Upset Bid Derailed By Costly Turnovers

Against its toughest opponent thus far in this young season, the Harvard women’s basketball team showed inspired stretches of play that had fans thinking “upset.” But when the final buzzer sounded, the team still had nothing in the win column to show for it.

The Crimson (0-5) again received outstanding offensive performances and showed defensive toughness, this time against its first nationally-ranked opponent, but couldn’t put together 40 focused minutes in a 66-51 loss to No. 23 Brigham Young University (BYU) last night at Lavietes Pavillion.

Sophomore Niki Finelli contributed 17 points to continue her hot start as Harvard’s scoring leader, and junior Lindsay Hallion chipped in 16 of her own.

Harvard came out of the gate with defensive energy, and intense pressure created turnovers and easy shots on the other end. The Crimson’s two leading scorers were on fire in the first frame, as a Christiana Lackner offensive rebound and putback at 17:57 proved the only first-half scoring by someone not named Finelli or Hallion.

But 28 turnovers and a disciplined BYU defense combined to slow down Harvard’s post players, letting the Cougars hang around. After halftime, rushed attempts at getting Lackner and forward Katie Rollins involved offensively led to turnovers and quick baskets for BYU.

“We were just trying to force it too much,” Hallion said. “We need to work our plays, set up the offense and get our kind of good shots.”

The Crimson had problems in the paint at the other end of the court as well. BYU center Dani Wright logged 14 points on 6-8 shooting, causing match-up and foul problems for Lackner, Rollins and sophomore Liz Tindal.

“They pounded us [in the post], which seemed to bother us and take away some of our rhythm,” coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “We have to be able to take the physical game better than we did tonight.”

BYU used a 7-2 run in the last five minutes of the first half and 15 points off of 13 Harvard turnovers to retake the lead and head to the locker room five points up. But the opening of the second half saw the Crimson pull within three on a Finelli layup and back-to-back jumpers from Tindal and sophomore Emily Tay.

But an 18-3 Cougar run–sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from Cassie King and Haley Hall–put the game securely in BYU’s hands. The Cougars helped themselves with 60 percent shooting from the floor in the second frame, but more Harvard turnovers didn’t hurt their cause, either.

“For us, the problem is really the mental game,” Finelli said. “We have all the basketball skills, but we need to be in control and have more composure on the court.”

A tough battle against the nation’s #23 team should prove immediately valuable experience for this young Crimson team. 16th-ranked California awaits a Friday evening contest with Harvard as the host of this weekend’s Contra Costa Times Classic in Berkeley, Calif. The Crimson will face either Arkansas or San Jose State on Sunday evening before returning to Boston for a Tuesday night match-up with Boston University.

And Harvard believes that this loss was not only good experience, but evidence of what this team can do if it can assemble at complete 40 minutes of play.

“Tonight was a huge marker to show the potential we have when we come ready to play, and that involves both the physical and mental game,” Finelli said. “This is a step in the right direction for our team chemistry and toughness. We just need to continue on this road.”

“We can walk away from this game saying ‘If this is one of the top 25 teams in the country, then we’re not far removed,” Delaney-Smith added. “But we need to be tougher.”

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