Crucial weekend for W. Hoops at Palestra

The Quakers can take the Ivy driver's seat, or could be virtually eliminated. Still in the thick of the Ivy League title hunt after two grueling weeks on the road, the Penn women's basketball team returns home this weekend to battle fellow Ivy frontrunners Dartmouth and Harvard in what could be the most important pair of games ever for the Quakers. With just three games remaining on the schedule after tonight's and tomorrow night's games, the Red and Blue (16-7 overall, 7-2 Ivy League) will need to avenge their loss at Dartmouth two weeks ago and continue their winning ways against Harvard if they hope for their first-ever Ancient Eight banner -- and its accompanying NCAA Tournament berth, which would also be a first for Penn. "I really think this is probably the biggest weekend in the program's history," Penn coach Kelly Greenberg said. "I think this is a true test of seeing what we're really made of as a team." The first test of Penn's mettle, starting at 7 p.m. tonight at the Palestra, will come fast and physical to the Red and Blue courtesy of league-leading Dartmouth (16-6, 8-1) and its speedy-but-balanced attack. This attack is led by senior guard Courtney Banghart, the Ivy League Player of the Week and the Big Green's leading scorer, who averages 16 points per game. Banghart's average -- built on her trademark consistency behind the three-point line -- ranks her third in Ivy League scoring, lagging only behind the Quakers' leading duo of Diana Caramanico (24.7 ppg) and Mandy West (18.6 ppg). Problematic for the Penn defense, though, is the fact that Banghart is not the only offensive threat Dartmouth brings to the hardwood. Two other Big Green starters also average in the double-digits, including freshman forward Katherine Hanks. Along with her 14.9 points per game -- good for fifth in the Ivy League -- Hanks also leads her team with a 7.1 rebounding average and 35 blocks. And in addition to the youthful Hanks, the defending Ivy League champions return seven veterans from last season who give Dartmouth the experience to remain composed in a big game like tonight's. "Everyone contributes, and we have some depth and some experience in our positions," Dartmouth coach Chris Wielgus said. "It's certainly not the Courtney Banghart show." And besides individual players, Penn will have to deal with Dartmouth's various speeds of play. Although the Big Green usually like to exploit their own quickness by running a fast-paced offense, they also have the skill to slow things down at will. "The thing about Dartmouth is they can play halfcourt, and they can run," Greenberg said. "They can do both well, so we have to be ready for both kinds of games. "It's all going to come down to who's going to make the big plays and which team is consistently tougher throughout the entire game." An uneasy trend arose for Penn during its recent two-week Ivy League road swing. After emerging victorious in both of their Friday games, the Quakers came back to lose the next night -- the first week to Dartmouth, then to Columbia. The pair of second-day road losses has elicited concern from Penn coaches and players. "I'm not sure if it's because of travel," Greenberg said. "I feel like the team feels prepared, so I don't know if it's fatigue or what." The Quakers definitely need to hope for a change in their Saturday luck with Harvard coming to the Palestra tomorrow for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Although almost a polar opposite of Dartmouth in terms of tempo -- preferring a slow, deliberate offensive, rather than a fast-paced game -- Harvard (7-2, 14-7) will still be a challenging opponent for Penn. Like Dartmouth, Harvard has a well-balanced attack, anchored by senior forward Laela Sturdy's 13.5 points per game and sophomore guard Jen Monti's league-leading 6.3 assist average. Unlike the Big Green, though, the Crimson have a lot of size -- 10 of the 15 players on Harvard's roster measure at six feet or above -- and will try to use their height to out-rebound the Quakers, slowing down Penn's transition offense. "One of the most dangerous things about Penn's game is definitely their transition," Sturdy said. In light of the problems Penn has faced playing partially fatigued on Saturdays, some of the Quakers will actually welcome this Harvard strategy of slow, half-court basketball. "I think it's going to be better to play [Harvard] second, rather than having Dartmouth running up and down the floor on Saturday," West said. Plus, with Ivy-leading rebounder Caramanico in the paint (12.0 rebounds per game) and supported by 6'3" Jessica Allen and 6'0" Julie Epton, the Quakers are confident that they will pull down plenty of boards of their own against the Crimson. Every team involved knows the importance this weekend bears on the highly contested Ivy League title race. "Friday night's game is the biggest game," Greenberg said. "But ironically, if we win Friday night's game, then Saturday immediately becomes the biggest game ever."

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