W. Hoops Looks To Avenge Only Ivy Loss

Seven is the magic number, as the Harvard women’s basketball team hopes to capture its seventh straight win when it faces Penn tonight in Lavietes Pavilion. Seven is the number Princeton will strive to avoid tonight, as the Tigers travel to Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend on a six-game losing streak.

Riding momentum from its six-game winning streak, the Crimson (15-5, 6-1 Ivy) is sitting at the top of the Ivy League after unseating Cornell in last weekend’s sweep over the Big Red and the Lions.

Sophomore forward Hana Peljto earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors this week and leads the league in scoring at 20.7 points per game. She posted a double-double in Harvard’s 64-58 victory against Cornell last Saturday, registering 16 points and 11 rebounds, as well as a career-high four assists. She also scored 27 points in the Crimson’s 79-57 win over Columbia last Friday.

Penn (8-12, 4-3) and Princeton will face a deep Harvard team this weekend. The Crimson regularly receives contributions from at least 10 players a game. Junior Kate Ides has been especially productive off the bench.

Harvard has outscored opponents by an average of 11 ppg in the last four games. Though the Crimson has had problems with cold starts, Harvard has still been holding its own overall, allowing 657 points to their 650 points in first halves.

Last time the Crimson faced the Tigers, Princeton (8-12, 2-5) dealt Harvard a shocking 59-55 loss on Jan. 11, a game in which no Harvard player had more than one offensive rebound.

“I think we learned a lot from that Princeton game,” sophomore forward Tricia Tubridy said. “We learned that we can’t come out and take any team for granted.”

But since that game, Princeton has slid down the Ivy ladder, and playing its next four games on the road may not help. All the same, there are a number of menacing Tigers to be reckoned with.

Sophomore Kelly Schaffer is one potential threat. She was named to the Ivy Honor roll after scoring a career-high 28 points against Yale last Saturday. Schaffer also tallied a team-high 16 points in a loss against Brown. In addition to averaging 12.7 ppg, Schaffer boasts a team-high 4.8 rebounds per game.

Freshman Karen Bolster has started in the last two games, posting 13 points against Brown and eight points against Yale.

Junior Maureen Lane hurt the Crimson in the last meeting, matching Peljto for the game high with 15 points and beating everyone with eight rebounds.

Bolster went 4-for-9 from behind the arc in the two games while Schaffer made four of her six three-point attempts in the 85-85 loss to Yale in overtime.

“What hurt us in our last game was that we didn’t stop their threes,” Tubridy said. “They’re one of the best three-point teams in the league. We let them get too many second chances last game. Our big focus this weekend is to stop their threes and out-rebound them.”

Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said the Princeton game might have helped the Crimson in the long run.

“I think we were headed down the overconfident road,” Delaney-Smith said.

With the loss to the Tigers the only blemish on the Crimson’s Ivy record, Harvard is more than ready to try again.

“We can’t wait to play Princeton,” Tubridy said. “I don’t think there’s going to be any lack of emotion or intensity in that game.”

But first, the Crimson faces a team that is also out to avenge a loss. Penn treks to Lavietes on a three-game win streak. The Quakers defeated Columbia on Feb. 2 and swept Yale and Brown last weekend, pushing themselves into third place in the Ivy standings. Though Penn wasn’t much trouble in round one when the Crimson soundly beat the Quakers 76-56 on Jan. 12, there might be more of a fight in round two.

“In our last game against Penn we actually played very well,” Tubridy said. “They didn’t play so well.”

The Quakers’ arsenal includes sophomore Jewel Clark, named to this week’s Ivy honor roll. Clark was the leading scorer in Penn’s last two games, tallying 18 points over Yale and 26 against Brown. Clark leads the team in points with 16.8 a game. She also leads the team in rebounds with 9.7 rpg, steals, blocks and free throw percentage.

Freshman Katie Kilker earned Ivy Rookie of the Week accolades after posting a double-double against Brown with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kilker also scored 15 points and gathered four boards against Yale.

Harvard faces a rising Penn squad, as the Quakers have averaged 79.3 ppg during their winning streak, significantly better than the season average of 65.9.

“I think they’re going to come out a little more deliberate in their decision-making,” Tubridy said.

Harvard’s game against Penn begins tonight at 6 p.m. at Lavietes, and Princeton will hit the court tomorrow night at 6 p.m.