Harvard finished the regular season with triumphs over Yale and Brown the following weekend and began preparation for the big dance with the momentum of the perfect season at its back.
“I came in here as a freshmen always expecting this to be a program that would really compete and go to NCAAs,” captain Kate Ides said after securing the title. “As a high school player, that was one thing I was looking for. It has been incredible the last two years to have that opportunity.”
Ides, who shined against Kansas State with eight points, including two three-pointers during the Crimson’s late rally, is the only senior on the roster.
“Even though most of us are returning next year, we’ll definitely miss Kate Ides—she was such a great leader on and off the court,” Cserny said.
Though Harvard’s roster was young, it is anything but inexperienced after facing five of the top teams in the nation, thoroughly dominating league challengers and commanding respect with its impressive showing in the NCAA tournament. With its entire starting lineup returning, the Crimson is poised to not only defend its title next year, but to begin challenging the nation’s elite from the very start of the season.
“We will need to continue next year where we finished this year—good communication on offense with making the extra passes and a solid team defense,” Cserny said. “If we want to beat some of the ranked teams at the beginning of the season then we will have to play more balanced basketball than we did this year early in the season.”
—Staff writer Jessica T. Lee can be reached at lee45@fas.harvard.edu.
W. BASKETBALL
RECORD 22-5 (14-0 Ivy, 1st place)
COACH Kathy Delaney-Smith
CAPTAIN Kate Ides
HIGHLIGHTS Crimson completes a perfect Ivy season and challenges Kansas State, No. 7 in the nation, in NCAAs. Junior Hana Peljto won her second consecutive Ivy Player of the Year award, while sophomore Reka Cserny also placed among the first team All-Ivy ranks. Junior Tricia Tubridy earned second team All-Ivy honors, and posted the first triple-double in program history.