Yale Trips W. Cagers, 79-74

What has happened to the Harvard women's basketball team?

The Crimson fell to Yale, 79-74, Saturday night at Briggs Cage. The defeat virtually destroyed Harvard's chance to repeat as Ivy League champions. It was the Crimson's second straight Ivy loss, dropping Harvard to 14-9 overall, 8-3 Ivy.

Dartmouth knocked off Brown, 72-60, Saturday to improve to 10-1 in the Ivy League. And the Big Green shows no signs of slowing down.

The Crimson, however, has come to a halt.

"The season is blowing up in our faces," Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said.

Once Harvard was fighting for sole possession of first place, then it was fighting for a tie with Dartmouth, now it must fight off Brown and Yale (13-10, 8-4 Ivy) to maintain second place in the league standings.

"Something's missing in our team," Delaney Smith said. "We played great before exams and now our heart is gone."

For most of the game, Harvard and Yale exchanged leads. But in the end, the defenses of the two teams made the difference.

Harvard could not contain Yale forward Randi Meberg, whose 30 points powered the Elis. Yale shot 48 percent from the field, while the Crimson shot 45 percent. In addition to Meberg, guard Paula Kenefick chipped in 19 points and guard Mary Spolyar added 15.

Kenefick stymied Harvard's scoring force Beth Chandler, holding her to nine points--eight below her season average.

"There was no doubt in our minds that we were going to win," Meberg said. "We played amazing defense that made them have to alter their game."

Maybe it wasn't only the defense that gave Yale the edge. The Elis wanted to win more.

"Our kids just refused to lose to Harvard," Yale Coach Diann Nestel said. "They played with a lot of heart and kept a real focus on what we needed to do to win."

The Elis crawled ahead at the free-throw line. Spolyar made one of two shots to tie the score, 59-59, with seven minutes left in the game. A minute later, she was fouled again and hit both shots to give Yale a 61-59 lead, which the Elis would never relinquish.

This was the final home game for seniors Chandler, Sarah Duncan and Hanya Bluestone. Duncan led the Crimson with 19 points and broke her record for blocked shots. She now has 80 blocks.

"I'm very sorry for the seniors," Delaney Smith said. "This was probably the worst way to end their home careers."

THE NOTEBOOK: After the game, Yale was dishing out the praise for Dartmouth, who trounced the Elis Friday night. "Dartmouth's just a stronger team," Center Tonya Lawrence said.

Elis, 79-74 at Briggs Cags Yale  35-44--79 Harvard  38-36--74

YALE (79): Randi Meberg 14-2--30; Paula Kenefick 8-2--19; Tonya Lawrence 4-2--10; Mary Spolyar 3-9--15; Karen Canavan 0-3--3; Anne Peacock 0-0--0; Celia Shutz 1-0--2; Jeminie Shell 0-0--0; Katie Hackett 0-0--0.

Totals: 30-62 18-25 79.

HARVARD (74): Sarah Duncan 6-6--19; Jen Mazanec 2-0--4; Beth Chandler 3-3--9; Hanya Bluestone 2-4--9; Heidi Kosh 7-3--17; Beth Wambach 2-3--8; Jody Fink 0-0--0; Sandy Springer 1-0--2; Dina Hadrick 0-0--0; Melinda Nelson 3-0--6.

Totals: 26-58 19-25 74.

Three-pointers: Harvard 3 (Duncan, Bluestone, Wambach), Yale 1 (Kenefick). Rebounds: Yale 37 (Meberg 9), Harvard 35 (Duncan 10). Assists: Yale 22 (Meberg, Kenefick 4), Harvard 15 (Kosh 9). Steals: Yale 10 (Kenefick 4), Harvard 7 (Chandler 2). Blocked Shots: Harvard 3 (Duncan 2), Yale 2 (Lawrence, Kenefick). Total fouls: Yale 21; Harvard 21. Fouled out: Kenefick 18:37. Turnovers: Harvard 21; Yale 17.

Attendance 250.