W. Cagers Topple Army, 78-69

With an eye towards a possible Ivy League crown, the Harvard women's basketball team played with less than full intensity last night as the Crimson beat an outmatched Army squad, 78-69 at Briggs Cage.

The Crimson (12-8 overall, 7-2 Ivy) took a lead it would not relinquish 4:37 into the game when senior Debbie Flandermeyer (19 points, eight rebounds) followed up a missed free throw.

Harvard led by as many as 19, only to see its lead cut to 5 with 1:12 left in the game, the closest Army (12-13) had been since the opening minutes. But senior guard Erin Maher then iced the game with four straight free throws.

Harvard, however, was not pleased with its performance.

"I was disappointed.", Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "I saw two different levels of play out there. It's hard to get up for these mid-week non-Ivy games, but that's an unacceptable excuse. We were clearly the better team out there, but we didn't play that way."

Harvard, with a front line going 6'3", 6'1", and 5'9", had a decided height advantage over Army, which did not have a starter over 5'9". But the Crimson only out rebounded the Cadets by one, 32-31.

"We were much taller than them, so we should have dominated on [defense], but we didn't. We let down on [defense]," said junior Cara Frey, who scored 15 points last night.

But that defensive letdown did not affect Harvard's shooting. The Crimson shot .566 from the field and .615 (8-13) from the three point line, with Frey hitting all five of her shots and Maher converting on three of four.

Army jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, but Harvard immediately responded with a 15-2 run, capped by a nice assist off a steal by freshman point guard Elizabeth Proudfit to Maher. Two straight three pointers by Frey finished a 13-0 spell that put Harvard ahead 30-11 with 7:05 left in the half.

But instead of pulling away, Harvard let Army back into the game. Army scored the last seven points of the half to go in losing by only 10, 35-25.

Throughout the second half, every time Harvard threatened to pull away, Army would come right back and threaten to make it close. The Cadets cut the lead to eight with 5:50 left, but with the help of two threes by Frey, the Crimson built the lead up to 14, 68-54. Harvard still led by 13 with 2:00 left when Army scored eight straight to pull within five.

Freshman Elizabeth Gettleman was in the game first sophomore Tammy Butler's place and then in Maher's during Army's surge. Delaney Smith said that she pulled the players because they were not fully hitting the offensive boards.

But when Maher, who also had six rebounds and five assists to go along with her 15 points, returned, she sealed the game for Harvard. She picked up an offensive rebound, and calmly swished two free throws after getting fouled.

After rebounding another Army miss, Maher sunk two more free throws with .39 seconds left. On the other end, she then blocked Army guard Carrie Garinger's shot, dove for the loose ball, and tipped it to Proudfit, who was fouled and made two free throws for Harvard's final points.

"Erin's a great player. She handles pressure very well. It's very normal for her," Delaney Smith said. HARVARD, 78-69 at Brigge Cage Army  25  44  --  69 Harvard  35  43  --  78

Army: Garinger 6:13 0-0 21: Hanson 4-8 0-0 8: Jeanneret 2-3 0-0 4: Khoun 1-1 0-0 2: List 1-2 1-2 4: Russell 10-22 6-8 26. Scapsella 1-7 0-0 1. Totals: 28-62 7-14 69.

Harvard: Butler 6-10 1-2 13: Cronk 1-2 0-0 2: Phillips 0-1 0-0 0: Proudfit 2-9 4-4 8: Maher 4-10 4-4 15: Frey 5-6 0-0 15: Crisera 1-1 0-0 2: McNamer 1-2 0-0 2: Flandermeyer 8-12 3-4 19. Totals: 30-53 12-14 78.

Army: Garinger 6:13 0-0 21: Hanson 4-8 0-0 8: Jeanneret 2-3 0-0 4: Khoun 1-1 0-0 2: List 1-2 1-2 4: Russell 10-22 6-8 26. Scapsella 1-7 0-0 1. Totals: 28-62 7-14 69.

Harvard: Butler 6-10 1-2 13: Cronk 1-2 0-0 2: Phillips 0-1 0-0 0: Proudfit 2-9 4-4 8: Maher 4-10 4-4 15: Frey 5-6 0-0 15: Crisera 1-1 0-0 2: McNamer 1-2 0-0 2: Flandermeyer 8-12 3-4 19. Totals: 30-53 12-14 78.