Notorious G.I.Z.

The go-to player: the member of a team that should have the ball most often during the course of a game, particularly at crucial moments, because of her ability to carry the team nearly single-handedly.

Every basketball team has a go-to player--good teams, bad teams, great teams, awful teams. And the Harvard women's basketball team is no different.

Harvard (8-14, 5-6 Ivy) has a go-to player, and her name is Rose Janowski. The only problem is her teammates don't seem to realize it.

The Crimson was mathematically eliminated from Ivy League title contention over the weekend with a convincing 84-67 defeat at Pennsylvania (9-14, 5-6) and a heartbreaking, 51-48, double-overtime loss to Princeton (14-9, 9-2).

Part of the reason for this rare occurrence--Harvard has not been eliminated from the championship race before the final game of the year since the 1993-94 season--was that the Crimson once again failed to get the ball to Janowski enough.

Janowski is the best center in the Ivy League, and her stats bear that out. The senior is averaging 11.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per conference game, second in both categories among the league's frontcourt players only to Penn sophomore forward Diana Caramanico, who is far and away the Ancient Eight's best player.

Janowski was also averaging one block per game entering the weekend, good for second overall in the league. But she can play defense by herself.

What makes Janowski's offensive stats more impressive is the fact that her teammates appear unable to give her the ball with regular frequency. Despite shooting over 49 percent from the floor, Janowski only takes 13.5 percent of the Crimson's shots. Harvard's guards, meanwhile, who are the ones responsible for getting the ball to Janowski, take 59 percent of the team's shots.

The Crimson's most accurate shooting guard, junior Courtney Egelhoff, hits 40.4 percent of her attempts, and no other Harvard guard is shooting better than 39 percent. It seems obvious who should be taking more shots.

Unfortunately, because she is a center, Janowski is at the mercy of her teammates to get her the ball if she is to turn in a good performance. Guards handle the ball so often and in such a position so as to have the luxury to create their own shots by way of a drive, a spot-up jumper, a jump shot off the dribble, etc. Forwards and centers need to receive the ball in order to do something with it, and Janowski is not receiving the ball very often.

Against Penn on Friday night, Janowski took matters into her own hands. She frequently came to the top of the key to get the ball--because the Crimson appears to have a phobia of passing into the post--and created her shots with strong drives to the hoop and by collecting numerous offensive rebounds. She finished with a double-double, collecting 17 points and 10 boards on 8-of-12 shooting, and handed out three assists as well.

Why did Harvard lose? Because the Crimson decided not to play defense in the second half, and it did not have an answer for the tandem of Caramanico (26 points, 13 rebounds) and junior point guard Mandy West (27 points).

The first few minutes of the Princeton contest were almost painful to watch. Janowski was wide open in the post on each of Harvard's first five possessions and did not receive the ball in good position (i.e., at the right time) once. She had three turnovers in the first two minutes, and none were her fault. All were the result of her teammates' poorly-timed passes or their not paying attention when she passed out of a double-team.

Sure, Princeton was double- and triple-teaming Janowski--apparently the Tigers recognize her talents more than her own team does--but Janowski's ability to pass out of those traps creates shots for her teammates.

Six minutes into the contest, the ball finally came to Janowski in the lane, Princeton dropped a double-team onto her, and she kicked the ball out to freshman point guard Jen Monti at the top of the key for a wide open three-pointer. Monti canned the trey--assist Janowski. She finished with five assists in the game.

Not until 7:37 remained in the first half did Janowski attempt her first shot, and then it was only because she drove from the outside. She was fouled and converted one of two free throws.

Make no mistake. It was not as if Janowski was getting the ball and not shooting. She was not getting touches. She finished the game with just six points on 2-of-5 shooting.

Rather than give the ball to its only healthy player averaging double figures, the Crimson was content to take difficult shots from the perimeter and force drives through nonexistent lanes despite the fact that only Egelhoff was shooting well.

One of the main culprits of Harvard's abandonment of Janowski was Monti, who is perhaps the most responsible for setting up the Crimson's offense and getting the ball to Janowski. After a phenomenal weekend versus Penn and Princeton at home two weeks ago, Monti has tried to carry too much of Harvard's offensive load lately.

Saturday night in New Jersey, Monti attempted 14 shots--converting only four of them--and had only four assists to three turnovers.

Five of her shots, four of them misses, came on ill-advised and unnecessary attempts in the first overtime period when just one more bucket would have given Harvard the win. Who would you rather have taking shots down the stretch, your 6'3 senior center or your 5'6 freshman point guard?

The implications of Harvard's actions with respect to Janowski go further than wins and losses. Janowski undoubtedly deserves a spot on the All-Ivy First Team, but because of the politicking involved in the voting and the attention paid to final team standings, she is not a shoo-in.

Monti deserves to make the Ivy League's All-Rookie team, but with Cornell's freshman point guard Breean Walas turning in a fantastic rookie campaign of her own, Monti is on the bubble as well. And if she is to make the All-Rookie squad, it will be assists more than points that will get her there.

And of course, Harvard wants to win its last three games.

So give the ball to Janowski. She can lead the Crimson to victory and secure her spot on the All-Ivy First Team. If Janowski is to get the ball, Monti can easily be the one to pass it to her most often, racking up assists in the process and helping her cause as well. Harvard can kill three birds with one stone.

Postseason accolades or not, Janowski is Harvard's go-to player, and the Crimson needs to figure that out in a hurry. She is wide open in the post, so just give her the damn ball.