Finelli, Rollins Not Enough for Harvard

Women’s basketball’s opening weekend was one for personal bests as several players had career efforts in the first two games of the season.

But the results were bittersweet. The Crimson (0-2) failed to record a win, dropping both games at the TD Banknorth Classic in Burlington, Vt. In the season opener, the Crimson fell to East Carolina, 80-71, despite leading at halftime. History repeated itself on Saturday as the Crimson allowed Holy Cross to come from behind and steal 69-57 victory.

HOLY CROSS 69, HARVARD 57

The Crimson did not manage the commanding start against the Crusaders (2-3) that it did in the previous game. But after a back and forth start, Harvard pushed forward to take an 11-point lead on 13 Holy Cross turnovers and 50 percent shooting from the field. The Crusaders chipped away at the lead, scoring seven consecutive points at the foul line and climbing close at 21-17.

A quick turnaround by the Crimson gave Harvard a 12-point advantage, its largest lead of the game, but Holy Cross added another basket to shrink the Crimson lead to 35-25 at halftime.

After the break, the Crimson entered familiar territory.

“I think the game tempo was decided in the first two minutes of the second half,” sophomore Katie Rollins said. “We came out a little bit flat. We need to come out of the locker stronger.”

The Crusaders outscored Harvard 13-4 in the first five minutes, bringing the deficit within one. Junior Ashley McLaughlin tied the game at 44 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the match. Senior Kaitlin Foley, who led all players with 22 points, gave Holy Cross its first lead, 46-44, on a layup.

The Crusaders managed to keep the lead until Rollins netted one at the free-throw line to tie the game at 55.

Holy Cross, however, responded with a three-pointer and never looked back, holding on for the win.

Sophomore Niki Finelli anchored the offense for the second game in a row, leading all Crimson scorers with 13 points. Finelli went 3-for-4 from behind the arc and snatched six boards in another impressive effort.

Co-captain Christiana Lackner recorded a career-high 16 rebounds, while Rollins broke into double figures again with ten points.

Sophomore Emily Tay dished out eight assists.

EAST CAROLINA 80, HARVARD 71

In the season opener, Harvard raced out to a seven-point lead early in the game. The Pirates (1-2), however, capitalized on three missed jumpers, gaining a five point lead.

After ECU extended its lead to seven, the Crimson battled back into the lead. A bucket from junior guard Lindsay Hallion and Lackner and another four points from the charity stripe put the Crimson back on top.

The back-and-forth flow of the game continued as the Pirates used a Harvard turnover to score from behind the arc and claim a one-point lead. But senior Kyle Dalton hit a three and Rollins, who went 11-for-16 at the line, added a pair of foul shots to push the Crimson out in front, 33-30, at halftime.

Harvard stretched its advantage to eight in the second frame, the largest margin the Crimson would hold over the Pirates.

But the second frame played out differently.

“We have a lot of chemistry as a team,” Finelli said. “We need to work on translating that to the floor and working the entire 40 minutes.”

ECU steadily chopped at the deficit until 14:35 in the second half. Cherie Mills wrangled in an offensive rebound and followed up with a lay-up to push ECU into the lead 46-45. The Pirates then held on to the advantage for the win, leaving the Crimson to wonder what went wrong.

“I think we realized we played to their game plan,” Rollins said. “We weren’t running our tempo. We were playing to their level instead of forcing them to keep up with us.”

Finelli and Rollins led the Crimson with 19 points each while Hallion provided 13 points, completing a trio of players who notched double digits in the losing effort.

Rollins added ten rebounds for her first career double-double.

Finelli, who missed the first six games of last season, shot 8-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-5 from downtown, and added five steals and three assists.

“It’s really exciting to be a part of the team this year,” Finelli said. “It’s exciting to play with my teammates.”

Harvard will be back in action on Wednesday. The Crimson will host its home opener against Quinnipiac at 3 p.m.

—Staff writer Vincent R. Oletu can be reached at voletu@fas.harvard.edu.