Tigers Pounce Quickly on Crimson

On an emotional night for Harvard’s four graduating seniors, the Crimson’s youth and inexperience cost the team early once again.

In the final game at Lavietes Pavillion for the Harvard women’s basketball Class of 2006, Princeton used an 18-0 run in the first half to pull away early and coast to a 69-57 win on Saturday night. In what has been a season-long trend for the Crimson, Harvard (10-14, 6-5 Ivy) fell behind early in the first half against the Tigers (18-6, 9-2) and never recovered to maintain any kind of offensive rhythm.

The first half was a disaster for the Crimson, who found itself stuck at four points for over seven minutes in the opening frame. Harvard shot 0-for-9 from the field and committed seven turnovers during the stretch, watching Princeton pad its lead to 26 points.

“We had no connection with each other,” head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “It just epitomizes inexperience.”

It didn’t help that Princeton seemed unable to miss from the opening tip, shooting 64 percent from the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point range, in the first half.

“If you come out hitting shots right away, that gives you confidence for the rest of the game,” sophomore guard Lindsay Hallion said. “That was pretty much the difference.”

Princeton used a balanced inside-outside attack to jump out to and maintain a substantial lead throughout. Forwards Meghan Cowher and Becky Brown each had 16 points for the Tigers, while shooting guard Casey Lockwood came off the bench to add 10.

“We really wanted to defend against [Cowher and Brown] and get out to the shooters,” Hallion added. “But we were a little slow. It’s Division I basketball–people are going to hit shots if you leave them open.”

Senior co-captain Maureen McCaffery hit a three-pointer with 6:48 left in the half to stop the bleeding and jump-start Harvard’s own scoring run.

The Crimson scored seven unanswered over the next two-and-a-half minutes, narrowing Princeton’s lead to 30-14. This sharp-shooting stretch helped Harvard recover to shoot 35 percent for the half.

Freshman Emily Tay came off the bench to score 14 for the Crimson. Senior guard Laura Robinson added 10 points, while McCaffery and Hallion chipped in seven apiece.

Harvard carried some of the energy from its first-half run into the second frame, cutting its deficit to 10 on a free throw from freshman forward Katie Rollins with 15:04 to play in the game.

After that, Harvard was never really in the game again. It took Princeton only five minutes to push the lead back to 18 on a Cowher offensive rebound and putback with 10:34 to go.

“We had to play catch-up from the beginning,” Hallion said. “It’s always hard to have to chase a team, even if you know you’re better than them.”

“[Princeton has] the luxury of winning, and with winning comes a level of confidence,” Delaney-Smith added. “We’ve never had the big win. Not one.”

The slow start quickly turned into a disappointing night for the Crimson’s four graduating seniors: McCaffery, Robinson, Jessica Holsey, and Shana Franklin.

“We wanted to hold our head up high, feel better about the seniors, but it didn’t work for us,” Delaney-Smith said. “You try to turn those emotions into adrenaline, but it didn’t happen tonight.”