Women Cagers Drop Three in Tourney

The women's basketball team visited Montreal over the weekend, saw the historical underground Old City, went sightseeing and dined at some of Canada's finest restaurants.

They also dropped all three of their games at the Martlet Tournament, pulling their over-all record down to a very dreary 1-12. Some vacation.

Friday night, the hoopsters bowed to New Brunswick University, 67-60. The game was close throughout, but a late second-half New Brunswick surge capped the victory for the Canadians. Junior Franesa Hall led the Crimson attack with a 19 points.

McGill College--the tournament's host--has something to learn about hospitality. The McGillians whomped their guests by a lop-sided score of 96-60 on Saturday. Never a serious factor in the game, the Crimson left for halftime trailing 56-24. Freshman Lisa Leithauser pumped in a team-high 12 points for the losers.

Mercy

The Crimson dropped another close one Sunday against its only American competition, Iowa's Mt. Mercy; final score: 57-50. Harvard's second precocious freshman, Wendy Joseph, scored 17 points, but she could not single-handedly lead the team to the consolation victory. Harvard assistant coach Beth Wheatley said afterwards, "It was just intense all the way, and that's the way it came out."

The tournament was played under Canadian rules, and that only gave the Crimson extra problems, Wheatley said.

For example, the Northerners take the ball out of bounds at court-side after each basket, and their key is larger, a difference that changes rebounding strategy.

The Bright Side

Looking at the bright side, Wheatley commented, "Before we were out of our league...and we got some needed experience. Now, we'll be playing other Ivy League schools."

Alice

Experience may help somewhat, but head coach Carole Kleinfelder has pointed out all season that the Crimson has a serious height deficiency. The team didn't get taller in Canada.

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard will be on the road again this Thursday, taking on Boston College and trying to end an eight-game losing skid.