Notebook: Cserny's Absence Causes Ripple Effect on Team

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—How does Harvard basketball change without starting forward Reka Cserny and her 15.5 points per game? In a game against Brown, a physical team focused on its drive, sophomore Hana Peljto was targeted, resulting in early fouls that limited her playing time to nine minutes in the first half.

“When teams know that Reka’s gone, they go at you,” sophomore guard Tricia Tubridy said.

And what of Cserny’s offensive prowess on a team leading the Ivy League in scoring offense? It certainly helps that Jenn Monti scored a career-high 18 points against Brown.

With Peljto out for most of the first half, Monti received a lot of defensive attention. But during the second half, Monti ran the Bears up and down the court.

“I think she really stepped up as a leader in the Brown and Yale games,” Tubridy said. “She’s been taking her shot more. I think she’s really added another dimension to her game.”

Senior Sharon Nunamaker was another stand-out, on the post and even diving for a loose ball. Nunamaker was Harvard’s leading scorer for the first half of the game against Brown with six points, and finished the game with eight. In the game against Yale, she put up five points.

“Sharon had a very big weekend for us,” Tubridy said. “People know their roles on the team. Hana and Reka are basically our main scorers. If Reka’s gone, you think to yourself, ‘I have to take more shots.’”

Against Brown offensive powerhouses Rada Pavichevich and Nyema Mitchell, sophomore forward Dirkje Dunham played a huge role in holding the Bears to 51 points and forcing 22 turnovers.

“She’s our best on-the-ball defender,” Tubridy said.

Frigid First Half

Against Brown, the Crimson scored a mere 19 points in the first half, while shooting 25.9 percent from the field. But while Harvard was concentrating on defense, the Crimson will not always be able to score 44 points in the second half to win a game.

“It takes us a half to realize how we need to play—we need to change that,” Tubridy said. “Halftime is very valuable to us. We’re able to pinpoint what the problems are.”

Peljto’s few minutes and the absence of Cserny was also a large factor in the first against Brown. But against Yale, the Crimson still only went 10-for-26 in the first, shooting 38.5 percent.

Zero-For-Three

Harvard went 1-for-14 from the arc during the first half against Brown. After going 2-for-13 against Colgate, the poor percentage was attributed to rust and an “off night.” Against the Elis, the Crimson went 0-for-7 in the first half, improving to 4-for-11 in the second, but still finished shooting just 22.2 percent from behind the arc.

One factor against Brown was that the Bears were doubling up on the posts, forcing the Crimson to take the outside shot and preventing Harvard from passing out from the post when there was an open player beyond the arc.

“A lot of teams try to take away our post games,” Tubridy said. “They’re forcing us to take the outside shot.”

Co-captain Laura Barnard was a bright spot in three-point land. Barnard played a pivotal role in securing the lead in the second half, hitting back-to-back three-pointers, crushing the Bears’ momentum. Barnard finished the game with 10 points—nine from three-pointers.

“I think she really killed them with her threes,” Tubridy said. “It hurts when a team does that to you.”

Physical Education

A key sign that one is watching a physical game is when half of the players on the court are literally on the court, as was true at one point in the second half against Brown.

“If it’s a physical game, we need to push them back,” Tubridy said. “I prefer physical games because it means that there are less fouls called.”

Harvard showed that it could push back, even over Brown freshman Holly Robinson, who stands at a grand 6’5. Physical play with each other in practice, as well as games such as Villanova and Manhattan, helped the Crimson prepare for Brown.

“We get very physical with each other in practice,” Tubridy said. “We’re tough on each other on the posts.”