W. basketball looks to regain its earlier form

The women's basketball team leapt into Ivy League competition this year with surprising back-to-back victories.

First, on Jan. 4, the Tigers defeated Penn, whose perfect 14-0 record in conference play last year contrasted with the Tigers' 2-25 record for the 2000-2001 season. Then, on Jan. 11, Princeton upset Harvard, the team the media had predicted would win the conference, 59-55.

These early victories revealed that Princeton, with a new coach and a revamped offense, would be a significant force in Ivy League competition this year. But the Tigers' victory train came to a grinding halt after Jan. 11.

On Jan. 12, Princeton fell to Dartmouth 65-58 in its first Ivy loss of the season. Next, on Feb. 1 and 2, the team suffered two more defeats against Columbia and Cornell, respectively. In both games the margin of defeat was disturbing: 18 points against the Lions and 25 against the Big Red. With these losses, the Tigers have a record of 2-3 – the same as Dartmouth and Penn – and are ranked fifth in the Ivy League.

"After our two bad losses last weekend, we really refocused on defense because that's what's been lacking for awhile now," junior guard Allison Cahill said. This weekend, the Tigers have a chance to break out of their losing streak with games against Brown on Friday and Yale on Saturday, both at home.

Comparing Brown's performance in the Ivy League with that of Princeton indicates that the Tigers have a good chance of raising their record to .500 Friday night. The Bears have played one more game than the Tigers, but have won one less. Their 1-5 record in the Ivy League places them at the bottom of the Ancient Eight.

Unlike Princeton, Brown lost to Harvard, 63-51, on Feb. 1. Like Princeton, though, Brown also lost to Cornell (58-56) on Jan. 11, to Columbia (73-64) on Jan. 12, and, most recently, to Dartmouth (67-64). The Bears' one victory – against Yale Jan. 26 – was a sound one, with a final score of 73-57, but it came after a 19-point loss to Yale at home on the 19th.

Brown's surprising win against third-place Yale on the 26th suggests that the Bears' poor ranking in the Ivy League should not make the Tigers overly complacent. For example, a replay of Princeton's performance against Cornell, a game in which the Tigers scored a season-low 52 points, could spell victory for the Bears.

Pure numbers indicate that Yale should present a more formidable challenge to Princeton than Brown. The Bulldogs hold a 3-3 record in the Ivy League and are ranked third behind Cornell (5-1) and Harvard (4-1). Yale defeated Brown 79-60 in Providence on Jan. 19 and beat Dartmouth on Feb. 1, 76-70. Their third victory was against Columbia in their first Ivy League match-up of the season, in which they won 66-53.

League-leader Cornell handed Yale its first defeat on Jan. 12, squeaking by with a narrow two-point win. Brown took a second victory over the Bulldogs on Jan. 19. Most recently, Yale fell to second place Harvard at home, by the final score of 57-61.

Although Yale's win-loss record is better than Princeton's, the Bulldogs are ranked second-to-last in points per game, averaging 64.2 offensively and allowing 62.3 on defense. Princeton, on the other hand, is fourth in the league, averaging 66.3 points offensively and allowing 71.6 defensively. The Tigers better Yale in field goal percentage, .396 to .392, and in free-throws, .692 to .667.

"All week, we've emphasized pressure defense and dictating the tempo of the game through our defense, so I think we're ready to play much more complete games this weekend," Cahill said.

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Both the Bulldogs and Princeton are ranked at the top of the Ivy ladder in three-point field goal percentages, Yale leading Princeton 32.6 percent to 31.7 percent. And while the Tigers average more points per game, Yale is perched at the top of the league with an average of 41.3 rebounds, averaging significantly more boards per game than Princeton's 33.9.

A victory for the Tigers against Yale would involve overcoming their scoring drought after their last game against Cornell and showing more muscle under the basket.

Princeton, Brown and Yale all enter this weekend's games coming off of a loss, and each is hungry for a victory. For Princeton, one or two checks in the win column would help to secure its edge over Dartmouth and Penn, both of which currently hold the same 2-3 record in the Ivy League.