Princeton University Athletics
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Ivy First Place at Stake When Women's Hoops Visits Harvard, Dartmouth This Weekend
February 06, 2007 | Women's Basketball
First-place showdown: Thanks to their respective weekend sweeps, the Princeton and Harvard women's basketball teams will meet with sole possession of first place and control of the Ivy race on the line Friday night. Both teams posted double-digit wins over their foes, with Princeton sweeping Yale and Brown at home and Harvard taking Cornell and Columbia on the road.
Up, up, up: Meagan Cowher scored her 1,000th point Saturday night against Brown and enters the weekend ranked 17th all-time at 1,014 points. Next up on the list are Kim Allen (1993-97), with 1,018 points and Allison Cahill (1999-03) at 1,058.
Last year against Harvard and Dartmouth: Since the Ivy League went to its double round-robin format in 1983, Princeton had never beaten both Harvard and Dartmouth on the same trip until last year. That sweep followed a home split only a couple weeks earlier in which Dartmouth dealt a blow to Princeton's Ivy title hopes with an 18-point loss.
Supportive cast: While Meagan Cowher's offensive potency is well documented, it required much more than one player for Princeton to make its current 5 of 6 run. Though Cowher has led Princeton in scoring in the last six games and 15 of 19 on the year, four players have finished second in the scoring column during the last six-game run, including Caitlin O'Neill, Casey Lockwood, Ali Prichard and Julia Berger.
Taking the Leed-e: Regardless of Friday's contest, Princeton is in for a good game Saturday at Dartmouth. The two-time defending NCAA representative Big Green had won seven straight over Princeton on its home floor before last year's loss.
Last time we met: While Princeton swept Harvard last season for the first time since 1999, Princeton's rivalry with Dartmouth warranted a third meeting in a special Ivy playoff to determine the league's NCAA Tournament berth. On the neutral court at Yale, Princeton could not overcome allowing Dartmouth to shoot 52.3% as the Big Green advanced to the NCAAs for the second straight year.
Cowher's wild ride: The last seven games by Meagan Cowher have been impressive, to say the least. She has scored more than 20 points in each game, had two double-doubles and risen to 18th in Division I in points per game at 19.5. That is the highest current ranking for any Ivy Leaguer in any category. She scored 66 points against Cornell and Columbia, the highest two-game total for any Princeton woman ever, and, counting only Ivy weekends, higher than any Princeton men's player except Bill Bradley '65. Her 35 points against Cornell were the most since 1989 for a Princeton woman and second-most all-time, only three fewer than the record.
Chasing history: While the career points record will have to wait until next year to be threatened, Meagan Cowher could claim a few seasonal records over the next month. Here are her totals compared with the records:
| Record | Amount | Cowher's current total | Pace |
| Points, season | 480 | 371 | 547 |
| Scoring avg., season | 19.500 | 19.526 | 19.526 |
| Field goals made, season | 202 | 144 | 212 |
| Field goals att., season | 425 | 287 | 422 |
Listen to the game, see the game: Derek Jones will call both games this weekend from Cambridge and Hanover. Fans can access just the audio broadcast for free or the video stream for $7.95 per month as well at www.GoPrincetonTigers.com by clicking on the speaker or video camera icons on the women's basketball schedule page, on the right side of the front page under “Schedule,” or by entering the Tiger Zone on the front page.
On Harvard: The league's top two offenses will line up Friday in Cambridge. Princeton leads the league in points per game (66.8) while Harvard is a close second at 66.1. Harvard leads in the field goal percentage category (44.0%) over Princeton (42.9%), though the Tigers rank tops in FG% defense at 40.9%. After starting 1-10, the Crimson have won 5 of 7 and have three players averaging double-figure points, all guards, including Emily Tay (13.3 ppg), Lindsay Hallion (11.5) and Niki Finelli (11.2). One key to the game could be foul trouble for Harvard as leading rebounder Christiana Lackner has fouled out of five of her 18 games.
On Dartmouth: Like Harvard, Dartmouth started slow at 2-8 but has regained its stride, having won 7 of 9. The smallest roster in the Ivy League at 10 players, Dartmouth has two averaging double-figure points, including the Ivy's second-leading scorer, Ashley Taylor (17.7 ppg) and first-year starter Koren Schram (11.6). Sydney Scott leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game. A shooting disparity has hurt the Big Green, as its opponents hit at a 42.1% rate while Dartmouth makes 38.3%.
The series: Princeton trails both series, 31-27 to Harvard and 38-18 to Dartmouth. That reflects recent times as well, as the Crimson have won 7 of 10 and Dartmouth has claimed 9 of 11 during the Barron era.
Princeton, Harvard, Dartmouth in Ivy rankings: Of the 19 statistical rankings kept by the Ivy League, Princeton leads eight. The list includes points per game (66.8), scoring margin (+1.3), field goal percentage defense (40.9%), blocked shots per game (3.7), assists per game (15.3), defensive rebounds per game (25.3) and three-pointers per game (5.6). Harvard leads two: field goal percentage (44.0) and steals (9.1). Dartmouth's top ranking is second, achieved in scoring defense (63.9 ppg) and free throw percentage (71.0).
Individually, the only Tiger leading a ranking is Meagan Cowher as the conference's scoring leader (19.5 ppg). Harvard's Emily Tay leads in assists (5.1/game) and steals (2.3/game). Dartmouth's Koren Schram makes the most threes at 2.5 per game.
Princeton, Harvard, Dartmouth in the NCAA rankings: While Meagan Cowher is the 18th-ranked scorer in Division I, she is also ranked 68th in accuracy at 50.2 percent. As a team, Princeton is ranked in the top 100 of 324 schools in five categories, with assists per game (15.3) ranked 58th.
Harvard's Emily Tay is 28th in Division I with her 5.1 assists per game, while her 2.3 steals per contest are 99th. The Crimson are ranked in the top 100 in three categories, with field goal percentage (44.0) being the best at 34th.
Dartmouth's Ashley Taylor is 46th in scoring (17.7 ppg) and 49th in free-throw percentage (83.7%), while Koren Schram is 27th in threes per game at 2.5 and 63rd in three-point shooting percentage at 36.6%.
High school reunions: Princeton junior Katy Digovich and Harvard freshman Liz Altmaier both attended Pinewood School in Los Altos, Calif.
Looking ahead: The road swing continues next weekend at Cornell and Columbia as the second half of the league schedule begins.