In the face of what may be one of the biggest games in Harvard basketball history, the Harvard women's basketball team certainly isn't going in empty-handed.

Led by a corps of assistant coaches that hail from as far away as southern California and as close to home as Norwood, Mass, the Crimson cagers draw from a wealth of basketball experience.

Assistant coaches Trisha Brown '87, Stefanie Pemper and Sue Stuebner comprise the trio that will lead their athletes, under the supervision of Head Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith, to the NCAA Tournament, where they will face-off against Stanford University on Saturday.

When asked about the strengths of the first-seeded Cardinal, the coaches expressed reserved appreciation.

"Stanford's inside players are their strength," remarked Brown, the Massachusetts native. "We need to do a good job of collapsing in and control the perimeter game."

Backcourt coach Stefanie Pemper, quite an athlete in her own right at Idaho State, acknowledged Stanford's athletic ability on the whole."

"Stanford runs the floor really well as a team," Pemper said. "They're all good athletes, and are excellently conditioned. We definitely need to do a good job in the transition game."

The players, however, have entered this week's practice unfazed by the frenzy of attention and are continuing to work out at a feverish pace, capping off practice with the usual sprint work.

"We've been working the girls really hard, and they have responded admirably," Brown said.

"They have been very motivated this week," Pemper added. "I think the idea of being the sixteenth seed facing the first has excited them--that and being on live TV nationally. They like the idea of having people at [The Crimson Sports] Grille watching them on the screen Saturday night."

Amidst what could have been a chaotic week for the Crimson, Brown noted that their roles as assistant coaches have not changed "too much."

But that doesn't mean the coaches aren't as excited as the players.

Stuebner, a Minnesota native and a Dartmouth graduate studying at the Harvard School of Education, will be at her first Tournament game, as a player or as a coach. Stuebner played four seasons at Dartmouth College, including the Big Green's 1990 Ivy championship year, before there was an automatic bid for the Ivy League champs.

"I'd say this is the biggest thing I've been a part of," Stuebner said. "I've never been to the tournament. I went down to see the University of Connecticut play Old Dominion this year, and I think it'll be a lot more exciting to be on the floor as a coach than watching it from the stands."

Brown, a veteran of two Tournaments as a Harvard assistant, had a somewhat different perspective. Brown and Pemper are a great deal more familiar with the NCAA showdown.