Another weekend, two more must-win games for the women's basketball team.
Despite a sweep last weekend, the Crimson remains in second place (15-6 overall, 7-2 Ivy) one game behind pace-setting Dartmouth (12-9, 8-1).
"We're really psyched for this weekend," captain Tammy Butler said. "No one on this team has ever beaten Brown, so we're looking to come out hungry.
Brown certainly poses more of a threat to Harvard than does Yale. The Crimson will be looking to exact some revenge against the Bears Saturday, having lost to them earlier, 65-57.
Harvard will focus on stopping Brown center Martina Jerant, who scored 41 points and grabbed 28 rebounds last weekend. Jerant is leading the Ivy League in both categories averaging 18.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.
Although Harvard limited her to nine points and eight rebounds in the first meeting, other Brown players stepped up.
"In focusing so much on Martina, our defense let up when she came out of the game," Butler said.
"Although we played well against Martina last time, [Brown's] perimeter players really hurt us," junior Amy Reinhard added.
Harvard also expects to get improved shooting performances from Butler and freshman Allison Feaster, who went a combined 7-28 from the floor during the earlier loss.
Regarding Feaster, the freshman expects to play against Yale, despite a sprained right ankle suffered in last Saturday's win over Penn.
"Today, I practiced for the first time this week," Feaster said. "It was a little painful, but I'll be ready for the weekend."
Harvard is not over-looking Yale, however. Although they handled the Bulldogs with ease in their previous encounter, triumphing 83-54, they know that the Bulldogs will be looking for redemption.
"We're not looking past Yale, but if we play our game we should be okay," Butler said.
Yale enters Friday night's contest with a 3-6 Ivy League record, having split home games versus Columbia and Cornell last weekend.
Offensively, the Bulldogs are struggling, currently averaging a meager 56.9 points a game, compared to the Crimson's league leading 79.2 average. Yale is shooting a dismal 33.9 percent from the field worst in the Ancient Eight.
In order to win both games, Harvard must continue to push the ball and generate fast-break points from tough defense.
"This week we put in two new defensive systems," Reinhard said, "so we're looking to shake things up."
Read more in Sports
Scoreboard