Women's Basketball Looks to Compete for Top Spot

It sounds like a broken record as each girl steps up to the arc. Swoosh, and then the sound of 13 girls cheering. Swoosh, and another round of raucous cheers.

The Harvard women’s basketball team may have lost its three best players to graduation, but this year’s squad is looking to make history, not excuses.

“Every year it seems as though we lose big seniors,” said captain Taylor Finley, “but we have some really strong freshmen, and with our upperclassmen being able to gain some experience, I’m really excited. People won’t have the ‘scouts out’ on us, which can be an advantage.”

Replacing graduated seniors AnnMarie Healy, Kit Metoyer, and Shilpa Tummala, the team’s three leaders in points scored and minutes played last season, will not be an easy task. But the addition of three talented freshmen and a highly touted transfer should help this group of motivated, tight-knit girls make an imprint on the Ivy League. Winning the Ancient Eight is on the minds of everyone associated with the program.

“I think it’s safe to say that we’re ready for a championship,” said captain and forward Destiny Nunley. “We work hard everyday, which feels so good walking off the court in practice.”

Returning to the team are sophomore guards Nani Redford, Madeline Raster, and Sydney Skinner, the team’s leaders in games started after the three aforementioned graduates. Last year the three made up the primary backcourt rotation for head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith, and they return with plenty of Ivy League experience.

In their rookie campaign, the players were dynamic but plagued by turnovers; with a year under their belts, finding consistency is a question of when, not if.

“Any coach will tell you that the difference between freshmen and sophomores is apples and oranges,” Delaney-Smith said, “Our sophomore class, just a year older, a year wiser, can actually see the post. They can make the correct decision.”

Finley and Nunley will return to the frontcourt along with a couple of newcomers. Transfer Taylor Rooks, who came from Stanford after her freshman year but had to sit last season out due to eligibility rules, will convert to the four spot after playing guard in her first collegiate season. She was the 18th-ranked recruit in the Class of 2014. Her outside range and agility will help stretch bigger defenders, something Delaney-Smith was able to do with Tummala in the second half of her career.

“[The transition] has been pretty seamless,” Rooks said. “The coaching staff has been great, and the team is awesome. The environment is very fun and competitive; that made the transition very smooth and easy, and I’m very excited to play this year.”

Joining them are freshmen forwards Maria Guramare and Jeannie Boehm. Guramare, a French native, played with the U15 and U16 national teams of her home country. Boehm is one of the top prospects in the country and is just the second McDonald’s All-American in program history. One of the purest centers in the league, she will command attention from defenders every second she’s on the court. Replacing Healy’s production from the paint will be difficult, but this team might have the talent and depth to do it.

“We’re looking to improve Destiny’s turnaround jumper, similar to AnnMarie’s,” Delaney-Smith said. “Jeannie is a power player with an incredible hook shot. Maria from France is a big power, and the league isn’t ready. She’s young but learns so quickly that she might be ready to do some damage for us this year. We’re not looking to get [AnnMarie’s] numbers from any one player this year.”

All players will be needed throughout the season, both in and out of conference, if the team wishes to obtain the coveted Ivy League Championship that has eluded Harvard since 2008. An important component of the Crimson’s goal will be success against their out-of-conference opponents. Last year the Crimson went 5-9 in out-of-conference play.

“Getting some good wins in the first half of the season is important,” Finley said. “ We’ve kind of let that go in the past and waited until Ivy League season.”

Victories over opponents like Maine, Minnesota, and Temple could be season-defining moments for the unproven squad. At the Fordham Holiday Tournament, Harvard will have the opportunity to enter Ivy League play on the rise—and have the momentum to compete for the Ancient Eight crown.

Princeton and Dartmouth have both given the Crimson trouble in recent history, and despite Cornell’s freshman-heavy squad, the team was voted to finish in fourth place—one spot below Harvard. So the Big Red will definitely be a team to watch this season.

All roads to the throne seem to go through Philadelphia as the Penn Quakers are coming off a visit to the NCAA Basketball Tournament last season, as well as being unanimously selected to defend their title.

The Crimson is aware of Penn’s potential for this season but feels that it is ready and prepared for the challenge.

“We think we’ll be in the race, definitely,” Delaney-Smith said. “Because of Penn’s system and Penn’s height—their system and their height sets everyone back on their heels. Our job is to be able to have a system where we sustain [good shooting]. I know we can do it. It’s just a matter of the mental game and the relentless persistence in working hard and not worrying about getting your shot blocked. We have the three-point ability and the inside threat to play anyone.”

Despite losing three key seniors, then, Harvard is ready to return to battle—and ready to do whatever it takes to be on top at the end of the season.

“We have a lot of good players on the team,” Rooks said. “Everyone can play multiple positions. I’m willing to do whatever is necessary for me to do on the court. At the end of the day, I want to get the championship and wear that ring.”

—Stuart Johnson and Manav Khandelwal can be reached at stuart.johnson@thecrimson.com and manav.khandelwal@thecrimson.com