W. Hoops Busy Over Break

While most students were home, decorating the tree, the Crimson was at work, taking two-out-of-three.

Disregarding a lopsided loss to a talented Old Dominion team, the Harvard women’s basketball team played solid basketball during the winter break, improving its record to 8-3 overall.

HARVARD 87, STONY BROOK 69

Sitting in Lavietes Pavilion for the entire game against Stony Brook Monday night was superfluous—from the opening salvo it was evident the Crimson was going to dominate the game.

In the first seconds of the game, captain center Reka Cserny won the tip-off, leading junior guard Jessica Holsey to drive straight to the basket and quickly score the first of her 13 points for the Crimson, which went on to beat the Seawolves (2-7) 87-69.

“An uncontested lay up off the tip-off is a great way to start off a game,” Holsey said.

Five Harvard players scored in double digits, led by Cserny’s game-high 26. The 6’3 post player also totaled nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, pushing her career total to 215 and elevating her to second on the Crimson’s all-time steals list.

Senior guard Katie Murphy had a strong showing as well, contributing to the offensive effort with 12 points, six assists and seven rebounds, five of which came off the offensive glass.

Harvard was on target early in the game, shooting 65 percent from the field after one half, and 50 percent after two. Of the Crimson’s 34 baskets, 27 came off of assists, the highest number of helpers Harvard has dished this season. Stony Brook only shot 41.5 percent, and couldn’t compete with the Crimson’s execution.

“We were trying to focus on our defense and shut them down,” Holsey said. “That just generates an offense.”

Early in the game, the Seawolves missed easy lay-ups and shots that Harvard was able to nail each time. The pattern continued, and the Crimson’s lead ballooned to 29 at one point during the game, enabling every Harvard player to see time on the floor.

During the first half, the Crimson hit 5-of-12 from behind the arc, compared to 1-of-12 for the Seawolves.

Junior guard Laura Robinson scored nine of her 11 points from behind the three-point line, going 3-for-5 from the perimeter. She also tallied six assists for the Crimson.

Junior forward Shana Franklin rounded out the double-digit Harvard scorers with 10 points and four rebounds on the night.

“Everyone played really well,” Holsey said.

Leading the way for Stony Brook was guard Mykeema Ford, who totaled 19 points. The Seawolves’ Jessica Smith tallied 14 points in the losing effort. The duo scored nearly half of the team’s total points, but their efforts were not enough to surmount the five-pronged Crimson attack.

“We pushed the ball, and they couldn’t set up a defense in time,” Holsey said.

Harvard played aggressively throughout the game. The Crimson scored 18 points off the 17 turnovers it forced, and outscored the Seawolves 38-26 in the paint.

HARVARD 66, BINGHAMTON 63

A decisive 18-4 run midway through the second half propelled Harvard to a 66-63 comeback victory against the Bearcats (1-7) on Dec. 30.

Cserny added nine points during the streak, which put the Crimson up five after being down nine. She tallied 17 of her 25 points in the second period, despite playing the final eight minutes with four fouls.

Though it jumped out to an early advantage, Harvard went into halftime tied at 27, thanks in large part to the 14 points from Binghamton’s Rachel Laws. The guard finished with 20, but was hampered by an injury and played only 26 minutes.

After Bearcats surged to a 53-44 lead, Franklin turned the tide with a personal 5-0 run.

Franklin knocked down four treys for the third time this season, and tied a career-high with 18 points.

Following a pair of Binghamton free throws, Cserny dropped six in a row of her own to pull Harvard level at 55.

Pulling up and hitting a jumper in the lane, Holsey bestowed a 57-55 lead on the Crimson, and Cserny’s three-ball from the top of the arc swelled the advantage to 60-55 with 2:24 left in the game.

Harvard sunk its free throws and weathered the two three-pointers made by the Bearcats’ Jen Blues.

Junior forward Maureen McCaffery scored 10 and snatched seven rebounds, while Murphy went for six points, three boards, three assists and two clutch steals in the last two minutes.

Cserny added 12 rebounds, recording her second double-double of the season.

OLD DOMINION 83, HARVARD 55

The Crimson was simply undersized and overmatched against the Lady Monarchs (4-5), falling 83-55 on Dec. 22.

Old Dominion—which has won 13 consecutive Colonial Athletic Association titles and went to the Final Four three seasons ago—dominated defensively and on the boards.

On the night, Harvard was held to a season-low 26 percent shooting and was out-rebounded 58 to 25.

Cserny shot just 7-of-22 from the field, but scored a game-high 32 points, one off her career-high, thanks to her school-record 15 free throws on 20 attempts. Playing all 40 minutes, she also corralled eight rebounds.

Leading 45-24 at intermission, Old Dominion was in control for most of the contest. Throwing a bevy of players with size at the Crimson, the Lady Monarchs outscored Harvard 34-6 in the paint, and turned their 19 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points.

The Lady Monarchs shot 50 percent each half, and the closest the Crimson got in the second half was 16 at 56-40.

Holsey and junior guard Laura Robinson each had seven points.

—Staff writer J. Patrick Coyne can be reached at coyne@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Megha Parekh can be reached at parekh@fas.harvard.edu.