W. Hoopsters Can't Lose in Ivies, Return to NCAAs

1996

Sports Statistics

Record: 20-7, 14-0 Ivy

Ivy Finish: First

Coach: Kathy Delaney-Smith

Key Players: Captains Jessica Gelman and Kelly Black; Junior Allison Feaster

1997

The Harvard women's basketball team can look back on the 1996-97 season as arguably the most successful in the history of the program.

En route to capturing its second consecutive Ivy league title, Harvard took its fans on a wonderfully enjoyable ride which did not end until the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Even then it took No. 4 North Carolina to bring the journey to an end. That loss, however, does not detract from what this team accomplished. There were many questions facing the Crimson back in November; by January the team had not only answered those questions, but was well on its way to making history.

When Harvard began its season, the first item on its agenda was to replace the four seniors who had graduated. The departure of Elizabeth Proudfit '96, Amy Reinhard '96, Katy Davis '96 and Liz Gettelman '96 left the Crimson searching for three new starters and a sixth player off the bench.

Harvard suffered several key losses early in the season while it searched for a permanent starting lineup. The first of these was a 56-54 last-second loss to a mediocre Boston University team in the Crimson's opening game of the season.

A resilient Harvard squad bounced back from that defeat and handed Army an 85-40 drubbing in the Crimson's first home game of the year at Lavietes Pavilion. Next up was the 16th annual Harvard Invitational Tournament.

In its opening round contest against Siena, the Crimson suffered a heartbreaking 65-64 defeat on another buzzer-beating shot. The next day, Harvard rebounded once again with a 67-63 victory over Pepperdine.

In that game, junior forward Allison Feaster earned the first of many individual honors Harvard players would receive over the course of the season, scoring her 1,000th point against Pepperdine. She is currently second on Harvard's all-time scoring list.

The following weekend the Crimson traveled to the Copper Bowl Classic in Arizona where it soundly defeated Southern Illinois in the first round only to reverse its role against Arizona two days later, falling hard to the Wildcats, 82-45.

Harvard rebounded with a three-game winning streak against Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Northeastern. Feaster exploded for a total of 90 points during that stretch.

The holiday season did not provide the Crimson with good tidings as the team lost to George Washington, 88-44, and then to Loyola, 73-67. With a 6-5 record, Harvard began its Ivy schedule without yet playing the kind of basketball its players felt capable of.

The Crimson finally settled on a starting lineup as it prepared to face Dartmouth. Co-captains Jessica Gelman and Kelly Black were joined by Feaster, sophomore Suzie Miller and junior Allison Seanor as the starting five.

The results were three consecutive road victories over Dartmouth, Columbia and Cornell by an average of 15 points.

"Every road game is hard in the Ivy League and to start by winning what I think are three of the hardest road games was such a great boost." Black said.

Still the Crimson headed into its exam period with a squad which had only begun to gel into a cohesive unit.

A bit stagnant after a 16-day lay-off, Harvard suffered a costly defeat at the hands of Lehigh. This game, though, proved to be the Crimson's final loss of the regular season.

The game must have been a wakeup call because what Harvard then proceeded to accomplish can only be described as remarkable. The Crimson romped through its final 11 games with an average margin of victory of 24 points.

"We had a lot of adversity, and we got through it," Gelman said.

Harvard became the first women's team in Ivy League history to finish a season undefeated in league play.

"This team wanted to be undefeated," coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. "The [Ivy League] title was a given."

The Crimson also shattered the record of 21 consecutive Ivy League victories--the current string stands at 26 wins.

During this final stretch of the season, the individual accolades began to pour in for the Crimson. Gelman led the way, becoming Harvard's all-time assists leader against Princeton.

She also scored her 1,000th career point against Yale on the same night that the Crimson clinched the Ivy League title. She finished her career ninth on Harvard's career scoring list.

"She's a pressure player," said Delaney-Smith of her point guard. "Not only does she handle pressure well, but she loves it."

Black was also honored for her efforts this season with a spot on the All-Ivy second team. Gelman was named to the All-Ivy first team along with Feaster, who in addition garnered her second consecutive Ivy League Player of the Year award.

Feaster was also voted a Kodak District I First Team All-American. Barring injury, Feaster will undoubtedly become Harvard's all-time leading scorer and rebounder next season, and she could become the first player in school history to score 2,000 points in her career.

As for Delaney-Smith, all she did was win Ivy League Coach of the Year honors. If this season was any indication of the future, the Crimson has much success to look forward to in the coming year.

While Miller and Seanor solidified their positions as starters, junior guard Sarah Brandt emerged as an ideal sixth player. Harvard's front-court also looks promising: Freshman Laela Sturdy may have made the most impressive contribution in her limited playing time.

Harvard is only graduating two seniors, but they are two very key seniors. Junior point guard Megan Basil consistently demonstrated that she can ably take over the reigns of this team from Gelman.

Sturdy and sophomore Rose Janowski should compete for Black's starting spot along with any incoming recruits. Even Brandt may get into the mix if the Crimson opts for a smaller lineup with Miller at the forward position. Add consistent reserves with ample game experience, and the Crimson looks solid once again.

It is difficult to improve upon an undefeated season, but with two consecutive Ivy titles to defend, the only word the Crimson only needs to remember is threepeat.