At the midway point of the winter season, Harvard's two major women's teams--basketball and hockey--are in first place, while their male counterparts are struggling to make up ground in the standings.

They'll all try to shake off the rust of a two-week layoff with some non-conference warm-ups. Here's a look at how the Crimson's winter warriors will spend intersession:

Women's basketball

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In a scheduling move to help it recover from exams, the Harvard women's basketball team will face SUNY-Albany in a non-league game Saturday at Lavietes Pavilion.

The Great Danes enter the contest against Harvard (9-5, 3-0 Ivy) with a 5-12 record, but they have two proven scorers in their backcourt.

Senior Megan Buchanan, a 5'11 guard, and 5'10 junior guard Liz Tucker will make Harvard sophomore Jenn Monti, who is seventh in the country with 7.4 assists per game, and senior Courtney Egelhoff work hard on defense.

Buchanan scored 33 points in a 75-72 loss to Cornell on Dec. 3, and led the team with 31 points in a 75-72 overtime loss to Lehigh on Jan. 15. The Crimson will be able to counter with its outside threats in Egelhoff and captain Laela Sturdy, who is shooting 50 percent from long distance, good for seventh in the country.

Harvard should get most of its points in the paint. Albany has one player at 6'2 and two players at 6'1, but the remaining 10 players on its roster don't crack the 6'0 mark. Harvard has 10 players 6'0 and over, including junior center Melissa Johnson at 6'5 and her sister Sarah at 6'4.