Female Rookie of the Year: Hana Peljto

When the Crimson first asked Harvard women's basketball Coach Kathy-Delaney Smith to describe her freshman class, she initially held off on mentioning forward Hana Peljto's name. But when the time came, she let loose with unprecedented praise.

"I've saved the best for last," Delaney-Smith said. "She does everything: She runs the court hard, she can shoot the three, she slashes, she drives, and she has tremendous ball-handling. She's too tall for the guards, and too fast for the forwards. If you watch us practice or play, you will see Hana in seven seconds."

For the season, over 5,000 fans at Lavietes Pavilion were enraptured by Peljto as soon as she took the court.

Her numbers capture part of the story. She averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game to place second and third, respectively, among the Ivy leaders. She was an eight-time Ivy Rookie of the Week honoree and the unanimous pick for Ivy Rookie of the Week. Now she is the unquestionable choice for the Crimson's Female Rookie of the Year.

Peljto had already built up a considerable legacy before coming to Harvard. She lived through an extraordinary childhood-she was born in Bosnia, before her family fled from the war to Slovenia, where she first picked up basketball.

She ultimately found her way to Osseo, Minn., where she thrived in every aspect of life. Her senior year, she was valedictorian, as well as the AP and Gatorade State Basketball Player of the Year. She led Osseo to a state title in her final season, highlighted by a 34-point performance on two sprained ankles in the championship game.

It seemed natural that Peljto would immediately continue her success upon arriving at Harvard. When she first started practicing with the team, no one could stop her.

"When you ask her, 'How do you feel?' she answers, modestly but truthfully, 'Well, I didn't think it would be this easy,'" Delaney-Smith said of Peljto in the preseason.

Peljto's career would hardly begin the way that her Coach envisioned, however. Peljto earned an early-season starting role and fast became Harvard's statistical leader, yet the Crimson won just one of eleven games through November and December. It was the team's worst start in 17 years.

A definite low point of the season was a loss to Central Connecticut, in which Delaney-Smith yanked all of the starters off the court midway through the game. Soon after, she began to use Peljto off the bench on a permanent basis.

"I doesn't matter to me," said Peljto of her newfound bench role. "I just do whatever I can to help the team."

With a new year came a fresh start for the Crimson season, and Peljto thrived coming off the bench. She led all scorers with 20 points in 23 minutes to propel Harvard to a 70-57 win over B.U. on Jan. 2. She followed that up with a 22-point effort at Dartmouth on Jan. 6 in the Crimson's critical 72-58 Ivy-opening win.

"To not start your statistical leader and have her come off the bench is very much a luxury," Delaney-Smith said at mid-season. "I like her there. She is happy with that role."

Two hiccups in the Crimson's Ivy season-a close defeat at Brown and an overtime to loss to Yale-kept Harvard well back of Penn atop the Ivy standings, yet those two games gave Peljto the experience of hitting clutch shots at the college level.

In that Brown defeat, Peljto hit a three-pointer from a foot outside the arc with a defender bearing down on her to give the Crimson its last lead of the night in a 59-57 defeat. Against Yale five weeks later, she was given the ball with 20 seconds left and her team facing a three-point deficit. She flawlessly drained the game-tying shot, part of a season-high 27 points on the night. Although, the Crimson lost both games, Peljto's play was promising of things to come.

By the final weeks of the season, Peljto was starting again.

In Harvard's final game-a battle for second-place against Dartmouth-Peljto was given the privilege of starting alongside the four departing Crimson seniors.

Peljto scored 25 points that night to provide the seniors with the best gift they could possibly ask for-a sweep of Dartmouth in their final season. They had split with Dartmouth each of the previous three years, including the famed 1998 season in which they upset top-seeded Stanford.

Peljto's second-half, 18-point surge made the Crimson lead wide enough for all of the seniors to re-enter in the game's final minutes.

"Look how young my team is, so I'm proud," Delaney-Smith said. "There's a great future for us."

While Peljto showed signs of dominance this season, no one would doubt that her best basketball is yet to come. With already-contributing freshmen Tricia Tubridy and Jennifer Lee alongside Peljto for the next three years, the future has seemingly limitless potential.

"I'm definitely looking forward to my next three years of basketball here," Lee said.

Those 5,000 Crimson fans could not agree more.