Tigers break Harvard W. Hoops streak

The 'Feaster'val is over for Harvard women's basketball. After downing second-place Penn 90-64 Friday night to earn their 32nd consecutive Ivy League win, the Crimson were shockingly upset by Princeton, 56-53, Saturday at the Jadwin Gymnasium. A Jadwin-record 1,135 fans turned out to see Harvard's All-American forward Allison Feaster. While the nation's leading scorer didn't disappoint the road crowd -- clawing her way to 34 points -- the fans were treated to a far greater bonus, a shocking Tigers' victory. With Harvard (16-3, 6-1 Ivy League) trailing 55-53 and 16 seconds left on the clock, Feaster put the ball on the floor, anticipating to dribble her way into closing-second heroics. However, pesky Tigers' guard Erica Bowman got her hand behind a high Feaster dribble, knocking the ball loose to sophomore Kate Thirolf, who converted one-of-two from the line after being fouled, sealing the win for Princeton. "I don't think Allison Feaster is ever going to forget the name Erica Bowman," Thirolf said in the post-game press conference. "This is definitely one of the best wins I've ever had as a player." The win could not have come at a more unlikely time for Princeton (11-8, 5-2), who was embarrassed on their own home court the night before by sophomore Erin Rewalt and the Big Green (10-9, 4-3). Tigers' coach Margaret Feeley could not have been too pleased with her team as a trailing Dartmouth pulled away with a 37-5 run overlapping between the first half and the opening minutes of the second. But Penn coach Julie Soriero believes Princeton is a better team than they showed Friday even though they may have caught a break facing Feaster on the second night of a back-to-back. "What might have been a factor is that we did a nice job defensively on Feaster [in Friday's 90-64 loss] so her coach kept her on the floor a little longer to keep her scoring average up," Soriero said. "Princeton though has good size inside and fairly aggressive guards. They can fluster a lot of people." This surprise win not only snaps a streak that was intact since game three of the 1995-96 Ivy League season, but also adds new life to the women's championship hunt. With Harvard's victory over Penn at the Palestra and Dartmouth's upset win over Princeton Friday night, the Crimson built what seemed an insurmountable two-game lead over the Quakers and Tigers. With Harvard's loss Saturday night and Penn rebounding to defeat the Big Green, however, both Princeton and the Quakers again stand just one game behind the Crimson, as they did when the weekend began. The Tigers will earn a chance to pull a Crimson sweep in Cambridge Friday, February 20. Penn has their shot at redemption and a potential share of the Ivy League championship the following night.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.