Title hopes rest on big weekend

The fate of the women's basketball team lies in its own hands. After a strong sweep through Cornell and Columbia last weekend, and with the help of Brown's win over Dartmouth in Providence, R.I., the Tigers are facing the two biggest games of their season this weekend against the Big Green and Harvard. If Princeton is able to win each of its last five games, all against Ivy League opponents, it will earn at least a share of the Ivy League title.

Dartmouth and Brown would join them in a tie for the title if each team also wins all of its games except those against Princeton. While the Tigers have been dominant this season, posting the third-best record thus far in team history (16-6 overall, 7-2 Ivy League), their two Ivy League losses have come against the Big Green (17-5, 8-1) and the Bears (15-8, 9-1).

Head coach Richard Barron emphasized the idea that this is just another game.

"The bottom line is that [each Ivy League game] has been important from the very beginning," Barron said. "It is just that later and later, fewer and fewer teams have a chance. The first game counts as much as the last."

But he did admit that the players were fired up for this weekend.

"Clearly there is excitement and there is no question that they are aware of the significance of the game in terms of the Ivy League standings," said Barron.

In their last meeting, Dartmouth handled Princeton's attack with skill and eased into an 82-64 victory by pulling down more rebounds, shooting with more accuracy — 48.2 percent for the Big Green to the Tigers' 40 percent — and taking advantage of their free throw opportunities.

"We need to kill them on the boards," Barron said. "The two games we have lost have been when we have been outrebounded. When we lose our way it is when we have been outrebounded."

Princeton also gave away 19 points at the foul line in that game. The Tigers will review Brown's success in conquering the returning champs last weekend to find flaws in the Big Green's approach.

Unlike the blowout at the hands of Dartmouth, Princeton's loss to Brown this season came in a game Princeton gave itself a chance to win in the final seconds. A layup and foul shot that didn't fall as time wound down on the clock denied a strong Princeton comeback. The Tigers finished short by two, 49-47, after closing a 14-point halftime deficit.

If the Tigers are to prevail this weekend, they will need to start out strong right from the opening tipoff. In both their league losses, they fell behind early and found themselves fighting to get back into the game. Also, against Dartmouth, the Tigers will need to find an answer to the double behind-the-arc threat of seniors Jeannie Cullen and Angie Soriaga, who each contributed four three-pointers in their last meeting.

"The [key] is that we are going to have to defend their three-point shooting," Barron said. "They are very good ball handlers who break you down off the dribble, forcing you to help, and then they kick it out for three's."

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As the team travels to Hanover, N.H., this afternoon, they will have to prepare to play their best game of the season. Head coach Richard Barron has preached consistency throughout the season, encouraging his squad to always stick to the game plan.

Princeton will look to its key contributors, senior center Becky Brown and sophomore forward Meagan Cowher, to lead the way. In the teams' last meeting, Dartmouth held Brown to a 4-for-10 shooting night — uncharacteristic for a player who boasts a league-leading shooting percentage of 65 percent on the season. Cowher will look to repeat her strong performance, having dropped 22 points on the Big Green earlier this month.

But the Tigers will need strong play all around if they are to come out with the win. Freshman point guard Jessica Berry and senior guard Katy O'Brien will have the defensive responsibility of containing Cullen and Soriaga, and will be in charge of finding the holes in the Dartmouth defense. Berry and O'Brien come into the game first and third in the league in assists per game, with 5.52 and 3.95, respectively.

This will be a battle of the best, as either Dartmouth or Princeton leads the league in 14 of the 19 statistical categories, and sit one-two atop seven of them.

However, this weekend is not only about Dartmouth. Princeton will also need a victory against Harvard (9-13, 5-4) to keep its dreams of an Ivy League title alive. In their last meeting, Becky Brown had the first ten points of the game for Princeton, and 27 total on the night. While the Crimson fought back and hung with the Tigers early in the game, Princeton turned in an impressive second half to seal a 70-55 victory, the largest win over Harvard since 1994.

While another big win over the Crimson would be sweet indeed, a victory over the Big Green would be sweeter, no matter the margin.