Crimson Ladies Overpower Holy Cross, 73-57

The Harvard women’s basketball team notched their second win of the season as they cruised past Holy Cross, 73-57, at Hart Center last night.

The Crimson (2-1, 0-0 Ivy) had four players who recorded double-digit points on the night, handing the Crusaders (0-3, 0-0 NCAC) their third straight loss of the season.

“It was a great win for us, a tough battle,” co-captain Niki Finelli said. “I think it was a feel-good win. We really dug deep on defense. Everything else took care of itself. We really toughed it out.”

Finelli led the reigning Ivy League Champions with 15 points on the day.

Senior co-captain Emily Tay and sophomore Emma Markley, who was named Ivy League Player of the Week, joined Finelli in posting double-digit points, recording 13 apiece. Tay also tallied six assists.

The Crimson jumped ahead in the first half, sinking four three-pointers within the first five minutes.

The climax of the offensive spurt occurred with less than four minutes left in the game, when Harvard ran off with a 17-point lead.

The Crimson shot 36.1 percent from the field and 37.5 percent behind the arc.Finelli shot three of the nine three-pointers Harvard posted, while freshman Brogan Berry and Tay tacked on two more apiece.

“I really wasn’t thinking about [my points] at all,” Finelli said. “I was just trying to see what I could do to get either a spark for my team or get things rolling for us. Those baskets came naturally. I wasn’t trying to make anything special happen. Our inside game was huge tonight.”

Stepping up big for the Crimson was sophomore Claire Wheeler, who recorded her first double-double of the season.

“[Wheeler] came up huge for us on the board,” Finelli said. “We were struggling to find a rebounder on our team. She really stepped up to fill that role for us and kept us in the game in crucial points. She did a phenomenal job.”

Wheeler might be the answer to the void Harvard expected to face this year with the loss of forward Adrian Budischak ’08 and guards Lindsay Hallion ’08 and Jessica Knox ’08. Her performance yesterday may indicate future success on the court.

“Our coaches tell us to focus on rebounding and the offense will come,” Wheeler added. “I made that my priority, and I guess I got lucky.”

The closest Holy Cross came to catching the Crimson was in the first half with less than two minutes remaining.

But the Crusaders were quickly shut down, as sophomore Christine Matera and Berry each added three-pointers.

Harvard also saw trouble at the start of the second half, sending three Crusaders to the free-throw line, but Holy Cross was able to tally three of the six possible points, decreasing its deficit to four points.

Again, the Crimson answered the threat after three minutes of scoreless play with a couple three-pointers from Finelli and Tay.

Yet it was Harvard’s defense that helped secure the win in the end last night, holding the Crusaders to a season-low 57 points.

“We had some good spurts,” Wheeler said. “Overall I think our biggest strength was our defense that got us the win.”

Along with solid defense, the Crimson outrebounded the Crusaders 51-37, with over half occurring in Holy Cross’s zone.

Leading the strong defensive outing was Wheeler, who had a career-high 12 rebounds on the day.

“We’ve been working on [our defense] all week,” Finelli said. “We are really trying to focus on team defense and not being concerned with your girl but being concerned with all five players on the court at once.”

With two wins under its belt, Harvard looks to yet another successful season in the Ivy League.

The Crimson will play its first home game of the season this Sunday against Marist College at 2 p.m.

“I think we are ready,” Wheeler said. “We keep improving with each game.”