W. Hoops Faces Tall Order Against Princeton, Penn This Weekend

Although mathematically the Harvard women's basketball team is still in the hunt for the Ivy League crown, those chances are pretty slim.

After a disappointing loss to then-last place Yale at home last weekend, the Crimson (9-3, 6-3 Ivy) finds itself three games behind league-leading Penn (17-5, 9-0) with only five games left to play.

In order to take home the title, Harvard would need to win the rest of its games this season and hope that Penn loses at least two of its remaining Ivy League games.

But, as they say, it's not over until it's over.

The Quakers have to play Princeton, Brown, Yale and Dartmouth in addition to tomorrow night's contest against Harvard to close the season.

Penn needed overtime to defeat two of those opponents, Yale and Dartmouth, earlier this season. The Quakers also have a history of fading down the stretch; last year, they saw a 6-0 start to the Ivy season end in a disappointing 9-5 second-place finish.

Penn does not appear headed for the same type of collapse this year, however. The Quakers are currently riding a 16-game winning streak, the second-longest active streak in women's basketball, and would love nothing better than to finish the season off with five more victories.

"Winning is contagious," Quakers Head Coach Kelly Greenburg said on the Penn athletics web site. "And the team gained a sense of what it feels like to win last season. We need to learn how to sustain winning at the end of the season."

Penn has been able to keep that focus thus far and can clinch the Ivy League title with two more wins this weekend.

In the meantime, Harvard must concentrate on what it has to do itself--win its remaining five league games.

That task will begin tonight, when Harvard will host Princeton (1-8, 1-21).

In a similar situation to last weekend's game against Yale, Princeton comes into town as the cellar team in the Ivies.

Harvard cannot afford to overlook the Tigers, however. In their first meeting of the year, the Crimson found itself trailing 35-23 at the half before a 26-4 second half run put the game out of reach.

Freshman Hana Peljto, junior Katie Gates and sophomore Sarah Johnson each scored in double digits in that contest and the Crimson will need strong performances by each of these players again this weekend.

Peljto, who has been the star for the Crimson this season, scored a career-high 27 points in last weekend's overtime loss to Yale and was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the sixth time this season and the third week in a row.

On Saturday, Harvard will face the star of the league in Penn's senior forward Diana Caramanico. Caramanico is leading the league in scoring (21.9 ppg) and rebounding (10.9 rpg).

With strong performances last weekend, she now needs only 29 points to break Harvard's Allison Feasters all-time Ivy scoring record.

If averages hold true, Caramanico is on pace to break that record at Lavietes Pavilion tomorrow night. In order to keep its Ivy hopes alive and prevent a former teammate's record from being broken on her home court, the Crimson will need to focus on containing Caramanico.

In addition to Caramanico, the Quakers also boast two other players, Erin Ladley and Julie Epton, who are averaging double-digit scoring. The Crimson will need to play solid defense and control the boards.

"I don't think we did a good job on the boards. I think offensive rebounds killed us," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said after her team's overtime loss to Yale.

Harvard also needs to step it up offensively. The Crimson shot a dismal 33 percent from the field against Yale and shot just 24 percent from behind the arch.

But perhaps most importantly, the Crimson need to play with a consistent intensity that has been seen only at times throughout the season.

"We looked tired [in the loss to Yale]," Delaney-Smith said.

When Harvard plays with the enthusiasm and intensity it did against Brown last weekend, it is a tough team to beat.

"There is great parity [in the league], and no game is easy," Greenburg said.

Remember, its not over till it's over.