W. Basketballers Lose to Princeton, Beat Penn

This past weekend was a typical weekend for the women's basketball team this season.

In its first game of a tough weekend on the road, Harvard (6-15, 3-6) fell to Princeton, 84-66. The next night, looking like a different team, the Crimson revived to squash Pennsylvania, 72-50.

Such inconsistency has been a trademark of the team all season: one night it forgets how to play the game and the next it looks like the Celtics in their heyday.

The one exception to this inconsistency has been Junior Tammy Butler, who has been averaging 19 points and 13 rebounds per game. But even her brilliant play cannot carry the team, as was evidenced Friday night.

That night the women faced a fierce Princeton team at Jadwin Gym, an unfriendly place for visitors. It proved to be a nightmare for Harvard as the Tigers tore the Crimson's game plan up from the start with its aggressive, physical play.

"Princeton is a pretty deep, strong team," Head Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "They are getting 23-24 points per game from their bench. They are also very physical and that bothers us."

Princeton controlled the game from the start and at halftime lead 40-29.

Harvard could not get its offense rolling until late in the game, when it was too late to stop a rolling Princeton team.

"At Princeton we came out flat in the first half," Butler said. "We were down 12 at halftime and never made it up. We cut the lead to seven but never had enough momentum to turn it around."

In the game, three players scored in double figures--Butler had 23 and Catherine Crisera and Elizabeth "Buzz" Proudfit each had 10, while rest of the team combined for only 24.

Despite the disappointing loss, the Crimson somehow managed to rally its spirits to beat the Quakers in Philadelphia on Saturday.

Whereas at Princeton the Crimson came our looking flat and tired, at Penn, Harvard came out blazing behind Proudfit against Penn.

Although Harvard lost the opening jump, Proudfit stole it away from the Quakers and Harvard went up early.

"That first play set the pace for the team," Co-Captain Catherine Crisera said. "Buzz had a great game but it wasn't even her offensive effort. She had great defensive plays. Buzz, Amy [Reinhard] and Cara [Frey] also made a lot of key 3-point shots. The bench went crazy because the rush you get from a 3-point shot is something we haven't felt in a while."

Proudfit's steal did something to the Crimson at it went on to outscore the Quakers 44-24 in the first half, and eventually take the game.

The statistics tell it all: Against Penn, Proudfit was the high scorer at 19 with Butler scoring 17 and the rest of the team combining for an impressive 36, as compared with 24 the night before.