Triple-Double Tricia Is Trouble

The Harvard women’s basketball team is clearly more than just two players.

Although junior Hana Peljto and sophomore Reka Cserny usually grab the headlines, junior Tricia Tubridy finally got her just due this weekend.

Tubridy recorded the only triple-double in recent Harvard women’s basketball history against Brown on Friday night, racking up 12 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists as Harvard cruised to a 71-62 victory.

“I knew I might have had the double-double when the game was over, [but] I had no idea it was a triple-double,” Tubridy said.

The junior forward, named the Ivy League Player of the Week, lamented after the game that it was one of the first times her parents had not seen her play during her Harvard career.

Though her production in this game was legendary, Tubridy’s integral role on the court is nothing new.

“That’s Tricia,” Delaney-Smith said. “She’s not a stat leader, but many people who know the sport will come and say, ‘Wow, she’s the glue to this team,’ and she is.”

The possibility of the triple-double loomed on the horizon after an incredible first half in which Tubridy shot 4-for-4 from behind the arc, grabbed eight rebounds and tallied six assists. The Crimson led 41-26 at the half and would not relinquish the lead.

Tubridy is no stranger to the boards as she regularly achieves double-doubles and even tallied 19 rebounds against Idaho State last year.

“There’s not a weakness,” Delaney-Smith said. “She’s strong defensively, she’s a strong rebounder, she’s strong offensively,…she’s just really a smart player.”

The assists, however, do not usually pile up for Tubridy as they did on Saturday. In fact, assists have historically been a rare commodity for Harvard women’s basketball players. Last year’s captain Jennifer Monti ’02 holds the team’s single-game record with just 14. Tubridy attributed her success in distributing the ball to the excellent options her teammates offer.

“The assists happen because Hana [Peljto] and Reka [Cserny] don’t miss,” Tubridy said. “The assists are easy—all I have to do is pass the ball and everything ends up being an assist.”

While fortune may have had a hand in Tubridy’s triple-double, her consistent contributions have not been a matter of chance.

—JESSICA T. LEE