Buzzer-Beater Leads to Another OT Loss for W. Hoops

It wasn’t a half-court buzzer-beater, but it got the job done.

Last Friday evening and just one game after Angela Soriaga nailed a 30-foot jumper as time expired to propel the Dartmouth women’s basketball into overtime against Harvard, Cornell (7-9, 2-1 Ivy) took its turn playing the spoiler last Friday evening.

Karen Force sprinted coast to coast as time wound down before sinking a game-tying layup with less than a second showing on the scoreboard to send the two squads to an additional frame, in which the Crimson (8-8, 1-2) came up short for the second straight occasion, falling to the Big Red 66-64.

The two consecutive losses equal one more than Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith’s squads have incurred in the past two seasons combined and mark the first time since 1994 that the Crimson has suffered two straight Ivy defeats.

That squad, which finished 7-19, compiled Ancient Eight losing streaks of four and five games.

This year’s incarnation snapped its own mini-slump with a 70-58 victory over Columbia (7-9, 1-3), forestalling any worries over repeating the ignominious streaks of 10 years ago.

Cornell 66, Harvard 64

But before Force gave the Big Red a shot to win in overtime, the Crimson surrendered plenty of chances of its own to seal the deal.

“We were in control for much of the game and then basically we missed a lot of shots we usually make,” co-captain Hana Peljto said. “They made a couple of shots down the stretch. I think the fact that they had come back and had the momentum hurt us.”

With just over two minutes remaining in the second half, junior guard Rochelle Bell swished a free throw to complete a three-point play and put Harvard up eight, 54-46.

From that point onward, time seemed to stand still.

In addition to adding a free throw of its own during the next minute, the Crimson sent Force to the line for four attempts, each of which she converted, cutting the margin between the two squads to just five.

“We got them down to 25 or 26 seconds of possession,” Delaney-Smith said. “But then they’d just put their heads down and drive the basket. And they’d get the foul call.”

Still down by five as the seconds ticked off the clock, the Big Red sent sophomore guard Laura Robinson to the line to shoot two and potentially ice the game.

But neither of Robinson’s shots fell and the feisty Cornell squad made Harvard pay.

Receiving the ball along the right side of the arc, Sarah Brown fired a three-pointer off the glass and in to pull the Crimson within two.

“Instead of focusing on finishing the two minutes, we focused on not losing,” Bell said. “We were hesitant on defense. It was just really a mental game towards the end.”

Needing to stop the clock with just 10 seconds left in regulation, the Big Red fouled Bell, sending her to the charity stripe for two.

But the basket was anything but kind to Bell, who missed as well. Katie Romey hauled down the board and quickly passed to force, who took it the rest of the way.

“We play tight and we don’t hit our shots,” Delaney-Smith said. “We got all the shots that we wanted including our foul shots.”

Harvard quickly grabbed the lead in overtime off an easy lay-in, but Force knocked down a three to give Cornell the lead.

“We went into a little bit of shock,” Bell said. “We were busy thinking we can’t lose, we can’t lose.

Just minutes later she would stick a pair of free throws to give the Big Red the lead for good.

“It was very even and then we ended up fouling,” Delaney-Smith said. “Then they hit a three. They played very well and I think once an Ivy League team becomes a believer than you’ve got a ball game on your hands.”

Aiding in that faith was the absence of junior center Reka Cserny, whose foul woes kept her from much of the second half and all of overtime.

“It was not a well-called game in my opinion, unfortunately” Delaney-Smith said. “Two of her fouls were not fouls. And that’s really sad for a player of her caliber.”

Cserny netted 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in 28 minutes. But her production was limited by the unwanted physical attention the Big Red gave her down low.

“Cornell is traditionally a very physical team and obviously that was part of the game plan,” Delaney-Smith said. “That will throw a finesse player like her out of her rhythm.”

Similarly off, though still producing solid numbers was co-captain Hana Peljto, who, though she scored 20 points and grabbed 14 boards, was 7-of-19 from the field—and 1-of-5 from downtown—with six turnovers.

But Peljto was not the only Crimson sharpshooter to be putting up blanks from long range. Harvard combined to go 2-for-17 from three-point land, while Cornell was 2-of-9.

“It hurts us a little bit,” Peljto said. “We’re a team that relies a lot on the three.”

But the real trouble for the Crimson was at the free throw line.

Harvard made just 13 of 22 from the line, a circumstance aggravated by the Big Red’s freebie prowess, as Cornell made 29 of 35.

Harvard 70, Columbia 58

The Lions may have tried to implement the same strategy as the Big Red, but Cserny and Peljto would hear none of it.

“It was just a feeling that we were not going to lose this game,” Peljto said. “We came out with an intensity that we wanted to have. It helped us sort of get through the close game.”

As the second half kicked off, the Lions went on a 6-0 tear to pull even at 36. But following a trey from senior point guard Bev Moore, Cserny and Peljto made sure there would be no additional momentum swings.

Peljto found Cserny underneath for an easy deuce to extend the lead, Cserny added a free throw, Peljto a lay-in and then Cserny a three. Up 11, Harvard would never look back.

“There definitely was [extra motivation],” Bell said. “We all came together and said, ‘This is not happening again’ and went out and made it happen.”

The Crimson’s top duo poured in a combined 52 points and grabbed 17 rebounds despite Columbia’s concerted efforts to shut them down.

Cserny, en route to 28 points, went 8-for-12 from the floor and made three of her four trey attempts in just 26 minutes. But her greatest impact was felt at the foul line, which she reached 13 times, making nine.

But the change in attitude was triggered not by Harvard’s twin towers down low, but an oft-injured guard in the backcourt.

“When Jessica Holsey went out and played, she just did a phenomenal job,” Delaney-Smith said. “She showed us a level of confidence we haven’t seen consistently from her since she injured her shoulder…She was a spark plug.”

Though Holsey did not score in her 18 minutes, she dished out three assists and grabbed two rebounds.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.