Women's Basketball Preview for February 15-16

Complete Women's Basketball Weekly Release in pdf format

Photo courtesy of Princeton Athletic Communications

PRINCETON, N.J. -- In order to extend its Ivy-record conference winning streak to 31 games, the first-place Princeton women’s basketball team will have to get past the two teams tied for second in the Ivy League standings.

Dartmouth (6-13, 4-1 Ivy) and Harvard (13-6, 4-1 Ivy) will each travel to Princeton, N.J., to take on the Tigers (14-5, 5-0 Ivy) on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Princeton hasn’t lost a League contest since Feb. 4, 2011, 73-67 at Harvard, and hasn’t lost a League contest at home since Feb. 13, 2009, 56-54 to Yale. The Tigers’ conference winning streak is second only to No. 1 Baylor, which has won 35-straight regular season conference contests.

Princeton has been led by senior Niveen Rasheed, who is averaging a League-best 16.9 points and a career-high 9.2 rebounds along with 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Three Tigers have raised their game in conference play, as junior Kristen Helmstetter is averaging 10.0 points (up from 9.0 in non-conference action), senior Megan Bowen is averaging 11.8 points (8.3) and sophomore Blake Dietrick is averaging 11.2 (8.2) points against League foes.

The Big Green is on a four-game winning streak, its longest since the 2008-09 season, when it went 13-1 in League play en route to the Ivy title. Friday’s game between the Tigers and Dartmouth features a reunion of sorts, as Princeton head coach Courtney Banghart was a standout for the Big Green from 1996-2000 and also an assistant coach with the team from 2003-07.

Harvard junior Christine Clark has been consistent throughout the season, scoring 16.6 points a game during the Crimson’s non-conference slate and 16.8 points against Ivy opponents. She ranks second in the League in scoring, Senior Victoria Lippert (12.5) and sophomore Temi Fagbenle (11.9) are also averaging in double figures for Harvard. Fagbenle is competing in the 14-Game Tournament for the first time after missing all of last season.

The Big Green and Crimson will also take on Penn (10-9, 3-2 Ivy), marking the Quakers’ first home Ivy contests of the season. Junior Alyssa Baron is averaging 14.0 points per game, tied for third in the conference, but has yet to get on track in Ivy play, as she is scoring at a 11.0 points per game clip.

The four teams on the bottom half of the standings will square off against each other, as Columbia (2-17, 0-5 Ivy) and Cornell (10-9, 2-3 Ivy) will host Brown (7-13, 1-5 Ivy) and Yale (7-13, 2-4 Ivy). Big Red junior Allyson DiMagno leads the League and ranks 10th in the country in rebounding (11.7) and has an Ivy-best nine double-doubles so far this season.

Columbia senior Tyler Simpson has raised her scoring from 10.3 in non-conference play to 11.6 in League action, while Bears junior Lauren Clarke is averaging 14.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals in League play. Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Yale’s Sarah Halejian, has shown no sign of letting up, as she leads the team in scoring (13.6), assists (2.9) and steals (1.4).

Brown (7-13, 1-5 Ivy) at Columbia (2-17, 0-5 Ivy)
Date: Friday, February 15 – 7pm
Location: Levien Gymnasium • New York
Brown-Columbia Series: Brown leads, 37-15
Last Meeting: Brown 75, Columbia 63 • 2/25/11 • New York
Live Stats | Video | Audio
Brown Game Notes | Columbia Game Notes

Yale (7-13, 2-4 Ivy) at Cornell (10-9, 2-3 Ivy)
Date: Friday, February 15 – 7pm
Location: Newman Arena • Ithaca, N.Y.
Yale-Cornell Series: Yale leads, 45-22
Last Meeting: Yale 69, Cornell 58 • 2/25/12 • Ithaca, N.Y.
Live Stats | Video | Audio
Yale Game Notes | Cornell Game Notes

Harvard (13-6, 4-1 Ivy) at Penn (10-9, 3-2 Ivy)
Date: Friday, February 15 – 7pm
Location: The Palestra • Philadelphia
Harvard-Penn Series: Harvard leads, 48-21
Last Meeting: Harvard 57, Penn 53 • 2/25/11 • Philadelphia
Live Stats | Video
Harvard Game Notes | Penn Game Notes

Dartmouth (6-13, 4-1 Ivy) at Princeton (14-5, 5-0 Ivy)
Date: Friday, February 15 – 7pm
Location: Jadwin Gym • Princeton, N.J.
Dartmouth-Princeton Series: Dartmouth leads, 43-25
Last Meeting: Princeton 94, Dartmouth 57 • 2/25/12 • Princeton, N.J.
Live Stats | Video| Audio
Dartmouth Game Notes | Princeton Game Notes

Harvard at Princeton
Date: Saturday, February 16 – 6pm
Location: Jadwin Gym • Princeton, N.J.
Harvard-Princeton Series: Harvard leads, 38-32
Last Meeting: Princeton 74, Harvard 44 • 2/24/12 • Princeton, N.J.
Live Stats | Video | Audio
Harvard Game Notes | Princeton Game Notes

Yale at Columbia
Date: Saturday, February 16 – 7pm
Location: Levien Gymnasium • New York
Yale-Columbia Series: Yale leads, 39-17
Last Meeting: Columbia 56, Yale 52 • 2/24/12 • New York
Live Stats | Video | Audio
Yale Game Notes | Columbia Game Notes

Brown at Cornell
Date: Saturday, February 16 – 7pm
Location: Newman Arena • Ithaca, N.Y.
Brown-Cornell Series: Brown leads, 46-20
Last Meeting: Cornell 51, Brown 50 • 2/24/12 • Ithaca, N.Y.
Live Stats | Video | Audio
Brown Game Notes | Cornell Game Notes

Dartmouth at Penn
Date: Saturday, February 16 – 7pm
Location: The Palestra • Philadelpha
Dartmouth-Penn Series: Dartmouth leads, 42-25
Last Meeting: Penn 63, Dartmouth 49 • 2/24/12 • Philadelphia
Live Stats | Video| Audio
Dartmouth Game Notes | Penn Game Notes