Plus, Cornell adds Megan Fannon, a 6’3 transfer student from Mercer. Fannon is one of three transfer students that stand out in their ability to impact the league, along with Columbia’s Sue Altman, who comes over from Holy Cross and the Crimson’s Moore, who played at Louisiana Tech.

The closest contender after Cornell last year was Penn, who won the Ivy title two years ago. The Quakers have shown eagerness literally from the very start of the season, when the players approached Penn coach Kelly Greenberg about having a practice at 12:01 a.m. on the first day the team could officially start.

“Actually, it was something our players really wanted to do because they were anxious to get started and have real practice,” Greenberg said. “It was a good night to initiate the freshman.”

The Quakers boast a whooping 11 returning players and four starters, including center Katie Kilker and All-Ivy guard Jewel Clark, who have impressed so far on the court. It’s early in the season, however, and the chance for the rest of the league to challenge Harvard is still months away.

“We try not to talk too much about the Ivy League,” Greenberg said. “Every one of them knows that Harvard is definitely the team to beat.”

—Staff writer Jessica T. Lee can be reached at lee45@fas.harvard.edu.