definitely be an asset this weekend,” said Delaney- Smith.

Having won the Ivy League championship last season, the Harvard players realize that opposing teams have an added incentive to win when they visit Lavieties.

“When we are on the floor we have a target on our back because we won the league last year, said junior Nikki Finelli. “So every team is going to be gunning for us but we are going to be ready.”

—Staff writer Alison E. Schumer can be reached at schumer@fas.harvard.edu.