Upstart Princeton Seizes Early Lead With 3-0 Start

The Princeton Tigers can thank scheduling for their early success in Ivy League play, as they emerge from the Ancient Eight's opening weekend with a strong 3-0 record. Although pre-season favorite Dartmouth, along with Brown, also emerged from the break with an undefeated record, Princeton's early win streak against Penn, Columbia and Cornell helped legitimize their 9-4 non-conference record, which was the second-best in the league.

Princeton

A key factor in the Tigers' quick start after last season's fifth-place finish is the strong effort of sophomore Meagan Cowher. On Friday night at Levien, Cowher posted 32 points by shooting 14 for 23 against the Lions, leading Princeton to a dominating 78-62 victory. The 6'1" forward also pounded the boards on defense, with five rebounds and a steal to compliment her offensive power. The following evening Cowher cemented the successful weekend with 27 points against Cornell, going 11 for 16 with four boards and four steals in the 94-90 win. With such a dominating performance, Cowher earned Ivy Player of the Week honors for the second time this season and spearheaded her team's finest finish in five years.

Dartmouth

Though Dartmouth's only Ivy win came back on Jan. 7 against Harvard, the team has stayed busy since then, coming back against New Hampshire on the 11th to defeat the Wildcats 62-56. Then, on the 17th, the Big Green beat Colgate 67-56 thanks to five players scoring in double figures, keeping their overall record as the best in the league.

Brown

After Princeton and Dartmouth, though, the rest of the Ivy League lags far behind in the winning percentage category, with only Brown staying reasonably close. After a 5-7 pre-season, the Bears eked out a 51-47 victory over Yale on Saturday, thanks mostly to their success from the charity stripe, out-scoring the Bulldogs 19-4 from the line. Though Brown only managed to shoot 29 percent from the field, their strong performance at the line, particularly that of senior Colleen Kelly who went 11 for 15, and their 20 steals, earned them the victory in the Ivy opener for both teams.

Cornell

Cornell also broke into their Ivy season with a victory last weekend, defeating Penn 64-51 on Friday night. Though the Big Red had lost their previous seven games against the Quakers, junior Claire Perry came back from injury to score a career-high 22 points, grabbing eight rebounds in the process. Though Perry had an impressive outing, the biggest thrill for Cornell probably belonged to head coach Dayna Smith, who earned her first career victory against her former program.

Penn

Coming into last week, Penn had a 10-game losing streak which they broke through with a dominating 66-38 win over Rider on Jan. 10, Then, following their loss to Cornell, the Quakers regained momentum with a narrow 68-62 victory over Columbia. Junior point guard Joey Rhoads scored 22 points with three assists, including a huge three-point shot and two free throws in the final minutes to secure both their first Ivy and their first road victory of the season.