Northeastern Blows Past W. Basketball

BOSTON—The final minutes of the Harvard women’s basketball team’s matchup against crosstown rival Northeastern saw a sudden and dramatic reversal of roles that culminated in a disheartening 63-59 Crimson loss.

When Harvard rattled off nine straight points to open up a 10-point lead just minutes into the second half, it seemed Northeastern would need a miraculous change of fortune in order to turn the tide. After co-captain Hana Peljto sank a short jumper midway through the period, it looked like the Huskies (3-2) would have to tear the lead away from a determined and rejuvenated Crimson (3-3) squad. But with the ball at mid-court and 8.4 seconds left in the game, down by one, it was Harvard that desperately needed to regain control of a game it had all but wrapped up.

After receiving the in-bounds pass at the top of the arc, junior Reka Cserny dribbled to her right and towards sophomore Shana Franklin. With a pair of defenders collapsing around them, Cserny attempted to slip the ball into Franklin’s hands, but the pass was lost in traffic.

Franklin bobbled the ball and by the time she had managed to wrap both arms around it, so too had a Husky defender. With the possession arrow pointing in Northeastern’s direction, the costly miscue put an end to Harvard’s last best chance to win.

It was just that kind of night for the Crimson, with sloppy play and poor three-point shooting dooming Harvard to a 63-59 loss at the hands of the Huskies. The Crimson got double double-doubles from Cserny, who had 20 points and 10 boards, and Peljto, who had 16 and 15. The Crimson had 22 turnovers and 21 fouls, while shooting just 3-for-17 from the land of three in its first game in eight days.

Yet Cserny denied that rust hampered the Harvard women’s basketball machine.

“We had really good practices the last week,” Cserny said. “I don’t think that was the problem.”

The contest’s dramatic crescendo began with 3:13 remaining in the game. After holding the lead for the entire second half, the Crimson found itself down 55-53 when the Huskies’ Melissa Kowalski knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing.

After a Cserny dribble-drive into the lane that concluded with a lay-up from the left side knotted the score at 55, Kowalski again stuck a dagger into Harvard’s heart, dropping another three with 42 ticks remaining.

Both teams traded a pair of free throws before an off-balance shot from Peljto with 18 seconds left that banked hard off the glass and into the basket trimmed Northeastern’s lead to a single point, setting the stage for the anti-heroics of the Crimson.

“We made a couple crucial mistakes down the stretch that cost us the game,” Peljto said.

After sophomore guard Laura Robinson fouled Francesca Vanin off the in-bounds pass with 2.2 seconds to go, Harvard called a timeout it did not have to ice her, which resulted in an additional two free throws for the Huskies. Kowalski, after twice breaking the Crimson’s heart, made both free throws and Vanin’s first bucket from the charity stripe put Northeastern up for good.

From the start, the Crimson appeared out of sorts and out of sync. Ill-advised passes and widespread carelessness with the ball, coupled with the Huskies’ hounding defense, led to 12 first half turnovers.

“They denied the passing lanes a lot so it was hard to make the entry passes,” Cserny said.

Nevertheless, the Crimson went into halftime with a 33-32 lead.

Opening the second half with a 9-0 run, it looked like Harvard was finally putting it all together. Cserny led the charge, blocking a shot down low, hitting a jumper along the baseline, and fighting for a loose ball.

Building its lead to 10 a little more than three minutes into the half, it appeared that the Crimson would distance themselves from the Huskies.

But the scrappy team from Northeastern refused to go out with a whimper and played Harvard tough for the remainder of the game.

Though Cserny, Peljto and senior guard Bev Moore combined for 26 points in the second half, the rest of the Crimson squad was held scoreless, all but guaranteeing defeat.

“It’s tough because you try to contribute a lot in the second half,” Peljto said, “and sometimes things don’t go the way you expect them to.”