Women Cagers Drop Debut; UMass Fast Breaks to Win

Fans at last night's women's basketball opener against UMass saw two games for the price of one. After playing the Minutemen to a virtual standoff in the first half, the young Crimson squad staggered through the final 20 minutes and lost 83-69.

Led by center Julie Ready, who scored 31 points and dominated under the boards, the Minutemen confused the Crimson with a variety of presses and zone defenses. UMass point guard Susan Peters confidently engineered her team's fast break while tossing in 18 points of her own.

Desperation

Before the Harvard offense reverted to a desperate barrage of long passes and air balls in the last ten minutes, the team did demonstrate what it can do with the slightest bit of patience.

Freshman guard Ann Scannell started out nervously, repeatedly throwing the ball away when faced with the UMass press, but recovered to score 12 points.

Embarassed by Ready in the first half, Crimson center Elaine Holpuch settled down in the second period and hit for 18 points. Holpuch, 6'1", needed help against Ready and UMass forward Ginger Legare, both six footers, but her diminutive Crimson teammates offered little assistance.

During the game's opening minutes, the two teams tried to out do each other in turnover innovation. As the Crimson cagers dribbled the ball off their feet and each other, coach Carole Kleinfelder pleaded with her squad to stick with set plays. Except for Ready, UMass played with equal abandon and the game see-sawed to a 10-10 tie.

Despite their recklessness, the Crimson gained control of the game. Kleinfelder replaced several starters, and with four freshmen on the floor, Harvard grabbed the lead, 29-27, at the 15 minute mark. Freshman subs Frenesa Hall and Margot Long meshed well with starters Pat Horne and Scannell until two errant passes allowed UMass to catch its breath and take a 37-35 lead into the locker room. The first game ended.

UMass began the second half determined to run, gun and then run some more. Kleinfelder countered with a man-to-man defense that succeeded for as long as the Crimson played aggressively--about seven minutes.

Harvard fans saw a 43-39 advantage, built primarily on Holpuch's improved play, disappear in the dust of the UMass fastbreak. Peters repeatedly hit Ready and Legare for easy layups and a 60-53 Minuteman lead.

Wendy Carle, the Crimson co-captain, entered the game after seeing only limited action in the first half, and brought the team back to within one point with two quick buckets. Unfazed, UMass stuck to its running game and powered its way back on top for good.

The Crimson cagers lacked composure when they needed it. Both Carle and co-captain Caryn Curry played subdued games, and debut jitters plagued all of the rookies. Curry characterized the evening aptly: "We didn't stick to our game plan--playing carefully. We made bad mistakes after a good first half."

The game ended with Kleinfelder screaming for her charges to "work the ball," advice they chose to ignore. The long balls sailed, the buzzer buzzed and only the UMass fans cheered.