W. Hoops Drives High

Following last season's surprising turnaround in which the Crimson nearly went from worst to first (7-19 overall in 1993-'94 to 19-7 overall in 1994-'95) and came within one win of capturing the Ivy League title, this season's edition of the Harvard women's basketball team set its sights on finishing first in the Ivy League and making its first post-season appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Which is exactly what happened.

Harvard finished with a stellar 13-1 Ivy record and recorded 20 overall wins for just the second time in school history. The Crimson dominated the Ancient Eight, winning by an average of almost 13 points per game.

Harvard led the Ivies in almost every statistical category, including field goal percentage (.444), scoring offense (79.6 ppg), and field goal percentage defense (.358). Even more impressively, Harvard was nationally ranked in rebound margin, scoring offense, and three-pointers made per game.

But don't let the dominance which the Crimson's final statistics imply fool you--it wasn't easy.

After jumping out to a 3-0 start against creampuff competition, Harvard suffered its first of several closely-contested setbacks at the hands of George Washington.

Trailing 76-75 with seconds to play, Harvard isolated co-captain Elizabeth Proudfit at the top of the key. The senior shooting guard drove right and pulled up at the foul line, only to be rudely rejected by Lady Colonials' center Tajama Abram as the buzzer sounded.

The fourth-quarter defeat seemed to shatter Harvard's confidence; the Crimson lost its next three games against Providence (91-87), URI (87-77) and Duquesne (80-74), self-destructing down the stretch each time.

The loss to Duquesne was especially painful for the Crimson, because a victory would have provided a match-up against UConn, last season's national champion.

Harvard's season reached its lowest point in an 83-59 loss/bloodbath against Arizona. Playing most of the game without forward Allison Feaster, who was saddled with early foul trouble, the Crimson managed to stick with a more athletic Arizona team for most of the game.

But with just over four minutes remaining, Harvard turned a close game into a blow-out with a combination of airballs, errant passes and fouls.

Had not the schedule called for Harvard to face arch-rival Dartmouth following the Arizona loss, the Crimson might have wallowed near mediocrity for the remainder of the season.

Instead, Harvard rebounded and channeled all of its early season frustration and its disappointment the previous year into a 92-70 victory over the Big Green.

And although the Crimson lost its only league game the following weekend at Cornell (70-69), Harvard had regained its confidence.

This renaissance was highlighted in Harvard's 81-79 thriller over New Hampshire. As was the case against George Washington, Harvard had the game's final possession and needed a basket to win.

Rather than isolate Proudfit, Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith called for a pick-and-roll using Feaster to set a pick for point guard Jessica Gelman. The junior floor leader sank a baseline jumper as time expired to give Harvard its first win in a close ballgame.

Following the victory against the Wildcats, the Crimson swept through the Ivy League, winning its next 11 games.

During the first eight wins of the streak, Harvard triumphed by an average of 23 points per game.

On March 1 against Brown--Harvard's other arch-rival--the Crimson clinched the Ivy League title, winning 73-62 behind a brilliant performance by Feaster. The sophomore forward carried the Crimson on her shoulders, tallying a career-high 31 points and 16 rebounds. Surprisingly though, the Bears' nets remained intact--the Crimson had decided before the game to delay cutting the twine until defeating Dartmouth.

After beating a tough Yale team 55-52 in New Haven, Harvard travelled through a snowstorm to Dartmouth to face the Big Green in the regular season finale.

Feaster again came up big, netting 26 points and hauling down 21 rebounds to lead the Crimson to an 85-78 overtime victory. With the win over Dartmouth, Harvard finished with a 13-1 Ivy League mark and a pair of nets from Hanover.

However, despite its outstanding regular-season record, Harvard was only the thirteenth-seeded team in the Mid-East bracket of the NCAA Tournament. The seeding pitted the Crimson against perennial powerhouse Vanderbilt, a team that had reached the Sweet Sixteen last season.

Assigned to play the Commodores on their home court in Nashville, Harvard valiantly rose to the challenge, turning in one of its best performances of the season before falling in defeat, 100-83.

The Crimson set a pair of NCAA Tournament records, hitting 8-of-10 three-pointers in the first half and burying 16 treys for the game.

Led by senior co-captain Elizabeth Proudfit, who had a career game with 19 points, Harvard held a shocking 41-40 lead at the half.

Unfortunately, the Crimson could not maintain its high percentage; the Commodores applied increasingly intense defensive pressure, which forced Harvard to take hurried shots with the shot-clock winding down.

Vanderbilt's third-team All-American forward Sheri Sam finally asserted herself in the third quarter and finished the game with 39 points.

Harvard, which was never able to contain Sam despite throwing different defenders at her throughout the game, eventually succumbed to the more talented team but not before establishing itself as an up-and-coming team with talent of its own.

Although the Crimson loses four seniors to graduation--all of whom contributed significantly to Harvard's title drive--two of the Crimson's best players, Ivy League Player of the Year Allison Feaster and second-team All Ivy point guard Jessica Gelman, are returning next year.

Harvard's frontcourt of Feaster, co-captain elect Kelly Black and center Rose Janowski will add height and strength, which should provide the 1996-97 edition of the Crimson with the tools to take the next step--into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Harvard Sports Stats 1995-96

Women's Basketball

Record: 20-7, 13-1 Ivy

Ivy Finish: First

Head Coach: Kathy Delaney Smith

Captains: Elizabeth "Buzz" Proudfit '96, Liz Gettleman '96

Other Key Players: Allison Feaster '98, Jessica Gelman '97, Amy Reinhard '96, Katy Davis '96