"Kathy has been amazing so far," Monti said. "She tries to keep us all informed and upbeat about it, and she wants us to come to her and ask her questions if we have them."

Both Yale and Brown will begin their Ivy League play this weekend. A young team who graduated four starters and two 1,000-point scorers last year, Yale (2-8) has struggled to build and maintain team chemistry this season.

With first-year Head Coach Amy Backus at the helm, the Bulldogs have attempted to find a strong leader on the court and in the locker room. Reflecting the team's offensive difficulties, junior forward Lily Glick leads the team in scoring with a paltry 9.0 points per game.

The lone bright spot in the Bulldogs' offensive scheme this year has been sophomore Meg Simpson, who leads the team in rebounds, averaging 12.3 boards per game.

Brown (5-8) is currently riding a two-game losing streak and will begin league play Friday night against Dartmouth. Like the Bulldogs, the Bears are going through the rebuilding process this season after losing its all-time leading scorer, Vita Redding, to graduation last year.

Leading the Bears this season is freshman sensation Barbara Maloni, who earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors during the last week of December. The 5'9 guard averages 13.9 points and 3.5 steals per game and led the team with 15 points in its last contest, a 62-51 loss to SUNY-Albany last Friday.

Maloni is only one component of a strong freshman class that has performed well on the court for the Bears this season. Freshmen Heidi Egelhoff, the younger sister of the Crimson's Courtney Egelhoff, and Brianna Brown have also made significant contributions to the Bears'offense.

In addition to a talented freshman class, sophomore Rachael MacDonald has been unstoppable on the boards this season, leading the Bears in rebounding for the past five games and recording her second double-double against SUNY-Albany with 13 points and 19 boards.