Women Cagers Blow Away Host Yale in Payne Whitney Gym, 76-62

Yale's Payne Whitney Gym was once a black hole for the Harvard women's basketball team.

The Crimson would go in and never come out with a victory, losing 10 consecutive games at the Elis' home court.

But last year, Harvard squeaked out a 60-59 victory in the closing seconds, and the black hole began to lose its gravitation.

Last night, the Crimson closed the hole. It defeated Yale, 76-62, improving its record to 12-5 overall, 6-0 Ivy. The Elis are 10-8, 5-2 Ivy.

"It's the new lights," Harvard Co-Captain Sarah Duncan said.

The lights must be quite powerful--the Crimson shot 57 percent from the field. Beth Chandler led all scorers with 23 points, Duncan had 14, and guard Heidi Kosh, continuing to improve her offense, added 13 points.

"Everyone had confidence in each other," Chandler said. "We dictated the tempo of the game and made them switch what they wanted to do."

The Crimson led throughout the game, pressing and tiring the Elis down. Harvard also limited Yale's leading players, Tonya Lawrence and Randi Meberg, to 14 and 10 points respectively. The Elis shot 39 percent from the field.

"I credit their poor shooting in part to our defense," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "Our guards worked on their guards relentlessly."

Forwards Jen Mazanec and Melinda Nelson helped run the offense. Beth Wambach provided her traditional key three-pointers. In short, it was once again a solid team effort.

"Each player believed in each other and that keeps us poised," Delaney Smith said.

The Crimson looks to maintain its perfect Ivy League record when it faces Brown tonight at Marvel Gym.

"Brown's been surprising the world," Delaney Smith said. "They are not a one-dimensional team."