W. Hoops needs wins to stay in race

The Columbia and Cornell women's basketball teams may be visiting Philadelphia on Friday and Saturday, respectively. They will both face a determined Penn women's basketball team, as the Quakers know they will need to win both games to remain a contender for the Ivy League crown. Although Columbia and Cornell will both outsize the Quakers on the hardwood, Penn coach Kelly Greenberg expressed confidence in her team's ability to win both games. "We obviously want to play well, and if we play well, we will walk away with two 'W's,'" Greenberg said. "If we are able to come out and start the game with a lot of energy and play smart, I think that will be the key to our weekend." Some energy will certainly come from junior Jewel Clark. The forward was named last week's Ivy League Player of the Week after averaging over 20 points and 14 rebounds per game against Delaware, Dartmouth and Harvard. The Red and Blue (7-9, 1-2 Ivy) emerged victorious against Delaware and Dartmouth but lost to Ivy-favorite Harvard on Sunday. Cornell (7-10, 1-3 Ivy) has struggled as of late -- losing four of its last five games. The Big Red, however, are coming off a win against Yale in their last contest and will look for point guard Karen Force once again to lead the team's efforts. Force scored a game-high 28 points against Yale last weekend. Penn starting point guard Tara Twomey will be responsible for holding Force at bay. Twomey, who dished seven assists at Dartmouth last weekend, is looking forward to returning home to the confines of the historic Palestra. "It's definitely a positive to play on your home court," Twomey said. "We practice here everyday and the traveling takes a lot out of you." The Penn coaching staff will be leery of the fact that former assistant coach Dyana Smith will be sitting on the opposing bench this time at the Palestra. The new Cornell assistant has not slipped off Greenberg's radar. "She certainly is familiar with everything we do and our personnel, so that puts a different twist on the game," Greenberg said. "We will have to be ready to make adjustments accordingly." Once the Big Red depart, Penn will face a more challenging opponent in Columbia (9-8, 2-2 Ivy), who have already defeated Cornell twice this season. The Quakers will attempt to declaw the Lions, who sit one spot above the Red and Blue at fourth in the Ivy League standings. Columbia, like Cornell, has gone cold as of late, losing its last two games to Ancient Eight foes Brown and Princeton. Opponents have outrebounded the Red and Blue by an average of five boards per contest. The Quakers will once again be challenged inside by the Lions, who have out-rebounded their opponents by over five per game this season. For this reason, Twomey stressed a need to gain an early lead, not only against Columbia, but also Cornell. "We just want to jump out on both teams early on and set the pace for the team from the start. It's really important that we get two wins this weekend for the rest of the season," Twomey said. If all goes according to plan, come Saturday night Penn will move into third -- and back into contention for the Ivy League Championship. With this in mind, Greenberg expressed a need for two victories this weekend. "After being away last week we are certainly ready to play at home this weekend," Greenberg said. "We've been playing pretty well and need to keep our momentum up. We wont be happy with anything else."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.