W. Basketball Focuses On Defensive Effort

The Harvard women’s basketball team has learned that the all-important Ivy League “W” requires a stalwart “D.”

And on Friday night against Princeton, when superstar captain Reka Cserny dove for a loose ball with the Crimson up 55-39 over the Tigers and time dwindling in the second half, the Crimson showed just how it has made a late push for the Ivy League title.

“It’s absolutely effort,” Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “We’re playing lower, we’re higher in the passing lanes. We’re putting a little pressure on the ball. And we didn’t do that before.”

Since a Feb. 11 loss to Brown knocked Harvard out of a first-place tie with Dartmouth, the Crimson has managed six straight wins.

In five of those games, the team has forced over 20 turnovers and is averaging more than 13 steals.

Against the Tigers, Harvard relied upon the same recipe for success. Princeton spent the entire game flustered by the Crimson’s hounding defense, unable to penetrate the lane or effectively pass the ball inside.

The Tigers committed 24 turnovers, most resulting from errant passes over the outstretched hands of menacing Crimson defenders.

More often than not, Princeton guards found their passes to once-open teammates intercepted by Harvard guards sprinting into the passing lanes and heading the opposite direction. The Crimson’s stiff denial and help-side defense prevented the Tigers from establishing an offensive rhythm in a half-court set.

“We are capable in the half-court of playing good pressure defense,” Delaney-Smith said. “And that’s what we’re doing.”

Much of that praise falls upon guards Katie Murphy and Jessica Holsey, who combined for seven steals against the Tigers.

Murphy swiped two of her game-high four late in the first half, on back-to-back possessions. After being stripped by Princeton guard Casey Lockwood, Murphy promptly returned the favor in the Princeton backcourt before racing to the hoop for a layup.

On the next possession, Murphy ripped the ball from Tigers’ center Rebecca Brown, initiating a fast-break that resulted in a Katie Murphy jumper.

“Murph goes after it and never says die,” Delaney-Smith said. “We get motivated now by our defense, and I want to continue to do that.”

If it hadn’t been for a surprise 17-point performance from Princeton guard Ali Pritchard—the only Tiger in double-figures—the visitors would have been hard-pressed for any offensive production on Friday night.

The 49-point effort was the Tigers’ third-worst of the season, and Harvard held Princeton’s two leading scorers, Brown and forward Meagan Cowher, to nine and two points, respectively. The real story, however, was shot attempts: Brown, a 6’1 center who entered the game averaging 13.7 points per game, mustered only one point in the second half and took just six shots on the night.

“We’re mixing it up [defensively],” Delaney-Smith said. “Princeton struggled. I don’t think they ever figured it out.”

The Crimson has learned that effort on the defensive end translates into instantaneous offense and, as of late, victories.

“The first half of the season, we were making all of our shots,” said junior forward Kate Mannering. “And our defense just wasn’t cutting it.”

“If those shots didn’t fall,” she added, “we weren’t even close in games that we should have been winning.”

But as Friday night’s throttling of Princeton showed, the defensive emphasis has assuaged Harvard’s offensive woes. The Crimson poured in 27 points off turnovers, and countless other possessions began with a steal and a quick offensive setup on the perimeter.

And when Princeton threatened to make it a game midway through the second half with a 9-0 run, bringing the score to 50-39, the Harvard defense stepped up again.

Over the next five minutes—from 11:11 to 6:07 in the latter frame—the Crimson held the Tigers without a point or an offensive rebound and put the game away with a 9-0 run of its own.

—Staff writer Aidan E. Tait can be reached at atait@fas.harvard.edu.