It Was Just One of Those Days for W. Cagers

In a fast-paced sport like basketball, there's always an opportunity to play the kind of games sweet dreams are made of.

Then, there are other games.

Unfortunately for the Harvard women's basketball team, Saturday night's game against Brown Saturday night in Providence, R.I., falls into the latter category.

After an encouraging victory over Ivy rival Yale Friday night, the Crimson (7-9 overall, 2-3 Ivy) was unable to keep the streak alive, losing to the height-blessed Bears, 89-74.

"It was just a mess," junior Beth Wambach said. "I had nightmares about that game last night. I don't think we could have won unless they died."

The poor shooting that plagued the Crimson during the Yale game continued to surface as a key weakness. The Crimson shot only 38 percent from the field both nights.

"Our shooting was totally off," Wambach said. "We were getting really good shots but they just weren't falling. Usually you can shoot out of it but we never did."

Only one player on the Crimson squad even managed to score in the double digits--freshman Erin Maher, who notched 13 points.

"Nobody shot well," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "Our regular scorers--Maura Healey, Erin Maher, Dina Hadrick and Beth Wambach--were off."

On the other hand, Brown (9-9, 3-3) made use of its scoring opportunities, shooting 43 percent from the floor and taking 35 foul shots to Harvard's 11.

"It came down to our shooting was bad and theirs was great," Delaney Smith said. "It was a terrible game. Devastating."

The shooting problems combined with ever-present rebounding troubles kept Harvard out of most of the game and led to a 44-25 deficit at halftime. The Bears outrebounded the Crimson 55-30.

"They killed us on the boards," sophomore Maura Healey said. "They gave us one shot and blocked out while we were giving them three or four chances [at a shot]. We just gave up too many points from failure to rebound."

Brown dominated early, keeping the Crimson scoreless for the first two minutes of the game.

"We just didn't get off to a good start," Healey said. "We got down early then we'd close the gap and then they'd open it back up to twenty points."

Brown's ability to sink three-pointers repeatedly foiled the Crimson's attempts at a comeback. Harvard's failure to make the right adjustments at the right time also helped the Bears on their way to victory.

Bright spots in the dismal night came, surprisingly, from the Crimson's freshman core. Betsy Odita, Liz Berkery and Cara Frey came off the bench to perform well in the face of a strong Brown team.

But on a night this dim, it was tough to appreciate the bright spots.

"Nothing went right," Co-Captain Jody Fink said. "You can pick anything and nothing was good."

THE NOTEBOOK: Brown's Shonica Tunstall led all scorers with 22 points...Dartmouth preserved its undefeated record this weekend, bouncing Brown by twelve points and Yale by one point in overtime.

Bruins, 89-74 in Providence, R.I. Brown  44-45--89 HARVARD  25-49--74

Brown [84]: Shelly Weaver 3-11 2-4 10; Betsy Stedman 0-0 0-0 0; Shonica Tunstall 9-15 3-3 22; Janet Firlings 0-4 0-0 0; Elaine Harper 1-3 0-0 2; Margaret Fuchs 2-7 3-4 7; Jinny Gill 3-6 0-0 6; Karla Marquis 0-0 3-4 3; Carol Ryan 0-3 0-0 0; Heather Dietz 0-0 1-2 1; Pamela Bass 1-1 0-0 2; Marcia Brown 4-8 10-12 18; Maia Baker 6-10 3-4 15.

Totals: 29-68 26-35 89

HARVARD [74]: Maura Healey 4-12 0-0 8; Beth Wambach 2-11 2-6 6; Dina Hadrich 3-9 3-3 9; Jody Fink 1-1 0-0 2; Sandy Springer 3-5 2-2 8; Erin Maher 5-11 2-7 13; Cara Frey 0-0 3-4 3; Jen Mazanec 2-9 0-0 4; Betsy Odita 4-7 0-1 8; Debbie Flandermeyer 3-9 0-0 6; Liz Berkery 3-3 0-1 7.

Totals: 30-77 9-11 74

Three-pointers: Weaver 2, Gill 2, Tunstall; Wambach 2, Maher 2, Berkery. Fouled Out: None Rebounds: Brown 55 (Tunstall 7); Harvard 30 (Flandermeyer 6). Assists: Brown 21 (Firlings 6); Harvard 16 (Mazanec 5). Steals: Brown 9 (Brown, Baker 3); Harvard 16 (Healy 4). Blocks: Brown 1 (Fuchs); Harvard 1 (Springer). Total Fouls: Brown 8; Harvard 20. Turnovers: Brown 30; Harvard 17.

Attendance : 150.