W. Hoops puts season on the line

The last time the Penn women's basketball team played Dartmouth and Harvard, it shirked in the wake of Ivy League stars Betsy Gilmore and Tammy Butler. But that was more than a month ago and the Quakers now have their eye on the Ivy title. Penn (8-12, 5-3 Ivy League) travels to first-place Dartmouth tonight and second-place Harvard tomorrow. "It is a big weekend," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. "If we win both we'll be back in contention for the Ivy title." The Quakers have won five Ivy games and currently share third place with Princeton in the Ivy standings. Penn has already beaten the Tigers twice. With several wins under their belt and a healthy squad, the Quakers are hoping they can surprise the Ivy powerhouses. "We are a different team than we were in January," Soriero said. "We have people back from illness and injuries. We are a lot more confident and we'll be able to respond better to a good team." Dartmouth (10-9, 6-1) and Harvard (13-6, 5-2) aren't just good teams, they are the best in the league. If Penn is serious about winning the Ivy title, the Quakers will have to go above and beyond their previous efforts. Even the Penn victories have not been at the level necessary to beat Harvard or Dartmouth. "We can't play like we did last weekend, especially versus Cornell," Soriero said. The Quakers lost a 67-45 rout on the road to the fifth-place Big Red last weekend. Penn's defensive scheme against both Harvard and Dartmouth should be an exercise in damage control. The Big Green has six Ivy wins under its belt and an undefeated record at home with Gilmore's record-setting action on both ends of the court. Last weekend she had 17 assists in two contests to up her season average to 4.9 per game. Gilmore is also averaging a lethal 4.5 steals per game. With the versatile Gilmore at the helm, the Big Green has a trick up its sleeve for every opponent. Against Brown, Dartmouth exploded for ten three-point shots, proving it does not rely solely on its inside game. Sophomore guard Sally Annis started slowly this year, then led Dartmouth in scoring in seven of the last nine games. The Quakers can't ignore anyone defensively. The exhausting weekend continues for Penn when it faces Harvard's Allison Feaster and Butler, who form the top offensive combination in the league. Feaster, a freshman, has been a pleasant surprise for the Crimson and a nightmare for opponents. Last Saturday, Feaster scored 23 points to lead Harvard past Yale. Butler complements Feaster with experience. The senior forward needs only 12 points to reach 1,000 on her career. The last time Penn took on Butler she scored 19 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and was 5 of 5 from the foul line. "We have been working on defense in practice," Soriero said. "Maybe we have been taking it for granted -- each individual is going to have to step up on defense and meet individual challenges."