W. Hoops Reclaims First Place in Ivies

A bit of normalcy returned to the Ivy League standings last weekend, as the Harvard women’s basketball team regained first place in the conference with its home sweep over Columbia and Cornell this past weekend.

The Crimson, the media’s preseason favorite to win the conference, opened the weekend with an easy 79-57 win over Columbia (10-10, 4-3 Ivy) Friday night before holding off Cornell (12-9, 6-2) in a matchup of the league’s top two teams Saturday. The 64-58 victory gave Harvard its sixth-straight win and ninth win in its last ten games.

Harvard (15-5, 6-1) takes the over the Ivy top spot with most of its toughest games already out of the way. A trip to Cornell in two weeks figures to be the Crimson’s toughest remaining test.

“We’ve been on the road a lot, and we’ve played through injuries, and we’re still in first place,” Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said.

Harvard will look to continue its winning ways when it hosts Princeton and Penn next weekend. The Princeton game will give the Crimson a chance to avenge its only Ivy loss of the season.

Harvard 64, Cornell 58

Cornell entered Saturday night’s contest never having beaten Harvard in 22 opportunities.

With the Ivy League lead on the line, the Crimson wasn’t about to let that streak end just yet.

Leading 36-34 early in the second half, Harvard held the Big Red scoreless for more than six minutes as it slowly extended its lead. A pull-up jumper by freshman center Reka Cserny with 8:26 left gave Harvard its largest lead of the night at 53-39, and it looked like the the Crimson would easily close out another win.

Cornell, however, would not relinquish its Ivy lead quietly.

Down 59-47 with two minutes left, the Big Red mounted a furious rally, which was aided by several Harvard miscues. When Cornell forward Lynell Davis stole a backcourt pass intended for Cserny and converted the easy layup, the Big Red had cut the lead to three, 59-56, with still forty seconds left to go.

“We got a little tentative, conservative and cautious and that got us in trouble,” Delaney-Smith said. “We will not let that happen again.”

Guaranteed at least one more possession, Cornell could have attempted to hold Harvard on offense and then hope to tie the game with a three. Instead, the Big Red immediately fouled sophomore guard Dirkje Dunham, putting her on the line for a one-and-one opportunity.

Dunham was only a 68 percent free-throw shooter at the time, but she made both of her foul shots, giving Harvard a comfortable five-point cushion.

The foul line had been unchartered territory for much of the game, as the officials kept their whistles in their pockets despite some physical inside play. Only eight fouls were called in the first half, and neither team attempted a free throw for the first 18 minutes of the second half.

Cornell did not make a foul shot all game—it did not even attempt one until there were just 45 seconds remaining.

“I love these officials,” Delaney-Smith said. “They let us play, and it’s a much nicer game that way.”

Once again, the Crimson started slow out of the gates. Cornell opened with a sagging zone, clogging the middle in an attempt to shut down Harvard’s inside game. The strategy worked well early, as no Crimson player could hit an outside shot, and attempts to feed the post often resulted in a blocked shot or turnover.

“That’s the way teams should play us,” Delaney-Smith said. “We’ll find a way even if they do that.”

The Big Red, on the other hand, started the game on fire from outside. A combination of screens and ball rotation left several Cornell shooters open from behind the arc, and the team capitalized, sinking four threes en route to an early 22-13 lead.

Harvard had difficulty defending Cornell with a man-to-man defense, as the Big Red runs a subtle variant of Harvard’s own offense that confused the team early. The Crimson had much more success in a zone, especially once the Big Red cooled down from behind the arc.

“We both run the same offense, but we didn’t realize that they had different reads and cuts for the same plays,” junior forward Kate Ides said. “That was a struggle for us, and that’s why we adjusted to a zone.”

On offense, the Crimson took advantage of eleven first-half offensive rebounds to counter Cornell’s tough zone. Nearly half of Harvard’s points in the opening period came off of second-chance shots.

Having made the necessary adjustments, the Crimson wasted little time turning the game around, finishing the half on a 20-6 run en route to a 33-28 lead at the break. Freshman guard Rochelle Bell’s three-pointer from the top of the key gave Harvard a 29-26 lead that it would never relinquish.

“We have so many great players you can’t just stop one or two of us and expect to win,”sophomore forward Hana Peljto said.

Harvard 79, Columbia 57

In a welcome departure from its recent struggles against weaker teams, Harvard had little trouble dealing with Columbia on Friday. The Crimson coasted to an easy win over the Lions behind Pejlto’s game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds.

After Columbia closed to within two at 26-24 with six minutes left in the first half, the Crimson scored on seven of its next eight possessions during a 15-4 run which effectively decided the game. Harvard went into the locker room in front 41-30, and the Lions never again came within eight points.

Harvard started the game slowly, continuing a trend that has plagued the team in recent games. The Crimson missed several close shots in the first few minutes, but equally spotty play by Columbia kept the Crimson close early.

“Our shooting has been erratic in the first half,” Delaney-Smith said. “I’m not sure why—we’re getting the shots we want.”

After falling behind 18-13, the Crimson responded with an 11-0 run, taking the lead for good on Peljto’s turnaround jumper with eight minutes left in the half.

Peljto’s 15 first-half points led all scorers, but Ides was instrumental in helping the Crimson through its slow start. Ides hit all four of her shots in the first half while her teammates were struggling to find their range from the field.

“Kate’s been putting together a month of dominant practices,” Delaney-Smith said. “She’s always been a shooter, and she’s our best help defender.”

Ides was starting in place of freshman center Reka Cserny, who is battling back from an ankle injury. Cserny saw her first action since January on Friday night, grabbing 12 rebounds in just 17 minutes off the bench.