Holsey’s Last-Minute Effort Lifts W. Hoops Over Syracuse

The Harvard women’s basketball team kicked off its season with a 79-76 win over Syracuse and staked an early claim as a national contender.

In a gritty game that came down to the wire, the Crimson (1-0) erased a 10-point second half deficit to beat the Orangewomen (0-2) and avenge one of its six defeats from last season.

Freshman guard Jessica Holsey completed the comeback with a three-point shot in the last minute of the game, followed by a blocked shot and free throw in the game’s final seconds to seal the deal.

“I think this is a statement to ourselves that we can play with an athletic team,” said Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith of the win.

In her first game at the collegiate level, Holsey scored all of her nine points in the last 11 minutes of the game, including a crucial three-pointer with 45 seconds left to give Harvard what would prove to be its conclusive lead.

As the Orangewomen threatened with 21 seconds left and a one-point deficit, Holsey blocked Julie McBride’s three-point attempt and drew a foul. Her second free-throw effectively clinched the game for Harvard.

Junior forward Hana Peljto led the Crimson with 20 points and 15 rebounds on the night. In addition to snaring almost half of the team’s total boards, she kept pace with McBride by consistently contributing a prompt basket in response to each shot made by the Syracuse guard.

The Crimson’s offense was also paced by sophomore guard Rochelle Bell, who netted 13 points in her first career start, and junior guard Bev Moore, who scored 14 in her Harvard debut.

McBride netted a team high 17 points and led the Orangewomen to a 47-37 second half lead.

“[McBride] was almost unstoppable,” said junior forward Tricia Tubridy.

The tandem of Moore and junior guard Dirkje Dunham were effective in providing tight coverage on the 5’4 point guard, however. When Dunham went down in a rough collision at the beginning of the second half, Moore continued to supply not only unrelenting defensive pressure but also a crucial jumper, assist and three-pointer to pull the Crimson within five with 13:34 left to play.

The Crimson took its first lead of the second half, 59-57, off a long pass from sophomore Reka Cserny to Peljto at the net, resulting in a three-point play.

“I’m proud of the poise, the way we handled their athleticism,” Delaney-Smith said.

The Orangewomen, possessors of a hard-hitting offense who defeated three top-25 teams last year, were as competitive as anticipated.

“We needed to stop their penetration—all their scoring was done in the paint,” Delaney-Smith said.

Harvard grabbed the lead for the first eight minutes, but Syracuse took advantage of Crimson turnovers to claim the lead for the rest of the half. The Orangewomen led by as much as six before Peljto closed out the half by scoring off her own rebound, narrowing Syracuse’s lead to 37-34 at halftime.

Harvard’s ability to bounce back from halftime deficits was characteristic of last season, and this season’s opener was no different.

The Crimson will get a chance to avenge another one of last year’s defeats against BU tomorrow night. The Terriers were picked to finish second in America East and were able to hold a 23-22 halftime lead against No. 8 Vanderbilt.

Having succinctly demonstrated its playing capabilities against Syracuse, Harvard is enthusiastic about the next challenger.

“I think this win is such a big deal because of the confidence it’ll give,” Tubridy said. “Coming in and beating them shows as that we can go in and beat other big teams too.”