W. Basketball Struggling Around the League

The beginning of the women’s basketball season has produced more losses than wins for the Ivy League teams, as only Harvard (3-2) boasts a winning record. However, many squads should have positive outlooks based on individual players’ performances.

Princeton, which has gone 1-5 in its first six games, is paced by senior Meagan Cowher. The forward was a first-team all-Ivy selection last season and is the Tigers’ leading scorer, averaging 20.2 points per game. In a 78-68 loss to Lafayette, she scored nearly half of her team’s points, netting a game-high 32. Princeton is led by first-year head coach Courtney Banghart, a Dartmouth graduate. As a player, Banghart won Ivy League titles as a junior and a senior and was also selected to the all-Ivy first team those years. She served as an assistant coach at Dartmouth for four years.

After conference championships in 2005 and 2006 and a bid to the Postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament in 2007, Dartmouth has opened its season with four losses. The Big Green is led by senior guard Kristen Craft, whose 11 assists and six steals are team highs. In addition, Craft leads the team with 9.5 points per game.

Cornell has gone 2-2 to start the season, with wins over Patriot League rivals Lafayette and Bucknell. Junior forward Jeomi Maduka has been a force in the paint for the Big Red, leading the team with 14 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game. The former Ivy League Rookie of the Year and all-Ivy Rookie Team selection, scoring 635 points in her first two years on the squad, has twice been named to the all-Ivy second team.

Harvard, last year’s Ivy champion, is the favorite to win it all this year as well. The Crimson is looking strong with victories over Siena, Maine, and Hofstra. Senior guard Lindsay Hallion, who leads her team with 13.8 points per game, is also grabbing four rebounds per contest. Kathy Delaney-Smith brings a wealth of experience to the squad, as the head coach is entering her 26th consecutive season on the sidelines for the Crimson. She holds the all-time record for most wins as a women’s basketball coach in the league.

With an 0-4 record, Yale has struggled out of the gate, but the future may be bright for the Bulldogs. The team has rebounded from its season-opening 100-44 blowout loss to Pacific-10 powerhouse Stanford. Its latest loss to California State, Bakersfield was by only five points, the team’s smallest margin of defeat on the season. Sophomore guard and forward Melissa Colborne, averaging 14.8 points per game, is the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Her 11 points per game last year placed her second in scoring for the Bulldogs and first among rookies in the conference.

Penn is at 2-3 this year but most recently defeated Loyola Maryland in convincing fashion, 70-57. Junior forward Carrie Biemer, who came off the bench for the Quakers last season, is leading her team offensively with 16 points per game. She hit the game-winning shot in Penn’s opener against Elon, a game in which she notched a career-best 28 points. Biemer has scored in double figures in each contest this season.

Brown has started the season with six losses but has narrowed the gap on its opponents of late. After losing by more than 30 points in their first four games, the Bears have lost their last two games by thirteen and six points, respectively. Senior guard Annesley O’Neal is averaging 6.3 points per contest and has pulled down a team-high 28 rebounds. Meanwhile, sophomore standout Shae Fitzpatrick, a guard, leads the Bears with 8.7 points per game and has grabbed 26 boards.

One should not be fooled by Columbia’s 2-4 record. The Light Blue is a talented and balanced team. Senior guard Brittney Carfora, a force from behind the arc, has already knocked down a team-high 12 3-pointers this year. The Lions’ offense is led by freshman center Lauren Dwyer, a two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week, who has filled in for injured sophomore center Chelsea Frazier. Dwyer is averaging 11 points per contest.