Women's Cagers Bully West Point Cadets, 75-47

WEST POINT, NY--William Shakespeare once wrote, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

It's too bad Shakespeare never saw Rose Janowski play basketball.

In a game marred by sloppy offense and numerous turnovers, Janowski played a little sweeter than the rest and helped the Harvard women's basketball team to a 75-47 victory over Army on Saturday at the Holleden Center in West Point. The junior forward scored 11 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked one shot to lead the Crimson (1-0) past the host Lady Knights (0-1).

"I just had a good time out there," Janowski said. "I felt relaxed and it was a lot of fun."

While Harvard struggled to get into any kind of offensive rhythm in the first half, Janowski was using strong moves in the post to give the Crimson control of the game. She scored seven of her 11 points during an 18-4 run just before halftime that put Harvard well in command.

With 8:30 left in the first period and the Crimson holding a slim four-point lead, Janowski lofted a soft jumper over the outstretched arm of an Army defender to extend Harvard's lead to 17-11. Just 40 seconds later she snatched an offensive rebound and kissed the ball off the glass and in for an eight-point advantage.

Aside from Janowski, Harvard's effort on the boards was disappointing. The Crimson, which outrebounded its opponents by an average margin of 7.5 last season, was defeated on the glass by Army, 43-42.

"The big disappointment of the game was that we were outrebounded," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. "I cannot accept that."

Janowski's aggressive play continued to pay dividends for the Crimson as she drew a couple of fouls from a frustrated. Lady Knight's defense. She sandwiched three free throws between two Harvard treys, and the Crimson never led by fewer than 15 points the rest of the way.

"Rose dominated. She was great," Delaney-Smith said.

"Those two three-pointers were part of a trifecta by the Crimson's senior guards during the late-half run which perfectly illustrated Harvard's versatility of weapons. While Janowski excelled in the key, co-captain Megan Basil (eight points, two assists, three steals), Alison Seanor (nine points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals, two blocks) and Sarah Brandt (seven points, two steals) each drained a shot from behind the are to effectively put Army away.

Despite this stretch, Harvard did not play nearly its best basketball offensively. The Crimson showed short patience and poor decision-making throughout the first half and finished the game with an uncharacteristically high 17 turnovers.

"The first half was awful," Basil said. "We were totally frantic, and nothing was working offensively."

Harvard also finished with a mediocre 41.5 percent shooting percentage, and only 10 of its shots were taken by co-captain Allison Feaster. Feaster's 16-point, four-rebound performance represents an atypical night for her, due primarily to some obviously poor officiating. The All-American, however, would not be stopped from helping her team in other ways.

Feaster finished with a team-high four assists and a game-high five steals. Her most important contributions, though, did not show up on the stat sheet.

Midway through the first half Feaster showed everyone in the building who was in charge of the game. During a wild scramble for a loose ball, Feaster displayed her tremendous physical strength by ripping the ball from two Lady Knights and emphatically feeding Seanor, who found junior forward Sarah Russell for an easy layup.

"I was just happy that we were able to pull it together," Feaster said. "No one was able to do anything in the first half, and once we got it going things worked out better."

Despite its inconsistent performance on offense, Harvard turned in a solid defensive effort. Except for a few breakdowns, the Crimson defense forced the Lady Knights into 26 turnovers, held them to a pathetic 32 percent shooting and recorded 17 steals.

Several other Harvard players turned in fine performances. Sophomore forward Laela Sturdy came off the bench to score seven points and haul in four rebounds in only 11 minutes of action. Freshmen guards Carrie Larkworthy and Lisa Kowal did a fine job against the Army press while combining for six points and three steals.

Harvard must take some pleasure out of Saturday night's contest. Despite its offensive woes and only 16 points from Feaster, the Crimson still came away with a more than convincing 28-point victory.

"I don't think my team played very well, but we won by 30, so you have to take that with a grain of salt," Delaney-Smith said.

Harvard will look for another dominating performance. Thursday night when it battles Boston University at home in a rematch of last season's opening-day 56-54 upset loss to the Terriers.

Notes

Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith is one of the New England recipients of the Patriot Trail Girl Scouts Woman's Leadership Award. She will be honored tonight at a banquet to be held in the John F. Kennedy Library...Allison Feaster edged closer to the Harvard record books on Saturday. Her 16 points bring her career total to 1,531 which means she needs just 75 points to break the school record of 1,605 held by Tammy Butler '95. HARVARD, 75-47 at West Point, NY Harvard  36  39  --  75 Army  19  28  --  47

HARVARD: Feaster 4-10 7-9 16; Seanor 4-8 0-2 9; Janowski 3-6 5-6 11; Miller 1-5 0-0 2; Basil 3-6 0-0 8; Sturdy 3-6 1-2 7; Kowal 1-3 2-3 4; Kinneen 0-2 0-0 0; Grossman 1-4 0-0 2; Larkworthy 1-3 0-0 2; Egelhoff 1-1 0-0 2; Brandt 3-8 0-1 7; Russell 2-2 1-1 5; Zitnik 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS 27-65 16-24 75.

ARMY: Quimby 1-7 1-2 3; Halfaker 1-6 3-8 5; Arundell 4-8 2-3 11; Work 2-6 1-2 5; Worthing 2-8 0-0 4; Stavola 1-2 0-0 2; Hamre 3-4 0-0 7; Montalban 3-11 2-6 8; Kelley 1-2 0-0 2; Tomic 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18-56 9-21 47. HARVARD  75 ARMY  47

HARVARD: Feaster 4-10 7-9 16; Seanor 4-8 0-2 9; Janowski 3-6 5-6 11; Miller 1-5 0-0 2; Basil 3-6 0-0 8; Sturdy 3-6 1-2 7; Kowal 1-3 2-3 4; Kinneen 0-2 0-0 0; Grossman 1-4 0-0 2; Larkworthy 1-3 0-0 2; Egelhoff 1-1 0-0 2; Brandt 3-8 0-1 7; Russell 2-2 1-1 5; Zitnik 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS 27-65 16-24 75.

ARMY: Quimby 1-7 1-2 3; Halfaker 1-6 3-8 5; Arundell 4-8 2-3 11; Work 2-6 1-2 5; Worthing 2-8 0-0 4; Stavola 1-2 0-0 2; Hamre 3-4 0-0 7; Montalban 3-11 2-6 8; Kelley 1-2 0-0 2; Tomic 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18-56 9-21 47. HARVARD  75 ARMY  47