Rookie Class Aids Harvard

Prior to the 2005 winter break, an eight-game losing streak revealed every bit of the youth and inexperience of the Harvard women’s basketball team. And after that record eighth consecutive loss, it was obvious the Crimson needed support from someone—anyone.

Since Ivy play began in January, much of that offensive help has come from a freshman squad that provided the spark needed to revitalize a reeling Harvard team. After some maturing and greater experience, the group of freshmen—guard Niki Finelli, forward Emma Moretzsohn, guard Emily Tay, and forward Katie Rollins—brought talent and capability beyond their years to a team less than six months removed from a thrilling Ivy Title run.

“That’s our schtick,” said Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith earlier this season. “We have a very, very, very talented freshman class, who [is] getting a lot of minutes. They have enormous potential.”

On the court, the freshmen, who comprise one-third of the entire squad, have been integral parts of recent Ivy victories. Offering a combination of outstanding post play and great ball-handling in the backcourt, the freshmen have been an offensive powerhouse. Three freshmen—Rollins, Moretzsohn, and Tay—with 16, 14, and 12 points, respectively, led Harvard in scoring in a 23-point rout of Columbia on Feb. 3. Attacking from the outside made for easy points on the inside, with Tay tallying four assists on the night.

In the game against Cornell, authority in the post led to the 80-71 Crimson triumph. Rollins took it upon herself to close out what became a nail-biter in the second half, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds against the Big Red.

The powerhouse pair of Rollins and Moretzsohn freed up the perimeter for he outside shot, as Harvard went 8-of-12 behind the arc on the night.

Continued impressive post play by Rollins has garnered much league-wide attention. Despite coming off a shoulder injury that kept her out of most of the nonconference schedule, Rollins has proven to be an assertive presence in the low post. In just 12 games, Rollins has become the Crimson’s leading scorer with 11 points per game on 54 percent shooting from the field.

In the face of a prolonged injury to offensive sparkplug Jess Holsey, Delaney-Smith needed some quick offense, and she found it in a deep rookie class she considers her best ever.

Perhaps their ability to play so effectively stems from their camaraderie off the court.

“We hang out a lot and watch TV in each other’s rooms,” Moretzsohn said.

“We try to eat dinner together after every practice and love hanging out outside of the basketball scene,” Rollins said.

More than best friends, the group has grown so close that they refer to each other as family.

“We’re like sisters,” Tay said.

“We started planning an idea that we would have a get together as a freshman basketball ‘family’ in every one of our hometowns. Each family would take a turn hosting it,” Rollins said. “Meaning we’d all get together in Pennsylvania with Emma and Niki, make the trip to Maine and my family would host, then Massachusetts for Liz, and all the way out to LA for Emily.”

“That, of course, being accomplished throughout the four years we have here,” Rollins added.

That’s right, four years, this being the first. And though the young Crimson is out of the Ivy title hunt this season, the next three years look promising for a maturing freshman class.

As it stands, the freshmen have already drawn attention to themselves in Ivy League competition, so much so that comparisons to the seniors of an impressive Dartmouth squad are not without merit. Given three more years of playing time together—and a timely three years it is, as Dartmouth, Brown, and Princeton say goodbye to much of their offense at the end of this season—this freshman class has the makings for postseason success.

“It’s so exciting to have such a great class,” Moretzsohn said. “We’re going to have a really great four years.”

“We’re young and learning more and more every time we step on to the court, but we have so much potential as a group, it’s exciting to think about what the next seasons will bring,” Rollins said.