SIDEBAR: Rollins Takes Place in Post Tradition

Just five games into the Ivy basketball season, it’s already time to add yet another name to history’s illustrious list of standout Harvard freshmen.

First there was Allison Feaster ’98—the do-everything forward and Harvard’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder—who corralled Ivy Rookie of the Year honors in 1995 and was named Ivy Player of the Year in each of the three subsequent seasons.

Then along came Hana Peljto ’04, the league’s top rookie in 2000-2001 and two-time Ivy Player of the Year. Reka Cserny ’05 completed her career as the undisputed league MVP—the perfect bookend to Rookie of the Year honors in 2001-2002.

Now there’s Katie Rollins, the Crimson’s immovable force down low who has played in just eight games this year, but who stands alone as Harvard’s most dominant freshman.

Over two games this weekend, Rollins scored 36 points and tallied 13 rebounds—including two crucial boards and three free throws in the waning minutes of Saturday’s 80-71 win over Cornell.

“Even with lots to learn [as a freshman], she’s darn tough in the low post,” Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “She potentially could be one of the best low post players to ever play here.”

Rollins certainly showed that potential against the Big Red on Saturday. After amassing two early fouls and playing just four minutes in the first half, Rollins exploded for 15 second-half points and finished the night 7-of-10 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the line. More impressive was her composure against the League’s other top freshman, Cornell’s Jeomi Maduka, an athletic forward with a quick first step and a drive-first mentality.

Despite the two early fouls, Rollins did not pick up her third until 3:12 remained in the second half—a stretch during which she scored 12 of her career-high 19 points and held the explosive Maduka to five.

“I was pretty angry after the first half [with the foul trouble],” Rollins said. “I was ready to come out in the second half and be a little bit more powerful, stand my ground a little more. I was playing a little looser with more confidence, and it all just flowed from there.”

As for the matchup between two of the top Rookie of the Year candidates, Delaney-Smith was quick to side with Rollins, who dominated Maduka and the Cornell frontcourt throughout the second half.

“I thought Katie was better, no question,” Delaney-Smith. “I’ll take Katie any day of the year.”

In a league lacking interior dominance—Dartmouth’s Elise Morrison is the league’s premier post player, but she’s out for the season with a torn ligament in her foot—Rollins is fast becoming the Ivy’s best on the low block. She seals impeccably well and has great hands, providing Harvard the inside force it so lacked in a perimeter-oriented offense a year ago.

Best of all, Rollins combines her low post moves with a consistent 10-to-15 foot jumper, a skill that forces low-post defenders away from the basket and frees up the block for Harvard’s other freshman down low, 6’7 Emma Moretzsohn.

“She’s strong, and she wants the ball,” sophomore guard Lindsay Hallion said. “She is so dominant down there. If she’s sealing, we know can give her the ball and she’ll get it and just attack. She has been absolutely awesome.”

Rollins, who missed the first 10 games of the season with a shoulder injury, made her first start against Dartmouth in the Ivy opener on Jan. 7.

Since then, the 6’3 Rollins has led the Crimson in scoring in three of its five Ivy contests and is averaging a team-best 14.2 points per game in league play. More staggering is her 62 percent clip from the field over those five games, including an 8-of-9 performance against Brown last week.

“I’m just so excited for her,” co-captain Maureen McCaffery said. “She’s going to have a great career and she’s had a great freshman year, especially coming off of an injury. I think she has the nicest touch I’ve ever seen in the post.”

It’s a long time until postseason awards come out, but if Saturday night is any indication, Rollins might well be the next Crimson freshman to bring home Rookie of the Year honors in March.

And as Feaster, Peljto, and Cserny demonstrated, that award can be only the beginning.

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