ECAC Holdiay Tourney is Next Test for W. Hoops

Fresh off a Harvard Invitational title, the Harvard women's basketball team takes to the road today for the ECAC Holiday Festival at Holy Cross.

The Crimson (3-2) will face the host Crusaders (4-1) in the first round of the four-team tournament. Game time is 7:30 in Worcester.

La Salle (5-0) and Hartford (3-1) tangle in the other match-up. Saturday, the winners of the games will battle for the title, and the losers will meet for third place.

Harvard enters the tournament on a positive note. The Crimson defeated a small Sacred Heart team 83-50 last Sunday to claim its own tournament. The victory, in which 6'5 junior center Melissa Johnson scored 16 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, gave Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith her 250th career win.

That title shot was made possible a week ago in the first game of the tournament when the Crimson defeated Ohio State, 66-52, its most important victory of the season so far.

"This past weekend was really good for the [team's] gelling and for really pulling some things together," Johnson said. "We were very excited about beating Ohio State."

"Ideally, the momentum will be carried into this weekend," sophomore forward Katie Gates said.

Upon reviewing the game film, Johnson said, there were still things the Crimson needed to work on.

"Kathy was appropriately encouraged, but also appropriately critical," she said. "We all know that we have a long way to go."

Harvard will likely start Johnson, captain Laela Sturdy and Gates in the frontcourt.

Johnson, who missed practice yesterday because of illness but will play tonight, leads the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game (ppg) and rebounding with 10.6 rebounds per game (rpg). Sturdy is a close second with 12.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg.

In the backcourt, expect sophomore point guard Jen Monti to handle the ball and senior guard Courtney Egelhoff to spot up beyond the three-point line.

Ball-handling will be crucial to the Crimson's success this weekend.

"We've been working on being patient on the press," Gates said. "Our focus is going to be to play disciplined."

As it will find with most of its opponents this year, the Crimson has a size advantage over all three teams at the tournament. Johnson, her freshman sister, 6'4 Sarah Johnson, 6'3 sophomore Lindsay Ryba and 6'2 freshman Kate Ides give Harvard depth and height at its four and five spots.

Holy Cross, which could be the toughest opponent of the tournament, comes off a 66-62 win over Fordham Tuesday. They also have victories over New Hampshire, Siena and UMass under their belts.

The Crusaders fell to Michigan, 71-55, in their only loss of the year.

"Holy Cross is great about capitalizing on other teams' mistakes," Johnson said. "We have to be careful with turnovers. They are definitely going to focus on Jen Monti bringing up the ball."

Anne Kinne, a 5'6 guard, is Holy Cross' most potent scoring weapon, averaging 16.2 ppg and shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc.

The Crimson's Johnson will likely find herself battling under the boards against 6'1 forward Monica Rothemich, who leads the Crusaders with 7.8 rpg while scoring 14.8 ppg.

In the early game (5:30) tomorrow, undefeated La Salle rides in on the momentum of a 75-65 win over Villanova on Wednesday.

The Explorers are led by Suzanne Keilty, a 5'9 guard who averages 16.3 ppg. Under the basket, Shannon McDade, a 6'1 forward, grabs eight rebounds a game and pours in 13.3 ppg.

Hartford is led by Coach Jennifer Rizzotti, a UConn graduate and player for the WNBA champion Houston Comets, who is in her first year as head coach, which coincides with the WNBA off-season.

Under her tutelage, the Hawks have earned victories over Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut State and Long Island. The Hawks escaped with a 57-54 win over Sacred Heart, a much closer game than Harvard's 33-point blowout of the same opponent.

Janeka Lopp, a 5'10 forward, is tops on the team in scoring with 12.3 ppg, and two other players average in double figures.

"Whoever we end up playing in the second game, the press break is very important," Johnson said.

While the teams aren't big, they aren't cupcakes, either. All enter with winning records against strong competition.

"I'm psyched that we have a rigorous schedule this year," Johnson said. "We need to be tested with difficult games. We need to know what it's like to win against strong, aggressive, physical teams that don't make a lot of mistakes."