W. Cagers Fall, 87-77

With 3:41 to play last night at Lavietes Pavilion, the Harvard's women's basketball team took a 69-68 lead against the University of Rhode Island on a Katy Davis turnaround jumper, setting the stage for a nailbiting finish.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, the next three minutes eliminated all potential excitement.

URI (5-0) went on a 13-1 run to effectively put the game out of reach for Harvard (4-4, 0-0 Ivy). The only thing the Crimson could do to stop the Rams was call a time out.

"They got two open lay-ups," co-captain Elizabeth Proudfit said. "We had been playing pretty tough defense all game long, but in the last two minutes, I don't know what happened."

Here is what happened:

Following Davis's bucket, URI's Erin Fuller grabbed her only offensive rebound of the game and layed the ball in for a one-point Ram lead. Capitalizing on some costly Harvard turnovers and sloppy defensive play, URI spread the wealth as five different run, which was highlighted by junior Tasha King's three-point play.

In addition to the turnovers, Harvard missed several key shots during this stretch, with its lone point coming on a foul shot by sophomore forward Allison Feaster.

So for the fourth time in five games, Harvard let a golden opportunity slip away in the waning seconds of a close ball game, this time by a final tally of 87-77.

The mysterious monster that has plagued Harvard down the stretch of close games throughout this young season reared its ugly head once again.

"I thought we deserved to win at times," Harvard coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "Our goal was to get the lead early so we wouldn't have to play any of this last-minute crap that we've been doing, and then it slipped away. I'm not sure why we didn't win this game."

The Crimson was able to overcome a sluggish first half and erase a nine-point halftime deficit within the first four minutes of the second period. Behind the three-point shooting of Feaster and junior point guard Jessica Gelman, Harvard pulled to within one point of URI and then took a 46-44 lead on a clutch trey by Proudfit.

The game went back and forth from that point on, though Harvard seemed to have the edge until URI made its final run. The Crimson opened up its largest lead of the game, a five-point advantage, with 10:41 to play on an arching three from sophomore guard Karun Grossman (15 points, three rebounds).

All of Grossman's points came from downtown, most on looks from Gelman, who had six assists on the night. Proudfit poured in seven points, all in the second half, and Davis and sophomore guard Alison Seanor chipped in six points apiece.

But the player of the night, for either team, had to be Feaster. Last season's Ivy League Rookie of the Year continued her masterful play, leading all scorers with 25 points and dominating the boards with 16 rebounds. She appeared unconscious at the three-point line, going four-of-five from behind the arc.

"[Feaster] wants that three," Delaney Smith said. "She was a great rebounder tonight."

Feaster's effort would go for naught as Harvard couldn't find the killer instinct it so desperately needed.

While the second half witnessed a remarkable Crimson comeback, the first half was one most of the Harvard players would like to forget. The team shot a woeful 32 percent from the floor, including three-of-11 from downtown--a disappointing performance for a squad that prides itself on long-distance shooting as its main weapon.

The Crimson did not fare much better on the other side of the ball. A paltry Harvard defense allowed URI to make 46 percent of its shots for the game and sent the Rams to the free-throw line 18 times in the first half alone. Harvard was fortunate to be down by only nine points at the half.

"It's just pathetic at this point," Proudfit said. "People just didn't communicate. We got burned...[and] we just have to get back to the fundamentals."

Harvard has now lost four games in the final minutes. All four opponents were excellent competition, but all four contests could have easily been Harvard wins. The Crimson now has three weeks--and three non-league opponents--to find the elusive key to victory before it opens up its Ivy League schedule against Dartmouth.

"As disappointing as [losing] is, this is only going to make us a better Ivy League team," Delaney Smith said. "As far as player for player, [URI] would be as talented as any team in the League." URI  87 Harvard  77

RHODE ISLAND, 87-77 at Lavishes Pavilion Rhode Island  40  47  -  87 Harvard  31  46  -  77

Fuller 1-1 2-4 4; Smith 1-10 3-5 6;

Yarger 3-5 4-4 11; Byrd 7-13 8-9 22; Giroux 3-5

0-1 6; Grey 2-5 11-13 15; King 9-18 2-3 21;

Bader 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS 27-58 30-39 87.

Black 1-5 0-0 2; Devis 3-11 0-0 6;

Feaster 8-18 5-7 25; Grossman 5-13 0-0 15;

Proudfit 3-8 0-0 7; Seanor 3-4 0-0 6; Branot 1-3 0-0 2; Gelman 2-9 0-0 5; Higgins 2-3 1-2 5; Gettelman 2-4 0-0 4. TOTALS: 30-78 6-9 77.

RHODE ISLAND, 87-77 at Lavishes Pavilion Rhode Island  40  47  -  87 Harvard  31  46  -  77

Fuller 1-1 2-4 4; Smith 1-10 3-5 6;

Yarger 3-5 4-4 11; Byrd 7-13 8-9 22; Giroux 3-5

0-1 6; Grey 2-5 11-13 15; King 9-18 2-3 21;

Bader 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS 27-58 30-39 87.

Black 1-5 0-0 2; Devis 3-11 0-0 6;

Feaster 8-18 5-7 25; Grossman 5-13 0-0 15;

Proudfit 3-8 0-0 7; Seanor 3-4 0-0 6; Branot 1-3 0-0 2; Gelman 2-9 0-0 5; Higgins 2-3 1-2 5; Gettelman 2-4 0-0 4. TOTALS: 30-78 6-9 77.

Fuller 1-1 2-4 4; Smith 1-10 3-5 6;

Yarger 3-5 4-4 11; Byrd 7-13 8-9 22; Giroux 3-5

0-1 6; Grey 2-5 11-13 15; King 9-18 2-3 21;

Bader 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS 27-58 30-39 87.

Black 1-5 0-0 2; Devis 3-11 0-0 6;

Feaster 8-18 5-7 25; Grossman 5-13 0-0 15;

Proudfit 3-8 0-0 7; Seanor 3-4 0-0 6; Branot 1-3 0-0 2; Gelman 2-9 0-0 5; Higgins 2-3 1-2 5; Gettelman 2-4 0-0 4. TOTALS: 30-78 6-9 77.