Princeton dominates league, Dartmouth struggles

As the Ivy League’s women’s basketball season begins conference play, four teams maintain season records above .500. The two-time defending Ivy League champion Princeton (13-4, 3-0 Ivy) has taken the top spot thus far in the conference standings. The Lions witnessed Princeton’s dominating success last week after suffering a one-sided 94-35 loss to the Tigers, leaving the Light Blue at the bottom of the Ancient Eight. With seven out of the eight league teams only having played one conference match-up thus far, the Ivy League title is certainly still up for grabs.

Princeton
Princeton has steamrolled so far in the Ivy League. The Tigers defeated Penn, Cornell, and Columbia by an average margin of 41 points and held all three teams to below 50. Princeton’s success has received national attention, as the Tigers earned a vote towards a national ranking in the AP Top 25 Poll twice this season. Averaging 17 points per game, the Tigers’ junior forward Niveen Rasheed has helped lead the team to its current six-game win streak and was named Ivy League Player of the Week for her standout performance.

Yale
Yale (9-6, 1-0 Ivy) came off a disappointing five-game losing streak during last season’s Ancient Eight play to defeat Brown 75-65 this past Friday in its league opener. Freshman guard Sarah Halejian scored a career-high 18 points, earning her Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors. With a total of four players scoring in double digits, Yale showed both depth and formidable young talent in its league opener.

Harvard
Led by senior guard Brogan Berry, who is on pace to break into the Ivy League’s top 30 all-time scorers, Harvard (8-6, 1-0 Ivy) began league play last Saturday with a 71-63 victory at Dartmouth. Berry dished out eight assists and scored 17 points in the Crimson victory. Along with Berry’s offensive prowess, Harvard’s tenacious defense has undoubtedly contributed to its success. Harvard recently held both UMass and TCU below the 50-point mark in back-to-back games, a feat that was last accomplished by the Crimson in March 2008.

Brown
Despite Brown’s (9-6, 0-1 Ivy) loss to Yale this past week, the Bears should not be counted out of the hunt for the Ivy League title. Although losing by 10 points, Brown held the lead for a significant portion of the game by a margin as large as five points. Brown junior guard Sheila Dixon scored 20 points and shot 60 percent from the floor in the loss to Yale. With a shooter like Dixon, look for Brown to make a big impact in the conference.

Penn
Penn (7-7, 0-1 Ivy) suffered a lopsided 83-48 loss to the Tigers on Jan. 7. The Quakers, who began the season with a 7-2 record, are currently on a five-game losing streak. With four consecutive Ivy League games still to come at the end of January, Penn must regroup if it hopes to challenge for an Ivy League title.

Cornell
Cornell (6-9, 0-1 Ivy) also suffered its first Ivy League defeat this season at the hands of Princeton by a final score of 64-35 last Friday. Although the Big Red scored 40 or more points in its other 13 games this season, Cornell only managed a season-low 35 against the Ivy powerhouse. With a season record of 4-22 in the 2010-2011 season (3-11 in the league), Cornell most likely will not raise its winning percentage out of the red.

Dartmouth
Since winning two of its first three contests this season, Dartmouth (2-12, 0-1 Ivy) has dropped 10 straight and most recently lost its first Ivy matchup against Harvard. With a 3-11 league record last year and an early loss in the conference, Dartmouth may remain at the bottom of the rankings again this year.