This Big Dance Won't Be Harvard's Last

What a bittersweet ending to a fabulous season--that's the only way to describe it.

The Harvard women's basketball team walked out of Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville last night on the losing end of a 100-83 thriller against the Vanderbilt Commodores. But the score does not indicate how close the game really was and it does not show what the Crimson truly accomplished.

This was a first-round game in the Mideast region of the NCAA Tournament. This was a matchup between a third-seeded Vanderbilt ball club, ranked twelfth in the nation, and a fourteenth-seeded Harvard team with which many people were not familiar. This was supposed to be a cake walk for the Commodores.

But Harvard decided, instead, to firmly introduce itself to the nation and to the tournament.

The Crimson set a new NCAA Tournament record for three-point field goals made in a half (eight in each period) and three-point field goals made in a game with 16. Behind this unearthly shooting performance--which translated into a first-half three-point field goal percentage of 80--Harvard led by as many as seven points.

In the end, it took a third-team All American, Sheri Sam, and her 39-point performance to stop the Crimson. It's a pretty safe bet that anyone who didn't know much about Harvard before last night got a rude awakening.

But the Harvard players and coaches, despite being satisfied with their outstanding performance, were not as content with the final result. Yes, this team sent a message to basketball powerhouses throughout the country, but they wanted a win--they wanted to take the next step.

Bittersweet indeed.

Top teams demand top results, though, and Harvard is definitely that. Its talent showed all season long, and the Crimson players were at their best against the best opponents. Last night was the prime example.

Senior co-captain Elizabeth Proudfit (aka Buzz, as she will always be remembered) and senior forward Amy Reinhard turned in what were arguably their best performances of the season in their final game against Vandy. Buzz scored 19 points and dished out four assists, while Reinhard finished with 15 points and four rebounds.

Harvard showed why it could very well be back next year.

Sophomore forward Allison Feaster turned in a 17-point, 12-rebound effort against a much taller Commodore frontcourt. And junior point guard Jessica Gelman poured in 18 points and handed out four assists.

Harvard may not have come away with this victory, but it proved that it could have. They already cruised to a 13-1 Ivy League record this season and right on into the Big Dance. There is no reason why the Crimson can't dance a few more songs next year.