The Harvard defense will also need to keep tabs on junior Megan O’Neil, who scored 18 points is the loss to Penn, 15 of those coming from behind the arc.

Columbia also enters the game out-rebounding its opponents by a league-best 11.3 boards per game.

Cornell, meanwhile, has only one loss in its past 12 games—an overtime loss to Columbia on Jan. 26.

At 5-3 on the road, the Big Red have the conference’s second-best record away from home, topped only by the Crimson, who are 7-3.

Cornell is coming off a sweep of Penn and Princeton last weekend, where it beat both teams by an average of more than 20 points.

Senior guard Do Stevens, the Ivy League Player of the Week, scored 19 points in each game.

The Big Red has a balanced offense, as four players scored in the double digits in the win over Princeton and seven players are averaging five or more points per game for the year.

Cornell also features a defense that forces just under 21 turnovers per game.

“We expect Cornell to put us under a lot of pressure, both full and half court, so we have been working on re-establishing our transition and penetrating packed zones,” Monti said.

Harvard will also be helped by the return of its second-leading scorer, Cserny, who should be back after missing last weekend’s games due to an ankle injury.

The Crimson is motivated by the possibility of overtaking the top spot in the league.

“These two wins would be huge for morale starting off the second half of the year,” Monti said.

For Harvard, two wins this weekend would mean a chance at controlling its own destiny down the stretch.

“It’s do or die from here on out,” Gates said. “After losing to Princeton, we don’t have the luxury of making any more mistakes.”

Tip-off for each game is at 6 p.m.