Playing the Favorite: W. Hoops Tabbed as Preseason No. 1

With all due respect, the seniors of the Harvard women’s basketball team would like to put an end to any comparisons between themselves and the Class of ’95. Though the senior class of seven years ago finished with a solid 37-19 career Ivy record and placed second in the Ivies three times, it’s the only Harvard class since 1986 to graduate with ringless fingers.

This year’s senior class, which has placed second in the Ivies in back-to-back seasons, has dedicated itself this year to avoiding that fate.

“It’s pretty evident that this is the first class in a long time not to have won an Ivy title,” said senior guard Jenn Monti. “I’ve thought about what was missing freshman, sophomore and junior years, and I see the pieces that were missing on this year’s team. Hopefully we’ll be rewarded this time around.”

The reasons for Monti to expect a better result this season are legit.

The Crimson—the Ivy preseason favorite for the first time in four years—returns more prolific scorers than any other team in the league. With much of that scoring coming from sophomores Tricia Tubridy and reigning Ivy Rookie of the Year Hana Peljto, the learning curve for the team is still steep. That alone makes a huge difference.

“This year is a completely different year,” Peljto said. “There is just a different mentality and a different offense. Obviously, I’m a year older, so hopefully I’ll have better control of my game.”

Peljto, a 6’2 forward born in Bosnia and one of the most acclaimed Minnesota high school basketball stars of all-time, averaged 16.1 ppg as a freshman last year. That mark was second only to the Ivy League’s all-time leading scorer Diana Caramanico, now graduated from Penn. Peljto’s 8.1 rebounding average was third in the Ivies behind only Caramanico and Dartmouth junior Katherine Hanks.

Already Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith has been impressed to see Peljto passing the ball more often, which makes her own offense even easier. But an even more radical improvement would be a more defensive-minded Peljto. That would complement the team’s oft-repeated mantra that with the talent it has, the offense will come through, but it’s the defense that wins games.

“I think I want Hana to make defense a priority,” Delaney-Smith said. “We’ll do that in practices and if we consistently stay with that as our focus, it’ll show up in games.”

Tubridy, a 6’0 small forward from high school superpower Christ the King in New York, finished second on the team in points (8.3 ppg) and rebounds (6.3 rpg) despite not starting for the early part of last season. Her improvement and increased playing time over the course of the season was a major difference between Harvard’s 1-10 start and its 11-5 finish down the stretch.

Increased production from Peljto and Tubridy this season won’t come based on their merits alone, however. The addition of 6’3 freshman Reka Cserny—a Hungarian junior national team player—is expected to make life that much easier for the returning players.

Cserny is a rare elite player who had her heart set on Harvard as soon as she began her college search. She was admitted along with the 2004 class and then deferred a year to compete in the European Championships. She caught the fancy of several American college coaches recruiting at the tournament, but she turned them all away.

Cserny’s presence gives Harvard the tall, reliable option inside that the Crimson has been missing since sisters Melissa Johnson ’01 and junior Sarah Johnson began to struggle with injuries. But Cserny is more than just a body down low. She is also a respected defender with a three-point shot who can run the floor.

“She’s going to have a great career here because she’s not one-dimensional,” Delaney-Smith said. “She’s not a post player. She’s not a perimeter player. She does a little bit of everything.”

Beyond the three young scorers, the Crimson starting lineup is rounded out by two longtime starters, Monti and co-captain Katie Gates.

Monti led the Ivies in assists last year with 5.4 average per league game. A Second Team All-Ivy selection her sophomore year, she proved herself capable of hitting clutch shots as a rookie when she drained back-to-back buzzer-beaters to down Yale and Brown on the final weekend.

Gates has also been a Crimson hero since her freshman year, when she connected on a three-point shot from halfcourt to beat Dartmouth. After an injury-plagued sophomore campaign, she came back last season to lead Harvard in three-pointers and steals. Through two games this season, she was among the Crimson’s most consistent players on both ends of the floor.

“[Gates] is playing like I think she should play,” Delaney-Smith said. “She’s a senior, she’s a veteran and she’s had a lot of game time in an important role for most of her career, so I expect nothing less from her.”

Gates will be even more valuable to the team as one of its top defensive players. With all of its regular starters —besides Monti—well over six-feet tall, the Crimson will be employing more zone defenses in the early going.

“We’re going to our zones much sooner than we did in the past, because we want to use our height and not worry about matchups,” Delaney-Smith said.

Even with the strong personnel on its roster, Harvard would not have a significant advantage over its Ivy opposition if it did not use offensive schemes that maximized its potential. But that is not a concern now that the team has switched from the triangle offense of the past two years to the flex offense.

Delaney-Smith made the switch mainly because she felt it was too easy for the opposition to take away the team’s inside game by double-teaming its post players. With the flex offense, there is considerably more quick ball movement from side-to-side, so players can avoid double teams. The increased amount of motion in the flex makes the game more exciting for players and fans alike.

The offense is loved not just by the main inside threats who end up with more space, but also by the guards who relish the ball movement.

“I don’t think the triangle suited our strengths,” Monti said. “The main point is that everyone is going to get a touch. There is more movement than we had with the triangle.”

Delaney-Smith praised Monti’s court vision and her ability to attack the weak side of defenses, and thinks she could be even better.

“I think she’s gotten to the point where she loves making the big pass,” Delaney-Smith said. “And now she’s holding on to the ball trying to make the big pass too soon. I’d love to see her move defenses, make teams play a little defense on us and then make the big pass.”

The benefits of the flex go beyond the obvious. Because the flex focuses more on players positions’ on the floor than their position on paper, the offense is suited more to players like Tubridy who can play guard or forward. It also dramatically increases the combinations of players that Delaney-Smith can play. That gives the Harvard bench a new and exciting role this season.

Through two games this season, sophomore guard Dirkje Dunham had already scored more points and received more playing time than she did all of last season. Because Delaney-Smith now has the option of putting two point guards on court on once, Dunham’s potential playing time was skyrocketed. The high quality of her play in the preseason didn’t hurt, either.

“Dirkje’s had tremendously consistent, fabulous practices right from the beginning, so we’re very pleased with her,” Delaney-Smith said. “And I’m still learning about [how Dirkje will perform in game situations.”

With Dunham making strides at point guard, sophomore Jennifer Lee has now been playing more shooting guard. Lee got hot towards the end of last season and was relied upon to take some of Harvard’s most crucial shots of the season down the stretch.

Another shooting guard that has made an immediate impact is freshman Rochelle Bell, a Minnesota native who played against Peljto in high school. Bell has shown herself capable of coming into a game and hitting a three-pointer at any time. She has filled a role on the team that has been missing since co-captain Laura Barnard starting coming down with injuries last season. Bell has battled illness and ankle injuries since coming to Harvard, but Delaney-Smith believes the best is yet to come from her.

Junior forward Kate Ides has been Harvard’s the top option off the bench when the Crimson needed a strong inside force. Ides has been a Harvard starter off and on throughout her career, and she is expected to get a consistent amount of playing time each game, provided that she stays out of foul trouble. Sarah Johnson and senior Sharon Nunamaker could also be impact forwards for the Crimson if they can overcome the injuries they’ve been battling throughout their careers.

With five reliable starters and a bench that could become deeper as the season progresses, Harvard will be tough competition for its Ivy rivals. Dartmouth is expected to be around the top of the league as always, while defending Ivy champion Penn still has plenty of pride even though it no longer has Caramanico.

The Crimson should be well-rested and ready to run by the time the Ivy season starts on Jan. 5 against perennial rival Dartmouth.

“We’re running the floor so much better with more speed,” Monti said. “We’re more in shape. We’ve been through a rigorous preseason and we’ve had just hands down better conditioning. The pace is different.”

As league play approaches, Harvard will be out to prove that a different pace will translate into a different outcome atop the Ivy standings.