The three enforcers may have similar roles, but they play their parts in different ways.

Brandt is perhaps the truest sixth player by definition, as she usually is the first to check into the game, whether or not Russell and Kowal accompany her. Brandt can play the two-guard or the small forward in Harvard's offense, and she normally replaces senior Alison Seanor or junior Suzie Miller when she enters a game.

Her strengths on offense are her perimeter shooting and her uncanny ability to throw crowd-stunning backdoor passes to teammates breaking towards the basket. Brandt finished the season atop the Ivy League in threepoint shooting percentage, dropping 46.8 percent of her shots from beyond the arc in conference games.

"At the start of the game, there's a lot of adrenaline and a lot of excitement with the starters, and I see my role as one who...has seen the game and can figure out where we're lacking or what needs to be done," Brandt says. "I head in there, pump up my teammates and just try to get the adrenaline kicking once again."

"[Brandt] is a special sixth man--let's just get that right out there," Russell adds.

Russell is no slouch either. She hit 49 percent of her shots over the course of the season, and was the primary reliever for the nation's leading scorer, Harvard co-captain Allison Feaster.

But scoring at Feaster's clip is not what Russell concerns herself with. Instead, she focuses on another strength of Feaster's--rebounding--and draws on that prowess for her own game.

"When I go into the game for [Feaster], especially if she's had a pretty good night rebounding, then I get very much inspired by that," Russell says. "Rebounding is just working hard, and I can go in and try to follow what [Feaster] has established in that game--the rebounding force from Harvard."

Kowal, meanwhile, is the Crimson's back-up point guard for co-captain Megan Basil. Kowal provides a change of pace from Basil's style--while the latter is more of a spot-up shooter and half-court offense executor, Kowal's game is collapsing defenses by penetrating and then dishing to an open teammate. She is an excellent ball handler with superb quickness, and she is seldom unnerved.

"Sometimes it's the greatest thing ever if you're running up the court and you see Lisa blow by you," says Russell. "There's no drop ever when Lisa's on the court. That inspires so much confidence when you see a point guard who's just taking it."

"I feel like I come in and just try to keep the intensity up," Kowal says. "Whatever the starters are doing, I try to do the same."

"You know [Lisa] is just looking to give the dish to somebody," continues Russell. "That's what's great about her--reckless abandon but unbelievable poise. That bodes so well for Stanford."

Indeed Harvard's trio of sixth women will probably be a crucial component of the Crimson's performance against the Cardinal on Saturday. And while they each play different positions, their games complement each other remark-ably well.

It is not uncommon to see Kowal call out a play for Russell or one that runs Brandt around a double screen for a catch-and-shoot trey. The three share a common sense of purpose when they are on the floor, and they mesh well with one another.

"I think on the court [Russell] and I are very emotional players, and Lisa comes in with this dead calm poise of an awesome freshman point guard that balances out," says Brandt. "We definitely complement each other in that way."