With just three games left in the 2009-10 season, a win down the stretch for Penn women’s basketball would do wonders to alleviate the disappointment of a trying season.
But just as the case has been all year, notching a victory will be extremely challenging. The Quakers’ last three games feature three of the Ivy League’s best teams, as Penn (1-24, 0-11 Ivy) travels to Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend and finishes off its regular season at Princeton on Tuesday.
If Penn fails to secure a victory during the three-game slate, it will be the first time the team has gone winless in the League since 1977-78, when the Red and Blue played just two Ivy games.
The matchups will be the final opportunities for seniors Sarah Bucar, Amy Donovan and Caitlin Slover to lead the Quakers out on the floor as they near the end of their Penn careers. McLaughlin said that he admires the great respect his team has for the trio.
Perhaps, playing for their seniors will give the Quakers the fight they need when the squad takes on second-place Harvard (18-7, 9-2), which enters Friday’s contest with a perfect 10-0 mark at home.
The Crimson’s balanced offense overwhelmed Penn back on Feb. 6, when Harvard opened the game on a 22-1 run en route to a 66-40 victory.
Saturday’s showdown with Dartmouth may prove far more favorable for Penn.
The Big Green (11-14, 6-5) play a similar style of basketball to the Quakers, favoring a low-scoring, slow-paced game.
But with the second-best scoring defense in the league, Dartmouth will look to replicate its performance Feb. 5 at the Palestra, when it held Penn to just 37 points on 28.8 percent shooting from the field.
Princeton (23-2, 11-0) put on an equally impressive defensive display back on Jan. 9 at the Palestra and pulled out a 70-39 victory.
The Tigers, who have won 18 straight games, are on the verge of cracking the ESPN/USA Today Poll as one of the nation’s top 25 teams.
McLaughlin knows that if his team wants to earn a win, there will be little room for error.
But he also realizes that there are more important things than winning or losing.
“The seniors deserve to go out with their best chance,” he said, “whatever that may be.”
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