Shooting Woes Doom W. Hoops at Fairfield

The hard times continued as the Harvard women's basketball team fell at Fairfield (5-1), 92-73, on Saturday. The Crimson, struggling so far this season, dropped to 1-4.

Harvard was again led by freshman forward Hana Peljto, whose 18 points were the most of any Crimson player. Peljto also paced the Crimson with nine rebounds, four off the offensive glass.

"I felt that I came out strong, and I wish that I could have finished strong," Peljto said.

Sophomore center Sarah Johnson turned in a strong second-half performance, finishing the game with 14 points, and senior guard Lisa Kowal added 13. Kowal's 13 points came on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

In examining the causes of the loss, the Crimson need look no farther than its shooting. The Crimson, firing blanks most of the night, took 70 shots for the game. Only 27 of those shots passed through the cylinder, leaving Harvard with an abysmal 38.6 shooting percentage. The Crimson shot an equally poor 5-of-25 from three-point range.

Also playing a significant role in the Crimson's loss was the outstanding play of the Fairfield starters, as all five Stags scored in double digits.

Fairfield guard Megan Light dished out a career-high 11 assists and added 14 points for her first double-double of the season. Guard Schrene Isidora added a game-high 19 points, of which 14 came in the second half to help cement the Fairfield win.

Gail Strumpf dropped in 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Ayanna Brown had 11 points and blocked three shots and Holli Tapley contributed 17 points, connecting on four three-pointers.

The Crimson, still missing captains Melissa Johnson and Kristen Boike and three other players with injury, was outplayed from the opening tip to the closing whistle.

"We need to play the full 40 minutes," Peljto said.

Fairfield came out firing, connecting on shots at a 60.7-percent clip in the opening segment, taking a 45-32 lead at halftime.

The Crimson worked to close the gap in the second half, taking advantage of 12 Stag turnovers. With 8:23 remaining, Harvard had cut Fairfield's lead to 63-55.

The Stags would retake the momentum and take over the game for good in the next 2:30. Fairfield's Tapley drained a three that began a 13-5 Stag run. That run ended with the Crimson trailing, 76-59. The Crimson would reduce that 17-point deficit only once, at the 5:05 mark when the Crimson trailed by 15.

"Losing is never a good thing," Kowal said. "Our spirits are still high."

This Crimson loss came on the heels of the Crimson's first win of the season, a 54-45 victory over New Hampshire on Tuesday night.

"We're only gonna get better from here on out," Kowal said.

Harvard's next home game is Wednesday night against Central Connecticut. The Crimson's first Ivy League date comes after the holidays on Saturday Jan. 6 when the Crimson plays Dartmouth at Hanover.