W. basketball needs wins at Yale, Brown for fourth in Ivies

One of the beautiful things about Ivy League women's basketball is that each team plays every other team twice. This way teams do not have to wait a year before getting the opportunity to exact revenge on a prior opponent.

Two weeks ago, the Tigers battled Yale (5-18 overall, 2-8 Ivy League) in New Haven. Princeton jumped out to a commanding 45-28 lead by halftime, sporting a 47 percent three-point shooting percentage.

In spite of their poor first half performance, Yale clawed its way back into the game, eventually bringing the score to an even 78-78 at the end of regulation play.

Three intense overtime periods later, the Tigers finally squeaked out the victory, squashing the hopes of the roughly 1,000 fans who showed up to the John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Conn.

Tonight, at Jadwin Gym, the Elis are coming to town to take care of unfinished business. Since the previous match-up between the two teams, Yale has lost to Cornell but regained some momentum with a victory over Columbia last Saturday.

One of the keys to the game tonight will be the performance of Yale post Christina Phillips. Phillips was the driving force behind Yale's second half comeback against the Tigers, and she finished the night leading all scorers with 28 points. She is 13th in the Ivy League in total points, and sixth in free-throw percentage, shooting an impressive .823 from the charity stripe.

Phillips, however, has posted mediocre numbers since two weeks ago, scoring only eight points against Cornell and 11 points against Columbia.

The performance of freshman post Rebecca Brown, Phillips' counterpart on the Princeton team, will also be a vital factor in the outcome of the game. Brown was not her usual self last weekend — she was held to just 10 points in the contest against Dartmouth. She managed 15 points against a tough Harvard defense the next night, however. Brown's playing time was limited in both games due to foul trouble — she finished with four fouls in each contest.

Another important aspect of tonight's match will be the performance of each team's three-point shooters and the rest of the team's ability to get those shooters good looks at the basket.

Senior forward Maureen Lane, junior guard Kelly Schaeffer and sophomore guard Karen Bolster will provide much of the heavy artillery from beyond the arc.

Currently, Schaeffer and Bolster are occupying the top two spots for the Ivy League lead in three-point shooting percentage. Bolster boasts a .414 percentage, while Schaeffer's is .409. Lane, who struggled from beyond the arc earlier in the season, has found her touch in recent games, going three-for-six against Dartmouth and three-for-eight against Harvard in three-point opportunities.

Tory Mauseth is Yale's top three-point shooter and is fourth in the Ivy League for total three-pointers. Her three-point shot percentag, is not as remarkable at .303.

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After the Tigers get past Yale, Brown (13-10, 7-3) will come to Jadwin Gym Saturday night. Brown is currently in second place in the Ivy League, three games behind undefeated Harvard. Princeton will see this game as one last chance to prove that it can beat a top opponent.

When the Tigers faced Brown earlier in the season, the Bears commanded the first half, gaining a 40-21 advantage by the intermission. Princeton, unlike Yale, was unable to mount a tremendous comeback, but the Tigers did managed to outscore the Bears, 39-33, in the second half.

Princeton will try to look past its first-half performance and play Brown the same way they did in the second half of their last meeting.

Brown surprisingly faltered in one of its recent matchups, losing to sixth-place Cornell, 78-59, last weekend. The fifth-place Tigers will try to make it two Saturdays in a row that Brown has lost to bottom half Ivy League teams.