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).

All of a sudden, last year's weaknesses have become this year's strengths. Last season the men's lacrosse team struggled to find senior leadership. But with a senior class of 10 -- -double the number from last year - this year's squad may finally have the appropriate mix of talent and experience to make a run at the Ivy League's elite.

Coming into the 2008 season, Becca Edwards had high hopes. As a sophomore two years ago, the attacker had scored 37 points on 32 goals and five assists for Penn. There was only one thing that could stop her from topping that honorable mention All-Ivy output.

Jon McLaughlin, who has coached Penn's offensive line for the past three seasons, has been promoted to offensive coordinator, several sources with knowledge of the football program said. Head coach Al Bagnoli announced the promotion at the team's annual banquet Friday.

It wasn't about height in New Haven, Conn., Friday. 383 inches of Yale blue and white lined up for tip-off, while across the way, Princeton's starting five came in at 380 inches. But the Bulldogs played much bigger, manhandling the Tigers to the tune of a 43-23 rebounding edge in the easy 12-point victory.

The last few years of strong defense have served the Penn women's lacrosse team well, as it was largely responsible for the team's trips to the 2007 NCAA Final Four and last year's national championships. But this season, in hopes of taking that extra step and winning the title, coach Karin Brower has shifted her focus to a whole new part of the team-: the midfield.

When asked how it feels to finally be the starting goalkeeper for the Penn men's lacrosse team, Greg Murray apologized. "It's hard to put into words . sorry about that," the senior said. Considering the hard work he's put in and the perpetual waiting he's endured, Murray has earned the right to sit a question out.

PRINCETON, N.J. - So how exactly did the Quakers hit just a third of their shots and just over a quarter of their three-pointers last night and still walk out of Jadwin Gym with a win? The answer begins and ends with how many more possessions they had than their opponents.

PRINCETON, N.J. Not all victories are created equal. There are moral victories in losing efforts and momentum-building victories in recent winning efforts. There are victories in games you should have won and victories in rivalry games that are always up for grabs.

Men's squash is a recruiting battle that not all the Ivies are fighting. While six of the top eight teams are from the Ancient Eight, the disparity between each is unmatched by any other sport. Keep in mind, Penn defeated every one of its lower-ranked opponents this season and lost to every squad with a higher rank.

The sign was kind of clever, you had to admit. "Penningitis," it read, courtesy of the Princeton band. "Terminally Infectious Since 1740." But the Tigers' trumpet-wielders had it all wrong. There was no disease in the air at Jadwin Gym on this night - just some serious allergies to the bottom of the net.

In one of the best Penn-Princeton games in years, the Quakers held on to beat their arch rivals, 62-55, in overtime. Penn jumped out to a 9-2 lead to start the game behind a hard-nosed layup by Harrison Gaines and five quick points on jumpers by Tyler Bernardini.

Forgive Princeton's Dan Mavraides if he exaggerates just a little bit when taking a charge in tonight's game. The sophomore guard may have picked up a few tips from his mother, actress Dorothy Gallagher. A classically trained actress from Boston, Gallagher has appeared in Shakespeare plays, does voice-over work for commercials and video games and teaches voice-over clinics as well.

If there's one thing that Ivy League schools pride themselves on, it's tradition. Considering seven of the eight schools are some of the oldest in America (sorry Cornell, but you guys just don't count), these ivory towers are steeped in ritual. Whether it's Dartmouth's stupid form of beer pong, Harvard's Primal Scream or Cornell's low academic standards, if there's one thing the future I-Bankers and politicians of America take pride in, it's pointless, vestigial customs.

In the 36-year history of the Penn women's basketball team, 17 Quakers have eclipsed 1,000 career points, most recently guard Joey Rhoads in 2007. After senior captain Carrie Biemer's 45-point output this weekend against Brown and Yale - which earned her Big 5 Player of the Week honors - she finds herself only five points shy of the career milestone.

In one of the best Penn-Princeton games in years, the Quakers held on to beat their arch rivals, 62-55, in overtime. Penn jumped out to a 9-2 lead behind a hard-nosed layup by Harrison Gaines and 5 quick points on jumpers by Tyler Bernardini. Princeton recovered quickly with a three-pointer by Dan Mavraides and a lay-up by center Pawel Buczak that sparked a 8-0 run.

These days, it only comes around once in a blue moon -- like fresh bagels at Hill House brunch or a Philadelphia championship. The stars have aligned, however, to give meaning to a rivalry that hasn't seen real action since a heart-pounding Penn comeback over the Tigers in 2005, when Quakers faithful rushed the court after their team rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit at the Palestra.