Dalton, Lackner Make Sophomore Splash

Kyle Dalton’s facebook.com profile features an image of the sophomore crouching next to replicas of two monkeys.

She imitates their frowny, silly faces.

Dalton’s a sophomore. She can’t help it.

“My teammates will testify that I never do anything stupid,” Dalton, a guard on the Harvard women’s basketball team, says. “Like losing things and forgetting things...I never do that.”

Christiana Lackner’s featured picture is slightly more refined. The sophomore forward grins a sideways, toothy smile.

She’s nicknamed “Belgian Waffle.”

“My mom’s from Belgium and when my sister and I were little,” Lackner says, “neighbors, mean ones, used to call us Belgian Waffles to make fun of us.

“I told the team and [senior guard Rochelle Bell] loved it, so she calls me that sometimes.”

After centuries of strange and irrational ridicule—guess where the word moron comes from?—sophomores remain fun to laugh at.

On the surface, Dalton and Lackner may appear a little sophomoric. But their games shun the mold. The second-year ballers are only getting better.

“Just a year of experience is so huge,” Dalton says. “You know your team, your coaches and the system so much better, and feel more comfortable.”

As freshmen, Dalton and Lackner were used only for standard clean-up work, and combined for three points and 10.9 minutes per game.

This fall, Dalton and Lackner have elevated their status. Their playing time—and total production—have bumped up considerably.

Consider the change over one month. In a season-opening win against Fairfield on Nov. 19, the sophomores played five minutes total, scoring two points on 1-3 shooting.

Things didn’t change in November. For the rest of the month, the pair averaged seven minutes total and spread four points over three games.

Since then, their rise to prominence has been swift and palpable.

In a Dec. 4 rout at Lafayette, Dalton and Lackner played 18 minutes each. Dalton chipped in seven points during the effort, and Lackner pulled down six rebounds—both career-highs.

In December, the two have averaged almost 30 minutes and have been scoring nearly 10 points per game. During a recent home stand, their contributions off the bench were invaluable.

That’s not all they’ve accomplished.

“Being a sophomore is being in a position where you’re working hard to make your starters better at practice,” Lackner says.

Dalton notes the contributions of a third sophomore, walk-on guard Julia Pederson, as especially important.

“She doesn’t really get to see any [playing time] in games,” Dalton says, “but [Julia] works very hard in practice and helps us out a lot.”

Pederson also has a candy apple covering her face. On her facebook.com profile, that is.

Sophomores will think up anything.

“I love being a sophomore,” Dalton says. “Freshman year was fun, but very tough. And getting adjusted to college was definitely a challenge.”

She’s comfortable, now. All she needs is notoriety. In The Crimson’s Nov. 18 supplement for women’s basketball, Dalton’s name went unmentioned.

With two career-high scoring efforts to her credit in the last two weeks, the sophomore is earning attention.

“I think sophomores can sometimes be overlooked, but I don’t mind it,” Dalton says. “And it may put us in a position to do more damage.”

Lackner says her confidence “has grown.”

“I heard people talking about the sophomore slump last year, but I never really believed it,” she says. “I’ve definitely found how I can contribute.”

A native of Pittsburgh, Lackner has carved herself a productive niche. The 6’1 forward has a knack for converting high-percentage shots—so far, she is shooting a clean .500 in 2004—and grabbing rebounds.

She may be a Belgian Waffle, but she plays more like her latent blue-collar Pittsburgher.

“It’s really a surprisingly nice city,” Lackner says of her hometown. “I know it’s not a tourist destination exactly, but it has everything the big cities have.”

For one, Lackner says, Pittsburgh boasts a healthy dose of game.

“I wouldn’t have picked any other city to learn the game in,” Lackner says. “It’s definitely considered a hotbed for women’s basketball.”

Dalton, for her part, has split time between Tucson, Ariz., and Tampa, Fla.

She’s now accustomed to different weather—“both places are hot,” she says—and scalding percentages from behind the arc. Dalton is shooting .600 from three-point range so far this year.

“She’s a great shooter,” says Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. “The last couple games I’ve put her in I’ve been very pleased with her play.”

After a tight first half against Central Connecticut St. on Dec. 11, Dalton hit two big baskets from long range, boosting the Crimson to a 70-55 victory.

Dalton, like Lackner, doesn’t play like a second-year. Sophomores in style and substance, the two have fashioned a sturdy bond thanks to similar circumstances.

“Kyle and I would bond anyway!” says Lackner, with mock agitation. “Seriously, I always tell her how happy I am that there are at least two of us in the class.

“Being alone would make any year in college miserable.”

For now, Lackner’s happy, healthy and productive. But just wait till that spring sophomore tutorial has its say.

—Staff writer Alex McPhillips can be reached at rmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.