Women's Basketball: Bulldogs will try to contain two fleet Ivy foes

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Caitlin Bair, TD '02, and the Elis face the Crimson this weekend.

Picture a bulldog. You probably see a small, stout animal that is tough and tenacious. Now picture the same bulldog racing a greyhound. Odds are the bulldog wouldn't have much of a chance.

Such is the obstacle the women's basketball team (6-10, 1-3 Ivy) faces this weekend as it opposes Harvard and Dartmouth in back-to-back home contests on Sat., Jan. 30, and Sun., Jan. 31. Both opponents are top Ivy teams and both run the floor, attempting to engage their opponents in a fast-paced game.

Yet the Bulldogs, like their namesake, are not designed to sprint all game long. Coach Cecilia DeMarco knows that the Blue must somehow counter the speed.

"We can't get trapped into playing a running-style game," she said. "We have to do a number of things to contain the speed, but most important will be to stay deliberate and balanced on offense. Luckily, both teams are similar in the way they run their offense, so we can prepare for both at the same time."

Despite her team's perfect Ivy record, Harvard coach Kathy Delany-Smith is wary of facing the Elis on the road. "I think that as a team, we are getting healthier and stronger," Delany-Smith said. "But so is Yale. They have great veterans and a very strong inside game. Yale's record is not very indicative of how good they are--they are a very dangerous team."

Yale should have momentum on its side. After enduring a 10-game losing streak earlier in the season, the Elis have won back-to-back contests for the first time since last November 20 and Nov. 25. Center Lily Glick, ES '01, said the team's most recent victory, a 71-63 win over Brown on Fri., Jan. 22, showed that the Bulldogs are capable of a successful weekend.

"[The game] against Brown represents the way we should have been playing all season," Glick said. "The two wins have made a difference--we're a little more excited now."

Captain Autumn Braddock, BK '99, hopes Yale can execute the way the team did against Brown. "Against Brown, we didn't make too many mistakes," she said. "We need to come out with a similar level of energy this weekend."

--Christopher Burke

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