Women's Basketball Drops First Game of Season Against Maine

Down by 12 entering the fourth quarter of Harvard’s season opener, senior guard Shilpa Tummala shot the lights out in the dwindling minutes of Friday’s matchup against Maine. Scoring 11 of her 17 points in the last eight minutes of the matchup, Tummala’s effort was not enough, as the Crimson fell to the Black Bears, 64-53.

The game marked Harvard’s first loss in a home opener since 2008.

Facing a seasoned Maine squad returning all of its starters from last season, the Harvard women’s basketball team (0-1) struggled to get back in the game following a 19-3 run from the Black Bears in the second and third quarters.

“We just dropped in our energy and our talk on defense,” Tummala said. “That really hurt us in that three or four minute spurt when where they were making a run. That just showed a little bit of our youth, [where we were] getting a little rattled by a couple baskets from them.”

Harvard got off to a hot start with sophomore Kirby Porter scoring five within the first three minutes of the contest to take the quick lead. The Black Bears, however, would respond with an 11-5 run of its own to take a one point lead after the first quarter.

In the second and third quarters, the Crimson struggled to find its footing following a five minute spurt were they turned the ball over five times and allowed 12 consecutive points. Harvard had 10 points off turnovers to Maine’s 17.

“Right now they just lack the college experience to pay attention to slip-screens or cuts backdoor and those hurt us,” Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “That run, in my opinion, was very disappointing because I felt my team played tired and were in shape. We should not have played tired—we just literally stopped running the floor and playing defense with any kind of intensity.”

With Maine running a full court press early on and playing zone on defense, the Crimson was forced to settle for many three point shots in the first half. Harvard struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 3-for-13 through the first two quarters and making it to the charity stripe only twice.

For a team that averaged nearly 15 assists a game last season, the Crimson struggled to create opportunities, putting up only eight helpers to Maine’s 16.

Harvard managed to string together points late, going on a 12-4 run late in the third, but couldn’t seem to keep up with the Black Bears on defense, allowing 33 over the final two quarters and sending Maine to the line six times.

While the Crimson came within seven following a layup from senior guard Kit Metoyer in the fourth, Harvard wouldn’t come any closer, as Maine would respond with a pair of layups and a three from junior Sigi Koizar, who led all scorers with 22 points.

“I felt this was a tough first game for us because we are very, very young,” Delaney-Smith said.

For a squad that features seven freshman, Delaney-Smith didn’t hesitate to play the rookies in its first matchup of the season. Starting freshman Sydney Skinner took the floor at the one spot and Delaney-Smith rotated out Skinner and classmates Nani Redford and Madeline Raster at the guard spot throughout the match.

“Our freshman are great—we’re really confident in them,” Tummala said. “Going forward in the season they’re going to gain that confidence in the game. This was obviously their first real game, but they all bring such enormous talent to the table.”

Despite the loss, coach Delaney-Smith was enthusiastic about what the rookies add to the program.

“These freshman compete,” Delaney-Smith said. “They make mistakes...but I love how hard they compete, and I think that’s a contagious thing for everybody.”

—Staff writer Troy Boccelli can be reached at tboccelli@college.harvard.edu.