SEASON RECAP: Crimson Surges to NCAAs

Last year served largely as a learning experience for the Harvard women’s basketball team. Comprised mostly of underclassmen, the Crimson possessed much talent, but its inexperience would hamper its performance throughout the season. The inexperience also prevented Harvard from repeating as Ivy League champions in 2006.

So when the 2006-07 season started, hopes were high for the talented team to show just how much it had improved from one year of basketball.

“I think there is pressure on us to go and show people how we’ve grown from last year and how we’ve grown as a team,” sophomore Katie Rollins said earlier in the season. “We’ve worked really hard over the summer and preseason because we want to show that we are a different team and we have made changes.”

When the Crimson went 2-11 in nonconference play, it seemed as if nothing had changed from last year. The experience that was supposedly gained seemed to have no effect on the Crimson.

The women struggled through nonconference play, dropping its first six games of the season.

“They were a very young team, very new to each other,” coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “We have a lot of sophomores, and several didn’t play even half of freshman year. We had a tough nonconference schedule.”

As 2006 was ending, the women provided glimpses of what their coach and supporters expected of them.

On Dec. 3, the Crimson recorded its first victory of the season, knocking off San Jose State on the road at Berkeley, Calif. All five starters recorded scores in the double digits, while senior Christiana Lackner and sophomore guard Emily Tay both notched double-doubles. Shooting 50.8 percent from the field, Harvard dominated, creating a 63-37 advantage at one point. San Jose State could not keep up as the Crimson ultimately won the bout, 83-62.

“Once they gained confidence and learned that there is not a need to panic, we began winning games,” Delaney-Smith said.

Their confidence appeared once again against crosstown rival Boston College.

At halftime, Harvard actually trailed the Eagles, 31-22, but the second period belonged entirely to the Crimson. Offensive production from all sides of the floor chipped away at the BC lead. A 7-0 run late in the half provided the women with the necessary momentum to overcome the Eagles, 68-58. Lackner again posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

With their record at 2-11, the women looked to start things off right as Ivy League play began in early January. Perhaps it was the new year and the fresh beginnings, but the Crimson looked nothing like the team that played only a few days before.

Beginning with Dartmouth Jan. 2, Harvard steamrolled through the Ancient Eight and lost just a single contest, to Yale, in conference play.

The Crimson clinched a share of the Ivy title after defeating Princeton on Feb. 24 and went on to claim the title outright after outlasting Cornell one week later.

After beginning the season so shakily, Harvard was now putting on its dancing shoes. The Crimson’s impressive conference play earned a surprising No.15 seed in the NCAA Tournament, matching them up against the defending national champions, the Maryland Terrapins.

The reigning champions gave Harvard all it could handle. Despite playing even for the first 10 minutes or so, the Crimson could not keep pace with the Terrapins, as it fell, 89-65.

“The stars had to be aligned a little more closely for us to defeat last year’s national champion,” Delaney-Smith said. “We didn’t want to be simply happy that we were here, but we knew that things had to go our way. They didn’t, and that’s because of how well Maryland played.”

From a 2-11 start to capturing the Ivy crown and finally playing the defending champions of its sport, Harvard had only good things to remember about this season.

And with the core of the team still around for another two years, there are even greater possibilities for the future.

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