BASKETBALL '08 SUPPLEMENT: Instant Impact

When co-captain Lindsay Hallion graduated at the end of last year, the Harvard women’s basketball team lost its spiritual leader. Perhaps even more importantly, Hallion’s departure left a giant hole at the point guard position.

Enter freshman Brogan Berry.

Berry will take over the starting job at point when the Crimson opens its season tomorrow. Her coach, Kathy Delaney-Smith, is well aware of the rarity of a freshman acting as the court general. But Delaney-Smith has no reservations about throwing Berry into the deep end.

“We decided on Brogan a month ago,” Delaney-Smith says. “She’s that good.”
Brogan is not taking the task ahead of her lightly.

“It will be hard to follow in Hallion’s footsteps,” she concedes. “As of right now, I don’t even consider myself the starter. I’m still working for my spot on the team, but I know Kathy has a lot of faith in me, so I hope that I can provide what she needs for the team and just play my role.”

Complementing Berry in the talented freshman class is Caitlin Rowland, who plays primarily on the wing. While Berry is expected to slot into the role previously held by Hallion, Rowland appears to be in the mold of last year’s other co-captain, Jessica Knox.

Knox received minutes off the bench primarily for her defensive skills, and in a similar vein, Delaney-Smith describes Rowland as “the toughest defender out there” during practices. With sharp-shooting sophomore Christine Matera likely spelling the guards as well, Rowland could potentially be used as a defensive specialist.

Rowland is happy to contribute in any way she can to bring Harvard a third consecutive Ivy League championship.

“I’m willing to do whatever the coach wants to help the team, whether that’s scoring points, setting a good screen, or hitting the boards and grabbing a rebound,” she says.

Rowland describes the job she expects to be given very succinctly: “Get boards, play solid defense, play mistake-free offense.”

Rowland, a native of Eden Prairie, Minn., played for a strong high school team at Hopkins High and is looking forward to being a part of another winning program. But while the Crimson was picked as the top team in the league in the media preseason poll, Rowland and the rest of the squad are not allowing the lofty expectations to burden them.

“It’s mostly internal pressure for us,” she says. “It doesn’t matter how people predict we do. We want to go out there and fulfill the potential we have as a team.”

Perhaps no player will be under the microscope more often than Berry.

“She is just a phenomenal player,” co-captain Niki Finelli says of Berry. “She has such a strong passion for the game, a natural sense of playing.”

“Brogan has a very, very high court IQ.” Delaney-Smith adds. “And she is a very quick point guard—probably quicker and more athletic than Lindsay Hallion.”

The team will look to capitalize on that athleticism in a backcourt that will have fans on the edge of their seats.

Berry joins co-captain Emily Tay, known to excite the crowd with her speed, no-look passes, and reverse lay-ups. The combination will allow Harvard to play at a pace that few teams can match.

“We are looking to push the ball, be quick, you know—all that fun stuff,” Berry jokes.

The Crimson guards are already finding a great chemistry.

“I love playing with her,” Berry says of Tay. “She can find you anywhere.”

With Delaney-Smith urging more shots out of Tay, Berry will take primary responsibility for creating openings for her teammates. And Berry has no problem with that.

“I like to pass, and I can distribute the ball,” she says.

Delaney-Smith is implementing a new system to get the most out of her team’s talent—and the speed of its two starting guards in particular. The new offense will use fewer set plays and stress spontaneity, increasing the importance of Berry’s decision-making.

But the ease with which Berry has transitioned to the college level and her ability to improvise on the floor are consistently impressing coaches and teammates.

“You couldn’t even tell [Berry] was a freshman,” Tay says.

Finelli echoes her co-captain’s sentiment, heaping praise on the two newcomers.

“We refer to ourselves as a veteran team, and it’s funny to say that when the majority is underclassmen,” Finelli says, underscoring the fast learning curves of Berry and Rowland.

The fact that its new point guard even came to Harvard is a big victory for the program.

“It probably wasn’t my first choice at first,” Berry admits. “But that changed after coming here, talking to the coaches, and meeting the girls.”

In the end, Berry joined the Crimson over Kent State and Marist, which Harvard plays in its home opener.

And Berry is chomping at the bit to get her collegiate career—and the Crimson’s title defense—underway.

“We are all just really anxious to get going,” she says. “We are going to be a really talented and exciting team this year, so we just want to start playing together. We all have high hopes and a lot of confidence in each other.”

—Staff writer Jay M. Cohen can be reached at jaycohen@fas.harvard.edu.