Women's Basketball Hosts Penn, Princeton with First Place on the Line

It will be a clash of the titans this weekend at Lavietes Pavilion as the Harvard women’s basketball team (8-9, 3-1 Ivy) takes on Penn and Princeton, the two teams sandwiching the Crimson in the Ivy League standings.

In a series of games that will go a long way in deciding the recipient of the Ancient Eight’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Harvard faces the Quakers (14-3, 3-0) on Friday night before welcoming the Tigers (13-4, 2-1) for a Sunday matinee. The “Killer P’s,” as the Crimson’s upcoming opponents are known, have combined to win each of the last six Ivy titles.

“I think that every game is important in the Ivy League season,” senior guard Shilpa Tummala said. “It’s a 14-game tournament, so we have to be worried about everyone…. We’re going into this game knowing they’re good teams but preparing the same as we would for every game in the Ivy League.”

Two wins this weekend would see Harvard climb past Penn, currently top in the conference, and into first place. The only conference loss suffered by either opponent came during Princeton’s trip to Philadelphia earlier this month.

“Because they’ve both won titles in the recent past, that’s what makes them everyone’s target,” Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “We’ve done well, but we haven’t ended up with wins. We’re still so young that we’re just putting it together, and I think it’s coming together for us right now.”

The Quakers, who have won the last four meetings against Harvard, feature a pair of skyscrapers down low. Forwards Sydney Stipanovich and Michelle Nwokedi are both 6’3,” and they lead the team in scoring and rebounding, individually averaging 14-plus points and 10-plus rebounds per game.

“We will have to focus on team defense and realizing that they have a really good interior game…. Our guards are going to have to step up,” Tummala said. “The way we’re going to win is to play as a team and have that pack mentality on defense.”

Penn also figures to maintain its half court press and two-three zone that have held opponents to a conference-low 52.2 points per game this year. For Tummala and the Crimson, the focus will be on beating the press and hitting its outside shots.

While the Quakers’ paint presence will make things difficult for Harvard’s leading scorer—captain AnnMarie Healy, averaging 15.6 points per game—the team’s three-point specialists, notably Tummala and captain Kit Metoyer, will get chances to score.

“Penn has a system that’s terrific,” Delaney-Smith said. “[Coach Mike McLaughlin] has a nice team, and he has great height. But his system uses that height really well. They just play a 2-3 zone and slow the game down with a half court press, and that just works perfectly with their personnel.”

The Crimson will be off Saturday before taking on the Tigers the next day. Princeton, which went 30-0 in the regular season last year on its way to a fifth Ivy League title in six years, is undefeated at home but just 2-4 on the road this season.

“I love playing at home,” Tummala said. “There’s always an advantage to being home. It’s really nice to have this weekend be at home first and have a feel for it: our rims, our gym, our locker room, our fans. It’s going to be a great environment for us to play in.”

The top four scorers for Princeton are all seniors, with guard Michelle Miller, guard/forward Annie Tarakchian, and forward Alex Wheatley all averaging double figures. Miller, who leads the Tigers with 13.8 points per game, shoots 45.5 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Princeton has also benefitted from dominance on the glass, with Tarakchian’s 9.5 rebounds per game allowing the team to outrebound opponents by 15 boards a contest.

“Our thing goes back to sticking to what we do best,” Tummala said. “That’s hitting our open shots, passing the ball, moving the ball inside, and really setting the tempo of the game however we need to. I think our identity really lies in our defense, and if we stick to our defensive principles, offensively everything will come as it should.”

—Staff writer Manav Khandelwal can be reached at manav.khandelwal@thecrimson.com.