W. Hoopsters Bounce URI

The Harvard women's basketball team bounced back Wednesday night in Kingston, Rhode Island, topping URI 77-71.

Fresh off Arizona's 82-45 trouncing in the final of last weekend's Copper Bowl Classic, the Crimson (4-3 overall, 0-0 Ivy) reversed the trend, riding junior forward Alison Feaster's monster double-double to a closer-than-necessary road win.

Feaster, last year's Ivy League Player of the Year, drained a cool 12-of-23 from the floor, hitting 3-of-6 from three-point range for 30 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to pace the Harvard game.

Senior guard Jessica Gelman chipped in 24 points on 9-18 shooting, adding five boards and five assists.

The Crimson secured its game-long double-digit lead in the waning minutes of the first half, building a 14-4 run in the last 5:21.

Leading URI 25-24, Harvard exploited six Ram turnovers and several key offensive boards to create chances for Feaster, Gelman and senior forward Kelly Black to open up a 39-28 halftime lead. Harvard maintained the edge through the second half, until a late-game lapse made the affair deceptively close.

The Crimson cruised to a 73-58 lead with 3:48 to play but suddenly went cold, letting the Rams in on the action. Harvard gave the ball away five times and got off just three shots as URI trimmed the lead to 75-71 with seven seconds to play.

Feaster snuffed out the rally, though, sinking two free throws and closing the book on Harvard's fourth win.

The Crimson owned the glass all night, outrebounding the Rams 54-37 with a 27-14 advantage on the offensive end. Black added eight boards and sophomore guard Suzie Miller contributed seven off the bench.

Harvard travels next to New Hampshire for a Saturday afternoon engagement, then returns home to host Northeastern December 18th. Harvard  77 URI  71