UMass Women Defeat Cagers

AMHERST, Mass.--The Harvard Women's basketball team found out last night exactly how much work it has to do, as an aggressive University of Massachusetts five handed the Crimson a scorching 86-49 defeat here at Curry Hicks Cage.

Coach Carole Kleinfelder started two freshmen and two sophomores along with junior Caryn Curry in the season opener. The Crimson's inexperience showed plainly in the first half, as UMass rolled to a 39-17 lead at the half, paced by 20 points from flash forward Susan Peters.

Peters, a quick junior from Southbridge, Mass., with a nice shooting touch, drew first blood for UMass with a 12-ft. jumper from the right side just seconds into the contest. Curry and tiny sophomore guard Lisa Bernstein answered with successive jumpers from the left side, and Harvard had its only lead of the game at 4-2.

Pulling Away

UMass responded with a full-court press, throwing the young Crimson five off balance, while Peters hit for a pair of two-pointers. The UMass guns were relatively quiet in the first eight minutes, but gradually found the range and began to pull away.

Bernstein, at 5-ft., 2-in. by far the smallest player on the court, made her varsity debut after sitting out last season for a cartilage operation, and impressed with good ball-handling skills and quick, sharp passes.

Yardlings Elaine Holpuch at center and Dorris Woolway at forward lacked Bernstein's poise, playing tight and scared in the first half, and even vets Curry and soph guard Sue Field looked uneasy in the opening minutes.

"We were simply outhustled," Kleinfelder said after the game. And they were. The Crimson stood still on defense, letting the aggressive UMass five run rings around it while the Harvard offense froze in its tracks and looked frantically for pass outlets.

Untracked

Harvard got untracked in the second half, as UMass coach Mary Ann Ozdarski pulled most of her starters, including Peters who finished with a game-high 29 points. The offense started to move better as the Crimson gained all-important confidence against the second-stringers.

Curry took advantage of the looser defense, regaining her usual form to hit for 14 points in the second stanza (she notched 20 on the night). Woolway seemed to overcome her earlier jitters and snagged several rebounds while racking up ten points.

Holpuch also rebounded better as the game progressed, and chipped in eight points, while Field and Bernstein added four apiece. Wendy Carle had a disappointing night as she failed to score, and eventually fouled out late in the game.

The women, now 0-1, will travel to Bentley Saturday. But the second half showed the promise of the young team, and now it knows what it has to do. A little hustle goes a long way.