W. Basketball Looks For Fourth Straight

Currently riding a three-game win streak, the Harvard women's basketball team will be looking for another one tomorrow at Northeastern.

Led by a surging Sarah Johnson, recently named Ivy League Rookie of the Week, the Crimson (6-3) has been turning promise into performance recently.

Last weekend, Harvard defeated a tough Mount St. Mary's team on the road, 78-62, after overcoming a poor first half the previous week to beat a pesky Rhode Island team, 83-59.

"The whole team in one way or another stepped up [against Mount St. Mary's]," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. "It was the ultimate team effort. I loved the way the team played. They did everything they were supposed to do."

Johnson, a freshman center, has been the pleasant surprise as of late, leading the team in scoring against both Mount St. Mary's and URI. She has also been using her 6'4 frame well in the paint, nabbing 10 rebounds against Mount St. Mary's.

Her older sister Melissa, a 6'5 junior center, leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game.

Captain Laela Sturdy, who is averaging 11.1 ppg, is currently seventh in the nation in three-point percentage. She has hit 15-of-27 of her long-distance shots for 55.6 percent.

Sophomore point guard Jenn Monti is 10th in the nation in assists, averaging 7.3 per game.

The Crimson's opponent this weekend won't be impressed with these statistics. Northeastern (4-5) made the NCAA tournament a season ago and appears hungry for a repeat trip.

Last year's America East champions, the Huskies lost to North Carolina in the first round, 64-53.

Ironically, the Crimson lost 78-53 to UNC in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1997.

Harvard junior center Melissa Johnson was a member of that Tar Heel team that felled Allison Feaster '98 and the Crimson.

The Huskies have lost just one starter from last year's team--forward Betsy Palecek, who averaged 15.7 ppg and 5.5 rpg. Furthermore, Northeastern still has the player who could wind up as the top Husky scorer in history.

Highly-touted senior guard Tesha Tinsley, averaging 13.2 ppg, will be the player the Crimson defense will most have to focus on.

"The team can ride on her back," Delaney-Smith said of the All-America candidate. "We have to come out with a defensive teamwork [and] I think we will be playing our zone."

In just three seasons, Tinsley has passed 1,600 points for her career, becoming only the second Husky player to do so. She could finish her career this year as the top scorer in Northeastern history if she passes Pam Green's school record of 1,908.

The 5'6 Tinsley played last year as a senior, but, because she entered Northeastern as a partial qualifier and was forced to sit out her freshman year, she was allowed to come back for another season.

Currently a graduate student in education, she is allowed to play her final year of eligibility under NCAA bylaws.

At times this season, it seems as if Tinsley's play has dictated how the rest of the Huskies will perform.

Tinsley likes to shoot, although she hasn't been hitting as many shots this year as she has in years past. In nine games, she is 5-of-34 from behind the arc for a paltry 14.7 percent. Her total field goal percentage is 35 percent.

But the Crimson won't be focusing its attention solely on Tinsley.

Lani Lawrence, a 6'3 junior center who is averaging 12.7 ppg and 8.8 rpg, could be the hardest test thus far for the Crimson frontcourt.

Lawrence scored 27 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked five shots in Northeastern's double-overtime loss to Wisconsin.

"She's got some nice height," Delaney-Smith said. "She's an athletic post player, but I'm comfortable with our post match-ups. On paper we should be able to handle her."

Garrette Glinton, a 6' freshman forward, will be another Husky weapon to watch for. She is averaging 9.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg.

Northeastern is coming off a devastating 70-42 loss to New Hampshire last Sunday, but the Huskies have encountered tough competition this year, losing three games to Rutgers, Syracuse and Wisconsin.

Against Ivy League opponents, the Huskies have already split two games, beating Brown, 68-45, and losing to Dartmouth, 65-62.

"They're good," Delaney-Smith said. "They are slightly unpredictable in that they've had some tremendous wins and then some others where it's like, 'Why?'"

"The team that is most focused is going to win," she added.