The women's basketball team may have just won its first Ivy League title since 1994 and the sixth in team history, but the tri-champion Bears need two victories this weekend to advance to this year's NCAA tournament.
This season was the first time in Ivy women's hoops history that three teams all finished tied atop the standings at the end of conference play. Although Brown, Dartmouth and Princeton were all named tri-champions, only one is promised the Ancient Eight's automatic ticket to the big dance.
Since the trio of champs all had identical 10-2 records in league play and went 2-2 against one another, Jeffrey Orleans, executive director of the Council of Ivy Group Presidents, placed three coins with the schools' logos in a hat and drew one. Orleans picked Princeton, granting the Tigers a bye into the final game Sunday. The Tigers await the winner of the Brown-Dartmouth game tonight at Yale.
"As much as we would have wanted to have the bye, we are very excited and focused for our opportunity this weekend," said guard Jackie Vocell '06.
Leading the charge for Brown is co-captain Sarah Hayes '06, who on Thursday was named Ivy League Player of the Year - the first Bear to win the award since 1994. Hayes has been on a tear coming into tonight's game. She is averaging 17.3 points per game while shooting a blistering 63 percent from the floor over her last four games.
This will be the third time that Brown and Dartmouth have played this year, each having won a game on its home floor. In the first meeting, Dartmouth used deadly three-point shooting to give Brown its worst loss of the season, 73-51. Brown rebounded in the second match-up, beating the Big Green 59-54 in overtime.
"We know their personnel very well and we know their strengths very well," said Colleen Kelly '06, who was named second team All-Ivy Thursday.
One of the keys for Brown will be shutting down guard Jeanie Cullen, who leads the league in three-pointers made and three-point percentage. Brown's defense contained her in the second Dartmouth game, limiting her number of open looks. In that game, she was visibly frustrated, making only three of her 12 shots. To knock off the Big Green again, the Bears will need their trademark pressing-and-trapping defense to fill passing lanes, force turnovers and rattle Dartmouth.
"We know that they have a lot of good shooters and it is imperative that we get out on (Cullen) and (Angie Soriaga)," said Head Coach Jean Marie Burr.
Brown has been focused on guarding the three-ball all week in practice, having its scout team mimic the Big Green's offensive sets.
"Our scout team has been very important for us all season," said guard/forward Ashley King-Bischof '07. "They do a great job in being able to run the other team's sets and they are also much more athletic than any team we play. They have an immense impact on how we prepare. We have had some really good practices this week. We have employed some new strategies defensively that we are really excited about."
On offense, Brown also needs to find a way to get Kelly open for some unimpeded threes. She was only 12-of-35 from the floor in the last four games and only 5-of-16 from behind the arc.
"It's not a question of me getting open looks as much as it is everyone getting open looks," Kelly said. "We have to make sure we run our offense precisely and get open shots for everyone."
Despite the importance of this contest, the Bears are more focused and excited than they are nervous.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Hayes said. "If we play the way we know we are capable of playing, then we will be fine."
The game might also have a sense of déjà vu for longtime Bears fans - in 1994, the Bears defeated the Big Green in a one-game playoff to win the league's first NCAA bid.
The game will tip off tonight at 7 p.m. at Yale's John Lee Amphitheater. The University will provide a bus to the game leaving from the Pizzitola Center at 4 p.m. However, only the first 55 people get seats.
