BASKETBALL '06:Time to Shine

Well before the five members of the Harvard women’s basketball team’s class of 2009 ever donned a Crimson uniform, Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith already found a place for them in the record books.

“I think this is potentially the most talented class I’ve ever had,” Delaney-Smith said last November.

But while the group earned significant playing time a year ago, the five then-freshmen watched as injuries and inexperience take their toll. The team finished fourth in the league with a mediocre 8-6 Ivy record and the freshmen bided their time until all those collegiate minutes would start paying off.

And as the 2006-2007 season kicks off, that time has finally arrived.

This season, the Crimson will depend on all five sophomores in its campaign to return to the top of the Ivy League. Now that their freshman season is behind them, the talented group of sophomores look to combine game-time experience with the raw talent they brought to Harvard just over a year ago.

“There’s such a dramatic difference just one year later in these freshmen becoming sophomores,” Delaney-Smith says. “There’s just no way to get in the freshman year the poise and experience they have now.”

This will be the first time that all five sophomores have been healthy at the same time—a fact that will make the girls knock on wood faster than you can say “two torn menisci.” Forward Katie Rollins, who established herself last season as one of the league’s most talented low-post players, missed the first ten games of last season recuperating from off-season arm surgery before debuting against Dartmouth in January. Guard Niki Finelli missed the team’s first six games with a torn meniscus, while forward Liz Tindal played in only two games before going down—also with a torn meniscus—for the remainder of the season.

“Because of all our injuries, last season was anything but smooth,” Tindal says. “It was this constant process of getting hurt and coming back, and there’s always a tough transition to make there.”

But inconsistency and turbulence on the court didn’t hurt the team’s camaraderie off it. If anything, the sophomores return to the court this season closer and more comfortable with one another—an advantage that should translate into Harvard wins. Just one year together has given them a better knowledge of each other’s playing styles and has opened the door to a potential three-year stretch of great success.

“Our friendships off the court provide better chemistry on the court because we know where everyone is now,” Rollins says. “It’s especially the sophomore class, but it’s really the entire team.”

Delaney-Smith installed a new motion offense to cater to the team’s speed and versatility—a move that should lead to a more creative, fast-paced attack.

“In motion, we feed off and read off of each other more, rather than off the playbook,” Finelli says. “We can just exploit our natural instincts and versatility.”

Two good things for a Crimson offense that Delaney-Smith last year called “incredibly predictable.” This season, Harvard features a deadly blend of quick guards and several strong post players who like the physical contact of the low block.

And if the team can stay healthy, this combination should catapult the Crimson from fourth to first in the league.

Leading the charge will be sophomore point guard Emily Tay. With her knack for getting into the lane and delivering jaw-dropping passes—even teammates had a hard time anticipating her feeds inside last year—Tay appears ready to for a breakout year after earning All-Ivy rookie honors last season.

“[Tay] makes passes that no one in the world can teach,” Delaney-Smith says. “With that one year of playing together, the post players are more ready for her passes.”

“Our guard play has changed a lot from last season,” Finelli adds. “Our new dynamic moves at a much faster pace.”

A year ago, Finelli showed flashes of the speed and deadly accuracy from three that will bring even more versatility to the Crimson’s perimeter game. The arc will likely be open to outside shots when opposing teams pack their defenses into the post, where Rollins, Tindal and Emma Moretzsohn will give Harvard a sizeable advantage. Tindal is the smallest of the three at 6’3.

“They’re all power inside players,” Delaney-Smith says of her trio of frontcourt players. “They’re a little different from each other, so if you can stop one, you’re not going to stop three.”

Heading into the season, the Crimson is armed with enough weapons to be the top team in the Ivy League. But do these talented sophomores, still young in the timeline of Division I basketball, feel the pressure of finally reaching the moment this program has long anticipated?

“I don’t think there’s pressure so much as excitement,” Rollins says. “We’ve worked so hard in the offseason to show that we’ve made changes, that we’re a different team.”

“We all just want to do what we know we’re capable of doing,” Tindal adds. “More than anything, we want not to put pressure on each other, but to be the best we can be, to get what we know we deserve.”

Pressure or no pressure, sky’s the limit for this group of talented classmates. And someone who’s made a habit of hoisting Ivy championship trophies realizes what this group can accomplish.

“It’s unbelievable what this class can do this year and as they get progressively better,” Delaney-Smith says. “From the way they look right now, it’s scary to think how good they can be.”

—Staff writer Emily W. Cunningham can be reached at ecunning@fas.harvard.edu.