Women's Hoop: Only in Streaks

Streaks. The 1979-80 women's basketball played in streaks, and in between, they stumbled and skidded through turnover-ridden losses, often to teams with far less talent.

Although Coach Carole Kleinfelder faced many problems over the 12-14 campaign (4-6 in the Ivies), she never lacked raw talent.

Harvard legend Caryn Curry, 6-ft. 1-in. Elaine Holpuch (last year's high scorer) and a gaggle of freshman sharpshooters gave Kleinfelder plenty of reasons for her pre-season prediction: "We will be in contention for a top spot in the Ivy League."

But as the team suffered the embarrassment of an inaugural five-game losing spin, Kleinfelder, Curry and company realized that a team with strength inside, startling backcourt speed and a duo of senior veteran captains could falter when they changed from practice duds into shiny crimson and white.

The cagers, many of whom had little varsity experience, lacked confidence; even their pre-game layups seemed tentative. Once the buzzer called both teams to order, the Harvard players often lost whatever composure they had left, launching unpredictable long distance aerials and dribbling what must have been a very slippery round ball with nervous abandon. Good players were simply not performing with any consistency.

Weaknesses that plagued the team throughout the season surfaced during the Crimson's opening 2-7 foray. The five freshmen Kleinfelder elevated to the big time all displayed style, but they often ran set plays, forcing passes through a jammed key instead of taking the reasonable 10-ft. jumper.

On the battlefield down under, Holpuch and Karen Smith had trouble establishing good position while forgetting the hallowed law of the Big Person: "Move to the ball if thou desireth it."

Amidst the confusion, however, the Crimson players never decided they were losers, and when the competition switched from Villanova and Providence to Keene State and Bentley, the old win column got a little more cluttered.

An 8-2 tear featured clear improvement from rookie playmakers Nancy Boutillier--who finished the regular season as the team's third leading scorer with 9.6 points per game--and fellow freshman guard Ann Scannell.

Boutillier, Scannell and their backups also found a far more receptive target in Smith, who mastered the art of the under-the-hoop chippie. Combined with Holpuch, the three changed the Crimson rebounding style from polite to ferocious.

Mid-season climbers Gillian Raney, Kate Martin and Kim Belshe bounded out of the J.V. ranks to provide added support from the bench, and things were looking downright cheery as the Ivy Tournament approached. A surprise 83-59 triumph over Northeastern--sparked by a 39 point Holpuch/Smith extravaganza--gave Harvard an outside shot at a berth in the EAIAW Tourney.

Losses to Boston University and the evil Elis of New Haven burst that dream. A sloppy final win over the University of Connecticut did not let anyone forget that an inattentive defense had been another season-long Harvard flaw.

Kleinfelder's combination of zones and man-to-man worked only when her charges remembered to help each other out. At times they seemed more concerned with protecting their own turn than with double-teaming and taking chances.

A fourth-place showing at last weekend's Ivy reunion typified a mediocre season: a surprise win over Brown, followed by disappointing losses to Yale and Princeton.