Women Cagers Nip Cornell; Tough Year Ends With Victory

Just when it looked like the 2-19 women's basketball team was incapable of playing an exciting game, let alone winning one, the hoopsters roared to a heart-stopping 67-66 victory over Cornell Saturday night at the IAB.

"It was a great win for the team," Coach Carole Kleinfelder said after the game, understandably relieved after what has been thus far a very trying season.

Down by one point with 17 seconds left, reserve guard Frenesa Hall grabbed the rebound of a missed foul shot, dribbled the length of the court, and drove down the middle of the lane for the winning lay-up. It was the Crimson's first victory since January 31, when the hoopsters downed Williams.

After a lackluster first half--reminiscent of most of the Crimson's recent efforts--Cornell led, 42-34. But something happened in the locker room, and the hoopsters emerged for the second half looking nothing like their dismal record would indicate, playing inspired and hustling basketball. "We just got more aggressive," a somewhat laconic Kleinfelder remarked.

The Crimson used a press throughout the game because the word was out that the Big Red would "rattle under pressure," she said.

The strategy met with uneven success in the first half, but Cornell seemed to fold in the second stanza under the continued pressure.

The visitors from Ithaca became progressively more flustered as their comfortable first-half margin began to dwindle away. Harvard forced a number of turnovers in the back court and fought for offensive rebounds, which the hoopsters were unable to do in their Friday night loss to Northeastern.

Harvard's edge on the offensive boards was 21-18 and Cornell turned the ball over 19 times to Harvard's eight.

Baskets by Ann Scannell and co-captain Kate Martin brought the cagers to within two, and a Hall jumper finally tied the game at 56-56 with 10 minutes to play.

The Crimson continued its second-half barrage supported by offensive penetration from Hall and Martin, rebounding by Scannell and Lins Leithauser, and continued backcourt pressure. But the Big Red refused to play dead, matching the inhospitable hosts point for point. Two Cornell foul shots broke a 64-64 tie, but Leithauser--who led the scoring with 17 points--then sunk one of two free throws to cut the lead to one at 66-65 with 50 seconds to play.

After a Cornell traveling violation. Hall missed jump shot, giving Cornell the ball with 18 seconds left and the visitors still hanging on to their precarious one-point lead. After a Cornell time-out. Martin fouled Cornell's center in the backcourt, but luckily for the Crimson, she missed the crucial free throw, and Hall came down with the rebound.

Despite the victory, Harvard will still be seeded sixth at next week's tournament because a lackluster Brown upset Princeton Friday night. But co-captain Pat Horne would not minimize the victory, maintaining that "it will give us a great boost going into the Ivies."