Women's basketball rides 4-2 record into contest with Army

Unless you really thought America was going to lose the War of 1812 – and come on, war fans, who really did? – the last time the U.S. Army was the underdog it was shooting from the windows of Nassau Hall.

Now, making the short and easy step from history-altering combat the world of women's college basketball, we see that Army is in for a bit of the proverbial table-turning. Last year, the Black Knights marched into Jadwin Gym with a tidy 7-1 record and made short work of the Tigers, crashing the glass and out-shooting Princeton in a 64-46 rout.

This year, when Princeton and Army meet in West Point on Saturday, the Tigers will be favorites. Army has lost four in a row and seven of its first eight, leaving a depleted Black Knight team in a state of disarray. Meanwhile, Princeton has racked up four wins in its first six games, including a 72-69 win over Lafayette on Wednesday night. After the game, Princeton and its head coach lamented the poor performance.

Imagine Army's surprise to find a Princeton team unhappy after a win. Last year, the Tigers won two games. If they won, it wasn't a "poor performance", it was pandemonium. If they had a "poor performance", they wouldn't win by three, they'd lose by 30.

Instead, Princeton seems to be doing the things it needs to do to win. Through six games, four players have led the Tigers in scoring. Junior guard Allison Cahill leads the team with 12.7 points per game, while senior forward Lauren Rigney, freshman guard Karen Bolster and last year's leading scorer, junior forward Maureen Lane, have all scored more than 11 points per game.

Unfortunately for Army fans, the Black Knights have become just as familiar with drastic change as the Tigers. Army lost five players, including three starters, to graduation last year, and the change shows.

Their first three games, the Black Knights lost two blowouts to Hofstra and Davidson, and one nailbiter to Columbia, one of the worst teams in the Ivy League. Then they scored their only win of the year, over Indiana-Fort Wayne, before getting demolished by defending national champion Notre Dame and Brown, and then losing close ones to Quinnipiac and Albany. Incidentally, Indiana-Fort Wayne is playing its first year of Division I basketball this year after graduating from Division II last year by compiling a stunning 12-8 record in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Nevertheless, the close loss to Columbia proves that Army is on par with at least some Ivy League teams. Therefore, Saturday night's result will give Princeton some idea of where it stands in relation to its league rivals. Aside from the Tigers' own offensive play, that result will depend largely on how well Princeton can contain Army's sophomore forward Katie McFarlane.

Though the team is having more than its share of struggles this year, McFarlane has not slowed down from her second-team All-Patriot League performance last year as a freshman. Standing an even six feet tall, McFarlane has proven herself valuable as both a scorer and a rebounder. She leads the team with 17.1 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game. In the Black Knights' seven games thus far, she has already racked up five double-doubles.

Supporting McFarlane will be leading passer Christina Canelli, and forward Halaevalu Helu, who is among the team leaders in assists and rebounds per game.

Saturday's donnybrook marks the beginning of a long road campaign for the Tigers, who will do battle away from the safety of Jadwin Gym six times before they again return.