Women's Basketball Looks to Keep Ball Rolling After Win

Like the line in the film Swingers says, "Everything that is past is prologue to this."

Marred by injury and illness throughout the last two months, the Harvard women's basketball team enters tonight's Ivy League opener with its worst record in five years, but it has the opportunity to relegate its 3-8 mark to a mere prelude of the season that matters.

Harvard will kick off its Ivy schedule this weekend with home contests against Cornell (5-6) and Columbia (3-7) at Lavietes Pavilion. The Crimson tips off against the Big Red tonight at 6 p.m. and will look to tame the Lions tomorrow evening at the same time.

Regardless of overall mark, it is only the conference record that counts toward determining the Ivy League champion and winner of the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

"We're very lucky," said Harvard co-captain Suzie Miller. "Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong so far, yet we can still meet our main goal of winning a fourth straight Ivy League championship."

Harvard enters the weekend coming off a crucial 73-70 victory over Sacred Heart last Sunday. That win was not as convincing as it could have been and the Crimson certainly did not play its best basketball, but it did register a much-needed notch in the 'W' column. The Crimson had lost six in a row before its win against the Pioneers.

What the Sacred Heart contest did show, at times, was just how good Harvard can be. The Crimson shot a red-hot 59 percent from the floor, including 53 percent from three-point range. Harvard also dominated Sacred Heart on the boards, outrebounding the Pioneers by a whopping 42-19 differential.

Junior forward Laela Sturdy is Harvard's leading scorer entering the weekend, averaging 12.3 points per game off the bench. Miller and senior center Rose Janowski are averaging double figures as well with 11 and 10 points per game, respectively.

Janowski and Miller also lead a rebounding squad that has outdistanced its opponents by an average of four boards per game and 16 per game in the Crimson's last three contests. Janowski is averaging 6.9 rebounds per game, Miller is right behind with 6.7 and co-captain Sarah Russell is pulling down 5.8 per game.

Cornell and Columbia will be Harvard's first league opponents in what is the most bizarre opening weekend in years. No Ancient Eight team has a non-conference record above .500; Dartmouth currently sits atop the standings at 5-5.

Right behind Dartmouth is Cornell. The Big Red has lost three of its last four games but has not played since a Dec. 23 loss at St. Mary's in California.

Cornell is led by the veteran-rookie tandem of senior Kristie Riccio and freshman Breean Walas who are averaging 14.8 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. Walas received the season's first Ivy League Rookie of the Week award for the week of Nov. 23.

Freshman Deborah Stevens also garnered Rookie of the Week accolades two weeks ago for her stellar play in Cornell's last victory, a 75-54 defeat of San Jose State on Dec. 21. The Big Red's leading rebounder just missed a triple-double by recording 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

Columbia enters the weekend directly ahead of Harvard in the conference standings. Under the direction of one of the most animated coaches in the league, Jay Butler, the Lions have lost their last two and six of their last seven games.

Unlike the youthful Big Red, the Lions will rely on experienced leadership to carry them through the Ivy season. Guard Emily Roller is Columbia's leading scorer, averaging 10.3 points per game, with center Trinke Vaughan and guard Rose Jackson not far behind at 9.3 and 9.2, respectively. Sophomore Shawnee Pinckney is the Lions' top rebounder with 8.9 per contest.

Both Cornell and Columbia usually reside in the middle to the bottom of the Ivy standings, and Harvard has historically had tremendous success against both. The Crimson owns lifetime marks of 33-6 versus the Big Red and 27-0 against the Lions, including sweeps of both last season. Harvard has not lost to Cornell since 1996 and has never lost to the Big Red at home.

Northeastern is the only opponent Harvard has in common with either Cornell or Columbia this year. All three teams lost to the Huskies--the Crimson by a 69-64 margin, the Big Red by a count of 71-54 and the Lions by a final tally of 70-66.

"Anybody can beat anybody in the Ivy League," Miller said. "There is so much rivalry. But I think we can dominate [Cornell and Columbia] inside. Most of their offense comes from their guards, and if our guards can contain their guards and we can get the ball to our forwards, that will be the key to victory."

If Harvard's frontcourt will be key, the task of establishing a firm presence in the paint will fall on Janowski, Russell, Sturdy and freshman Lindsay Ryba. Ryba is coming off a week in which she was named Rookie of the Week for her career-best 20-point performance against Northeastern.

The task of getting the ball to the forwards falls on Harvard's bevy of guards. Freshman Jen Monti will get the nod at point guard for the third and fourth times this season as sophomore Lisa Kowal remains sidelined with continued breathing difficulty.

Junior Courtney Egelhoff and her 6.5 points-per-game average join Miller and Monti in the backcourt. Senior Kelly Kinneen and freshman Katie Gates will be looked to for substantial minutes off the bench. Gates is Harvard's leading rookie scorer, averaging 6.8 points per game.

Harvard has labored through a difficult and trying non-conference season, but it now has a chance for redemption. The Crimson's pursuit of a fourth consecutive Ivy championship did not start in November; it begins tonight. And the only way Harvard knows how to ring in the Ivy season is with two victories.

"It couldn't be more important," Miller said of the weekend. "We have the tools we need physically; our main issue has been psychological. We must win, however we do it. Getting two 'W's is the most important part."