Ivy title on the line as Penn women's basketball enters final stretch

It’s the last week of the season, and there’s currently a tie for first place. Get your popcorn ready.

Penn women’s basketball will host Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend in its final Ivy League doubleheader of the season before driving to New Jersey to conclude regular season play against Princeton in a contest that could determine the winner of the Ivy League title.

The Quakers (21-4, 10-1 Ivy) have the opportunity to earn the program’s second conference championship in three seasons, but to get there, they will have to go through the other three teams that round out the top four in the Ancient Eight standings.

The Red and Blue entered their penultimate weekend of conference play having won each of their last eight games and 15 of 16 but fell to Cornell, 51-46, despite junior center Sydney Stipanovich’s 16 points and eight rebounds. The next day brought Columbia, which the Quakers routed for the second time this season, 60-42.

However, the Friday loss allowed Princeton (21-4, 10-1) to claim a share of the conference lead, making things interesting as both teams come into this weekend at 10-1 in Ivy play.

Coach Mike McLaughlin said that while the atmosphere at practice was loose and the players were confident this week, he wanted to ensure the team was well-rested as it readies for its sixth straight weekend doubleheader.

“We stayed the course, and we shortened our practices for fatigue reasons to make sure that we’re sharp mentally and physically,” McLaughlin said.

Sophomore forward Michelle Nwokedi backed up the assertion that the team was rested and excited for one of the biggest weekends of the season.

“It’s a preventative measure,” she said of the shortened practices. “A huge part of this game is mental, and you don’t want to get tired.”

It will be important for the Quakers to stay rested, as 88 percent of the minutes this season have been distributed between six players that have scored 92 percent of the teams points.

Between the two of them, Nwokedi and Stipanovich rank first and second in the conference in rebounds and blocks and are eighth and ninth in points per game. Meanwhile, two of the primary ballhandlers, sophomore Anna Ross and senior Kasey Chambers, top the conference leaderboard in assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Red and Blue’s first opponent of the weekend, Dartmouth (12-16, 7-5), saw its five-game winning streak snapped in Saturday’s loss to Yale despite Kate Letkewicz’s clinic on offense, where she put up 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including 4-for-8 from long-distance. Forward Lakin Roland and Letkewicz have been vital players for the Big Green. Roland averages 15.8 and 8.3 rebounds — both of which place fourth in the conference — with Letkewicz not far behind at 12.6 points and 7 rebounds.

Saturday’s opponent, Harvard (14-11, 9-3), has won six straight since falling to both Penn and Princeton at home. The Crimson’s leading scorer, AnnMarie Healy, ranks second in the conference in points per game and fourth in field goal percentage with 16.1 and 51.3 percent, respectively. She filled up the stat sheet last Friday against Yale with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Shilpa Tummala and Kit Metoyer have also shared the burden on offense, and Tummala took over in Saturday’s 92-79 shootout with Brown, recording 24 points with six three-point buckets and 12 boards.

Given the way the last Ivy weekend with Dartmouth and Harvard played out, McLaughlin doesn’t see much of a need to switch up the gameplan prior to the games.

“We’re probably going to handle things the way we’ve done it,” he said. “We’re going to play the same style, we can change as the game dictates. I think offensively we’re always adapting to new sets and new roles.”

Princeton has rebounded to win its last 10 after their winter break tilt with Penn to open conference play, in which the Quakers prevailed 50-48. The Tigers’ paltry 29.1 percent field goal percentage was their lowest of the season, and Princeton has not shot below 40 percent since. Six games during the streak have been won by more than 20 points, and Harvard was the only team to close with a single-digit deficit (9 points) against the reigning Ivy champions. The Tigers have a balanced offensive attack, with their five starters averaging between 8-14 points, and two of them, Annie Tarakchian and Alex Wheatley, were first team All-Ivy a year ago.

With the opportunity to claim the Ivy League title, McLaughlin can feel the excitement surrounding the team.

“We had two weekends away. I think they’re super excited. ... These games are valuable, and we’re on our court. It’s a pretty good spot to be in.”

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