Hoopsters Fall to Holy Cross, 85-67

If basketball games lasted 20 minutes, the Harvard women's basketball team might be undefeated. But the contests are 40 minutes and the Crimson is 2-6, after losing its fifth straight game against Holy Cross Saturday night at Briggs Cage.

In all of their previous losses, the hoopsters played only half the game with any scoring intensity, but after the Holy Cross game, they might have learned their lesson. The Crimson outscored the Crusaders by four in the second half of Saturday's game, but a 22-point advantage at halftime allowed Holy Cross to cruise to an 85-67 win.

"I was really pleased about our play in the second half," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said.

Holy Cross Coach Togo Palazzi pulled most of his starters early in the second period, contributing somewhat to the Crimson surge. "I think a lot of our starters were losing some intensity in the game. Harvard really started to come back then," Palazzi said.

Harvard opened the second stanza aggressively. Forward Marget Long scored on a baseline jump shot from about 18 feet out Guard Ann Scannell then stole the ball, drove in and hit a short jumper. Co-Captain Pat Harne followed with a 15-ft. all-net shot from the pocket. Only 1:44 had elapsed when Holy Cross Coach Palazzi called a timeout to slow the Crimson momentum.

The timeout must have helped, because for almost every point the hoopsters put up, the Crusaders responded with one of their own, maintaining at least a 14-point lead throughout.

Though the Harvard offense seemed a lot warmer against Holy Cross than in the previous night's loss to C.W. Post--the Crimson hit only 14 percent of its first-half shots--the hoopsters couldn't match the offensive scoring power of the Crusaders.

Under man-to-man pressure, the Holy Cross team seemed unfazed, scoring a number of points from its textbook fast break Guards Karen Grutch field and Cheryl Aaron worked along a carelessly guarded baseline, often driving in for an easy basket or simply pulling up from the outside to score. The entire Crusader lineup contributed equally to the attack--the five starters had 10 points apiece at halftime.

"They are smart players. We had five people crashing the boards, so their guards knew to drop back for the fast break. We played good defense, but I can't take their smart play." Delaney Smith said.

The Crimson played its usual strong game on defense, but also found itself over the free throw limit most of the game, and the Crusaders hit 63 percent of their charity points. Cindy Clapped the hoopsters, holding Holy Cross forward Jean Marie Buckley to half of her average 25 points.

Even though the hoopsters played a much stronger game than in its previous four losses, some characteristic problems still surfaced. After jumping to a quick 6-0 lead in the first minutes of play. Harvard seemed to forget that the game would last another 36 minutes. The hoopsters waited five minutes before adding to their six-point total, and in the meantime, Holy Cross took the lead for good. But Harvard did start rebounding consistently for the first time this season, snagging 10 more than a taller Holy Cross team.