Lots of Youth And a Little Experience

Youth and experience--they can produce a winner.

The Harvard women's basketball team may have found just the right combination of the two qualities to produce an Ivy League title.

The team has changed dramatically since last season. Team scoring and rebounding leaders Beth Chandler (16.1 ppg, 10 rpg) and Sarah Duncan (13.8, 9.2) have graduated, and starting point guard Heidi Kosh has taken the year off from school. Senior Melinda Nelson and sophomore Liz Resnick have decided not to play this season.

A-Maz-In'

But to say that the team is in a rebuilding stage would not be fair. The veteran players are strong, and five freshmen look to make an immediate impact.

"We're young, but we have a lot of talent," junior forward Jen Mazanec said. "A lot of outsiders don't think we have anything after losing our two top scorers. But we're a much more balanced scoring team--a much more balanced team, period."

While last year's freshmen saw limited playing time, the situation looks to be quite different this year.

"This may be the strongest freshman class since I've been here," Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "Their work ethic and their commitment to the sport is tremendous.

The Crimson opened this season with two losses in the Santa Clara Tournament, getting outplayed on the boards and coughing up the ball too often to win. Harvard was clearly out of sync, but it still mounted a strong comeback in the second half of the UC-Santa Clara game and led UC-Santa Barbara until the closing minutes.

"They're definitely games we can use to get better," Mazanec said. "There are things that we can correct."

Despite its decimation from graduation, the Crimson offense is still strong. Junior guard Beth Wambach has stepped up as the team's scoring leader, and freshmen guards Erin Maher and Cara Frey and sophomore guard Maura Healy could develop into a deadly bomb squad. And 6-ft., 3-in. freshman center Debbie Flandermeyer will certainly bolster play in the paint.

"We're going for the three-point offense this year," Delaney Smith said. "We have three money three-point shooters, and our inside game is better. We're getting the ball down low better."

Under Delaney Smith, the Crimson has traditionally employed a man-to-man defense and full court press. This season, the team is experimenting with a new defensive system that deemphasizes the press. The system was effective for brief intervals in the Santa Clara Tournament and promises to frustrate future competiton.

Flandermeyer, the newcomer from Orinda, Cal., will be a key cog in the Crimson machinery.

"I think she can dominate in the Ivy League," Delaney Smith said. "She does not play like a freshman. She has incredible poise."

The problem at this point is inexperience. The team is going to have to go through some growing pains.

"Right now, we're still working on continuity, on playing together," Wambach said. "Kathy is using different combinations. and I'm sure we'll mesh soon."

Senior forward Jody Fink added, "It's hard to develop any kind of rhythm right now, but I know that will come."

Swallowing a Bitter Pill

Harvard has bitter memories of the final two weeks of last season. Losing four of five games down the stretch, the Crimson had to settle for a third place tie in the Ivy League. This year, Harvard has been picked to finish fourth in the Ivies, behind Dartmouth the overwhelming favorite to nab the title, Yale and Brown.

But don't count the Crimson out yet.

"We're definitely the dark horse," Mazanec said. "But the work ethic and attitude is good. I think we're going to surprise a lot of people."