W. Hoops Falls, Again

Despite controlling most of the game, the Harvard's women's basketball team could not break out of its early-season malaise, falling, 74-67, to Northeastern Saturday at Lavaeties.

"We played 35 minutes of hard basketball," freshman forward Tricia Turbidy said. "Next game we've got to put 40 minutes together."

The loss, Harvard's fifth in a row, drops the Crimson to 1-8 (0-0 Ivy). The Huskies improve to 3-3.

Northeastern won the game on thec strength of 62% second-half shooting and 15 second-half free throws. The Huskies were at their best during a critical four-minute stretch in the second half, when they turned an 8-point deficit into a four-point lead.

Harvard looked to be clicking on all cylinders midway through the second half. After a pair of Northeastern free throws tied the game at 42 with 15:15 left, Harvard went on an 11-3 run, keyed by good ball movement in-and- out of the paint, a dominant inside game and no turnovers.

When senior guard Lisa Kowal found freshman forward Tricia Turbidy down low for an easy lay-up and a foul with 11:46 left, Harvard led, 55-47, and appeared to have the game well in hand.

But after calling a timeout to slow down the momentum, Northeastern adjusted to the Crimson inside attack by playing a sagging 2-3 zone. The Huskies double and triple-teamed every post player with the ball, forcing Harvard to hit outside shots.

The plan worked perfectly. Without a reliable inside presence, Harvard was unable to generate any offense. The Crimson tentatively swung the ball around the perimeter and hoisted up shot after missed shot. Harvard converted just 30 percent for the half and would only make five field goals the rest of the game.

"The game really turned around when they packed into that zone," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. "We offense a zone very well in practice, but we looked tight against their zone, and that was unusual."

Meanwhile, Husky guard Aisha Williams brought Northeastern back by penetrating the Crimson defense for easy scores, on her way to a team-high 17 points. A lay-up by center Lani Lawrence at 7:34 capped off a 12-0 run and gave the Huskies a 59-55 lead.

For a while, it looked like Harvard would recover. Junior guard Jenn Monti scored five points and assisted on a Turbidy jumper as Harvard responded with a 7-0 run to take a three point lead, 62-59.

But Northeastern would have the last laugh, outscoring the Crimson, 15-4 in the last six minutes. Two quick Williams buckets gave the Huskies the lead again. Harvard, unable to make a shot, never really threatened for the remainder of the game as Northeastern slowly pulled away.

Despite the loss, the game contained many positives for the Crimson. For long stretches of play, it looked like the talented squad had finally started to play up to its potential.

This week marked the first time captain Melissa Johnson saw action this season. Johnson, back from a season-ending knee injury suffered last year, showed some rust in her first full game back, finishing with only eight points--all in the first half--and six rebounds on 4-of-13 shooting.

But more importantly, Johnson's leadership and passing ability seemed to fire up her teamates and gave the Crimson offense a consistent rhythm it had lacked all season. Johnson finished with four assists, making the Huskies pay early on for double-teaming her by finding the open player for an easy score.

"I felt really good offensively in the first half" Johnson said. "I'm so fired up to be playing right now and to get things going."

The brightest spot for the Crimson Saturday was the spectacular play of

Turbidy. The freshman won a starting spot this week and responded with the best day of her young college career. She set career-highs with 17 points (on 8-of-12 shooting), 4 assists and five steals. Turbidy also added nine rebounds.

"[Turbidy's] the ultimate basketball worker," Delaney-Smith. "She's a solid, consistent player, and she doesn't ever stand still."

With Johnson playing well in the first half, the Crimson played perhaps its most impressive basketball of the season. Harvard showed good ball movement on offense, avoiding its tendency earlier in the season to dump the ball into the post and watch while someone threw up a shot.

The Crimson's press defense finally paid off against the Huskies, forcing several turnovers in the first half.

"We had a balance of an inside and outside attack, and out press created a

lot of scoring opportunities for us," Delaney-Smith said.

Only 14 first-half turnovers--five during a 9-0 Northeastern run--kept the Huskies in the game, as Harvard's efforts translated into a 34-29 lead.

Although the Crimson would soon lose that lead and the game, Harvard players believe that their miserable season is finally beginning to turn around.

"We figured that if we played this way last week, we would've won," Turbidy said. "It was a step in the right direction."

"If we break this losing cycle, I think we'll bust out," Delaney-Smith said. "We're not a bad team."

Harvard has picked the right time to struggle. With the Ivy season yet to begin, Harvard can still put together a successful year if it finds a way to bring together its extensive talent.

"You can't let losses in the preseason affect how you play in the Ivy's," Turbidy said. "We know how good we are."

Harvard will try to get back on track this week as it travels to Little Rock to play the University of Arkansas and Arkansas Little-Rock. The team will not play another home game until February.