W.B-Ballers Split at Own Invitational

Prior to this weekend's Harvard Invitational, Harvard's women's basketball was off to a very promising start. It was 2-0, having beaten its first two opponents--William and Mary and Army--by a combined 186-127 count, and was beginning to develop the sort of balanced attack it has been lacking in past years.

This weekend, the team continued in that vein. The Crimson dominated cross-town rival Boston College in the first game of the invite on Saturday, 79-62, before losing a tough one to a strong LaSalle squad on Sunday, 86-79. The key for the Crimson the past few years has been the play of captain Tammy Butler.

Butler was the star for the Crimson last season, averaging 19.1 points per game, a school record, and 13.6 rebounds per game, the fifth highest mark in the country.

This season, she has continued where she left off, scoring 19 points in the team's season-opening win over William and Mary, 21 in the squad's subsequent win over Army and garnering all-invite honors this weekend.

But while in past years Butler has worked in isolation, this season she is getting help--loads of it. Foremost among her supporting players has been freshman Allison Feaster. After putting in solid games in the Crimson's first tow games, Feaster was sensational this weekend. She gained MVP honors in the invitational, mostly on the strength of an amazing 27-point, 19-rebound effort against LaSalle.

In all, the invitational featured three teams: Boston College, Fordham and LaSalle. In the first round on Saturday, Harvard went up against Boston College and Fordham went up against LaSalle.

Going into the tournament, the Crimson had some jitters. First, it hadn't won the tournament since 1987. And second, it was going up against a Big East team in round one--cross-town rival Boston College. The squad had no problems with the hapless Eagles, however, garnering a 17-point win.

LaSalle was also victorious in round one, beating Fordham to advance to the winners' game against the Crimson on Sunday.

The winners' game proved to be a ferocious battle, with the Crimson taking a tough loss in the end.

The first half was a miserable one for the Crimson. LaSalle's strong perimeter shooting kept the Crimson from even getting close, and the half ended with LaSalle ahead 41-28.

"We didn't play well in the first half at all," said Feaster. "We came back in the second half, but couldn't pull it off."

And indeed they couldn't. The Crimson mounted a terrific come-back effort, and even took the lead, 61-60, with eight minutes to go.

But that lead would be the Crimson's last. LaSalle's ability to move the move the ball and open up shooters kept Harvard at bay, as the clock ran out and the Crimson was left short, 86-79.

Despite the loss, though, the tournament could be considered a success. Harvard played well as a team, and there were many good individual performances.

In addition to Butler and Feaster, junior Elizabeth Proudfit had an excellent tournament. Despite suffering an injury at the end of the B.C. game, she was able to recover enough to get some minutes in the struggle versus LaSalle.

The Crimson's 3-1 start is markedly more impressive than last year's 7-1 overall record, the poorest finish for Harvard women's basket-ball in ten years.

A fair amount of the credit goes to the team's stellar freshman class; six of the team's 15 women are freshmen, and, though early into the season, all of them get good amounts of playing time.

"We've got so much depth this year it's incredible," says freshman Alison Seanor.

Earlier in the season, Harvard hosted William and Mary. Without much trouble, the talented Crimson team squelched its opponent, leaving the women of William and Mary with a long ride home to Virginia.

Big offensive games were had by senior captain Tammy Butler and junior point guard Elizabeth Proudfit, with 19 and 24 points, respectively. Freshman starter Allison Feaster also contributed with a big 15 rebounds.

For its second game of the season, the Crimson was again host, this time to Army. Army, however, proved to ber a feeble opponent; the Crimson won, 109-56. A big game was had by all the Crimson players. Most notable contributions were turned in once again by Feaster (with 9 rebounds), and Butler (who dropped in 24 points).

This season definitely proves to be a promising one for the Crimson, but they will be up fro every game.

This season's schedule includes some very talented opponents, teams, especially in tournaments. One of the first tests of the Crimson's mettle will be Providence, where the women travel this Wednesday. Harvard  79 B.C.  62

LaSalle  86 Harvard  79

LaSalle  86 Harvard  79