Harvard Hoopsters Nip Cornell, 51-50, Hang On After Early Lead Dwindles

The Harvard women's basketball team built what seemed an insurmountable lead against Cornell Friday at Briggs Cage--and then the Crimson stopped.

With seven minutes left in the game, the cagers held a 51-36 advantage over the hapless. Big Red, but when the final buzzer sounded Harvard clung to a tenuous 51-50 edge.

When Cornell's Rhonda Anderson missed two last-minute foul shots and her teammates couldn't hit a desperation follow-up, Harvard owned the ball and its first Ivy victory, bringing its record to 5-8 overall and 1-3 in League play.

"I'm not happy: I'm very angry," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said of the contest. "We're capable of playing a much better game. We still haven't managed to play an entire game on a consistent level."

Cornell had put a press in the backcourt on the inbounds pass with 6:43 left in the game. Harvard then began what seemed like an end less series of fruitless trips down the court Meanwhile, the Big Red began to feed leading scorer Rhonda Anderson inside Cornell tallied 10 more points, bringing the squad to within striking distance, 51-46.

The Big Red rally was the last example of a game-long Crimson decline.

Strong Start

The cagers began the game with some of their strongest offensive play all season. After sinking their first seven shots, the hoopsters hit 48 percent from the floor in the first half but slipped to an embarrassing 19 percent in the second stanza.

"I suppose we were lucky to win that game," freshman forward Lori Stewart commented. "The first half was fairly decent, but then we all started playing a really tired game I guess it's a classic case of having exams after Christmas. Cornell seemed like they'd already had theirs."

Delaney Smith felt the team nearly lost the game for a different reason. "We weren't playing with any hunger or desire for the game."

Cornell Coach Landa Lerch felt her team had a "mental lapse" during the first half of play but that in the second half it made some successful adjustments against the Crimson defense that almost won the Big Red the game.

"We used Heidi Johnson to lead Rhonda the backdoor pass, and really mixed it up on the boards," Lerch said. "I think Kathy has done an excellent job teaching this team such strong man-to-man defense, and I've never seen a more organized team offensively."

Harvard guard Nancy Boutilier, whose play Delancy Smith felt kept us in the game" controlled the ball against the Big Red press. Senior Kate Martin and Co-Captain Frenesa Hall helped out. Martin and Boutilier have been seeing more playing time since Co-Captain Pat Horne pulled up lame with a heel bone hairline fracture.

In Tuesday's B.C. game, guard Ann Scannell also last her starting position through injury. Scannell dove for a loose jump ball and flew through the B.C. bench into the bleachers. After getting up with the trainers' assistance. Scannell clutched her ribs. She fractured a couple of ribs but plans to be playing in a week. Horne, less fortunately, has been given an eight week recovery date. Teammate Val Jordan has had a crutch since before the recess.

With Horne and Seannell out, and Marget Long and Lisa Leithauser quitting. Delaney Smith has lost four starters. But she remains undaunted. "I've always felt this team was very talented through the extra lineup. This team is still capable of a great deal. My goals are the same, and I have the same expectations."