The Penn women's basketball team and Dartmouth sophomore Brittney Smith are both moving in the right direction.
Only three weeks after the Big Green (12-9, 7-0 Ivy) dominated the Quakers, 56-39, at the Palestra, Penn finds itself carrying the momentum of a season-high three-game winning streak into this weekend's road rematches with Dartmouth and Harvard (13-8, 5-2).
And after meticulously studying game film of Smith - who torched the Red and Blue for 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting in their first meeting - the Quakers (6-15, 3-4) hope to learn from their mistakes and take advantage of a tendency they noticed in her play.
"On tape, every time she goes left, she'd pick up her dribble, and try and pass it," senior captain Carrie Biemer said, "But [going] right she'd just sweep it and [essentially] dunk every time. That's what it felt like."
But the team knows that stopping Smith, whom Penn coach Pat Knapp called a "powerhouse," won't be that simple.
"She beats you on the boards and with her post moves, so we have to limit her touches and we have to box her out," he said.
The Dartmouth loss back in January was also Penn's worst offensive output of the season, aggravated by Biemer's foul trouble, which limited her to a season-low two points and zero field goals.
Knapp likened the offensive gameplan in the rematch to "a chess game" and hopes that the film study will help Penn set more effective screens and read the Big Green's defensive switches.
Dartmouth and Harvard are currently the top two teams in the Ancient Eight, and it's hardly a coincidence that they feature two of the best players in the league. Crimson senior point guard Emily Tay scored 22 points in Harvard's 73-62 victory over Penn earlier this year.
"If Smith's not [Ivy League] Player of the Year, Tay will be," Knapp said. "She might look to [score], but that's not in her DNA. She likes to get in there and pass the ball to people. She likes assists and flashy passes."
Rather than focusing on Tay, Penn will tailor its gameplan to try to limit Christine Matera, who buried Penn with several consecutive deep three-pointers last month.
"Now that we know Matera can shoot shots from halfcourt, we're not going to let her go 5-for-5," Biemer quipped.
The Quakers will have to adjust to Harvard's perimeter threats without losing too much on the interior, where they limited the Crimson's post players to 10 total points.
"They're going to go inside and try to get those kids off right away," Knapp said. "Harvard is not going to let that happen again."
Biemer said the team matches up much better athletically with Harvard's frontcourt than Dartmouth's, especially if the Crimson are without injured senior Katie Rollins. But sophomore Emma Markley has proved equally dangerous, as she recorded two double-doubles and a total of 45 points last weekend.
Knapp said that this is "the toughest road trip for everybody in the league," but his team, which was in the throes of a five-game losing streak the first time around, is "in a better place" right now.
"Obviously with three wins in the back of our heads, we can't take that and settle," senior guard Kelly Scott said. "We just have to come out with as much fire as if we just lost."
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