Penn prepares for toughest Ivy weekend of the season

She is the number one scorer in the country. She leads the Ivy League in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and steals. She is third in both free throw percentage and three point field goal percentage and she's sixth in blocks. Her name is Allison Feaster. And she and her Harvard teammates are taking on the Penn women's basketball team (9-8, 4-1 Ivy League) at the Palestra tonight at 7 p.m. And then tomorrow night the Quakers will face Dartmouth (9-8, 3-2) at the Palestra at 7 p.m. "We're trying not to give up too many lob passes to [Feaster] and make sure we box her out," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. "She's a great athlete, always under control. She does all the little things right." Harvard (14-2, 5-0 Ivy League) and Feaster come in riding a 31-game Ivy League winning streak. In the last two weeks, Feaster has broken the all-time Ivy League scoring record, recorded her 2000th career point and grabbed her 1000th career rebound. Penn enters tonight's action tied for second in the Ivy League and sporting a four-game winning streak. Last weekend's Ivy road sweep was the Quakers' first since January 1991. And the team recorded its best record ever in the month of January at 6-1. Penn freshman center Diana Caramanico is the only Ivy League player who comes close to matching Feaster's numbers. She is second in the Ivies in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots. Caramanico was also named Ivy League Rookie of the Week last week for the sixth time this season, averaging 22 points and nine rebounds. Caramanico's focus, however, is not on the individual battle. "[We] don't really have anything to lose," Caramanico said. "She's got all the pressure on her." After close calls against both Brown and Dartmouth at home, Harvard appears beatable this year. Feaster is the only member of the Crimson averaging over nine points or six rebounds per game. "I think they're not the same team they've been the last couple of years," Soriero said. "They've lost some players, and I don't think they can shoot with the same accuracy." Last year's Harvard squad beat Penn 70-60 at the Palestra and 86-57 at Harvard. The Quakers have lost seven consecutive games to the Crimson since last beating them on January 7, 1994. "We're pretty confident that we can win? if we stay focused on what we have to do and forget about who we're playing," senior co-captain Colleen Kelly said. While Penn will have no trouble getting up for the game against Harvard, they cannot overlook tomorrow's game against Dartmouth. The Big Green are led by Courtney Banghart's 13.7 points per game and Erin Rewalt's 7.6 rebounds per game. "We look at both of them as big games," Caramanico said. "[Dartmouth's] talent is more spread out." Besides a five-point loss at Harvard, the Big Green's only Ivy League loss is to Yale, which also beat the Quakers. The Quakers lost both games to Dartmouth last year, 65-55 at home and 92-70 in Hanover, N.H. But Penn's outstanding play in January has further distanced them from last year's team. After two 20-loss seasons by the Quakers, the rest of the Ivy League has been slow to give them the respect they feel they deserve. Penn and Princeton are currently tied for second in the Ivies, with Harvard in first and Dartmouth in fourth. With these teams facing off against each other tonight and tomorrow, this weekend will go a long way toward deciding the conference title. "We look at both of them as big games," Caramanico said. "We know we have a chance to win and really prove something."