One night during the winter of IAB use, a men's intramural team took the court during a Radcliffe practice. When the women protested an argument ensued, causing the building's custodian to enter the gray and settle the dispute. He shut off the lights.

Such was the state of women's athletics in the early 1970s. Ten years later Harvard women's basketball shared the renovated Briggs Athletic Center with the men's varsity. Practice and game needs were allotted equally. And no one ever thought to shut off the lights.

The women's program made the transition from Radcliffe to Harvard beginning with the 1974-75 season. It was a period of slow change for a couple of seasons.

"In 1975, the program seemed to have a recreational feel to it. It was basically the old program transferred to a new facility, the IAB," recalled Katherine Fulton, captain of both the 1997 and 1978 teams.

Coaching was part-time and, in effect, so were some of the players, who seemed to use basketball as a way to stay in shape for the spring season that followed.

"Many of our players had never played competitive basketball before coming to Harvard," said Fulton. "I played guard, forward, and center, and I was five-eight."

Significant change began in 1976, when the starting lineup, annoyed at the lack of progress through two seasons of varsity status, threatened to walk out. The department of athletics got the message and responded for the start of the 1976-77 season.

That is when Harvard hired Carole Kleinfelder, the program's first full-time basketball coach. At the same time, the team go a full-time female trainer and an incoming class of talented athletes. The result was an 18-3 season, the most satisfying in the program's history.

Freshmen like Caryn Curry, Wendy Carle, and Leslie Greis led this team, which was primarily first-year players and two holdovers from the darker days, Fulton and Sue Williams. Williams was the program's first legitimate standout. A native of Tuba City, Arizona, Williams had played on two state championship teams in high school before coming to Cambridge. It would be nearly a decade before the program regularly attracted players with this sort of background.

That 1976-77 season with its stellar record was the last for Harvard as a Division II program. The schedule was upgraded the following year, and Kleinfelder's team struggled a little more but still turned out two more winning seasons. "We accomplished a lot of what we wanted to do those first two years," said Kleinfelder. "We wanted to see if we could move up and compete, and we wanted to gain experience. I think we did both."

The class of '80 continued to shine. Curry established virtually all offensive records, many of which survived well into the 80s. Despite the efforts of the top players, the supporting cast was generally thinner than the opposition's. As a result Harvard found it difficult to make significant progress within the Ivy League.

Beginning with the 1979-80- season, the program began a string of six losing seasons that bottomed out in 1984 when the team went 3-22. There were outstanding individuals, such as center Elaine Holpuch '83 and guard Nancy Boutilier '84, but very little depth. It was a problem for both Carole Kleinfelder and her successor, Kathy Delaney Smith, who took over in 1983-84.

By the end of the 1984-85 season, an 8-18 campaign, there were signs that women's basketball at Harvard was about to gain new respect just as the men had. Delaney Smith, a former Massachusetts Coach of the Year at nearby Westwood High School, began attracting the talent and depth that Harvard had always lacked.

The 1985-86 squad was the first to benefit from the highly touted recruiting and coaching abilities of Delaney Smith. In all, the team had six freshmen, most of whom had been high school all-scholastics. It was a far cry from the days when starters learned how to play the game when they arrived at Harvard.

That year, Harvard, which was led by Annie Kelley and Trisha Brown, finished with the program's best-ever record of 20-7 overall and 9-3 in the Ivies. The Crimson captured its first ever Ivy League title, but had to share it with Dartmouth. Satisfaction was gained, however, when Harvard defeated the Big Green, 75-66, in the Ivy League post-season tournament. Keffer earned first team All-Ivy, the Crimson's first ever All-League honoree. Anna Collins was selected to the second team All-Ivy, while Sharon Hayes earned honorable mention. Also, during this year, Kathy Delaney Smith spearheaded Harvard's first training trip to Europe.

The 1986-87 squad finished 13-13 overall and 8-6 in the league for a fourth-place finish. Sarah Duncan collected first team All-Ivy honors, Sharon Hayes was second team, while Barb Keffer earned honorable mention. The season was highlighted by a trip to Hawaii to play the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

The 21-5 and 12-2 season in 1987-88 proved to be the best-ever in Harvard women's basketball history. The Crimson captured its second Ivy League crown and won Boston Four and Harvard Invitational titles that year. Sarah Duncan collected first team All-Ivy accolades for the second-straight year, and Sharon Hayes and Barb Keffer were selected to the second team. Hayes finished her career with 1,302 points - which at the time made her Harvard's career scoring leader. Keffer closed out her career with 1,169 total points - good for second in career scoring leaders.

Following an invaluable team training trip to Norway, Harvard finished 15-11 overall and a 9-5 in the Ancient Eight. Beth Chandler finished her career in style setting single-season Crimson record for most points (418) and rebounds (260). Duncan, second on the all-time scoring list with 1,228 points graduated as one of the greatest shot-blocking forces in Ivy League history. Both were All-Ivy selections in 1988-89.

Harvard's worldly travels continued during the 1989-90 season with a trip to California to participate in the UC-Santa Clara Tournament. The Crimson put its fifth-straight winning season together with a 14-12 overall record and finished third in the Ivies with a 9-5 league mark. Coach Kathy Delaney Smith notched her 100th Harvard win against rival Yale. Beth Wambach was selected to the second team All-Ivy.

The 1990-91 season saw Harvard capture its third Ivy title and the first-ever won outright with a 17-9 overall record and a 12-2 League mark. The Crimson began its Ancient Eight schedule 11-0 and flirted with becoming the only team in women's Ivy League basketball to go undefeated in league play. The Princeton-Penn road trip halted its goal. Deb Flandermeyer and Beth Wambach were All-Ivy selections, and Jen Mazanec was an honorable mention. Wambach finished fifth on Harvard list of all-time scorers with 1,026 points, and Mazanec was named team MVP.

Co-captains Heather Harris and Maura Healey led the 1991-92 squad to a 14-12 overall record and to a second place finish in the Ivies with a 11-3 mark. The Crimson put together an eight-game winning streak during the Ivy race, and just two losses to Brown kept Harvard from winning the Ivy title. Erin Maher was third in the nation with 3.1 three-point field goals per game and fourth in the nation with a .484 three-point field goal percentage. As a team, Harvard was third in the country in free-throw shooting percentage (.763) and in three-pointers made per game (6.7).

In 1992-93, Harvard put together another stellar season with a 19-7 overall record and finished second in the Ivies with another 11-3 mark. In probably one of the most memorable games at Briggs, the Crimson fell to Brown in an 87-81 overtime battle in front of a season-high crowd. Cara Frey led the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.515) and Flandermeyer was fourth in the nation in blocked shots (3.5 per game). Flandermeyer finished her career at Harvard number one on the all-time scoring list with 1,394 points.

The 1993-94 season was a difficult time for the Crimson. Expected to finish top-three in the League, Harvard instead experienced one of its worst seasons ever (7-19 overall, 4-10 Ivy) due to a plague of injuries and some tough luck. Tammy Butler was a ray of light during the dismal season, finishing first in the Ivies in scoring (19.1 ppg) and rebounding (13.4 rpg). She was Harvard's sole All-Ivy choice.

In 1994-95, Harvard, 19-7 overall, turned itself around to finish second in the Ivies, behind the strong play of captain Tammy Butler, who was voted as the 1994-95 Ivy League Player of the Year and a unanimous First Team All-Ivy choice. Butler finished as Harvard's all-time leading rebounder with 1,053 career boards, and the all-time leading scorer with 1,605 career points. In that season, Allison Feaster '98 quickly established herself as one of the top rookies, as well as players, in the Ancient Eight and was voted the 1994-95 Ivy League Rookie of the Year as well as First Team All-Ivy.

The 1995-96 season was one of historical proportions for the Harvard women's basketball team. In that season, the Crimson made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, playing traditional powerhouse Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN, in the first round. Harvard, which fell eventually fell, 100-83, played an incredible game. Showing that it more than deserved to be a 14-seed, the Crimson led the Commodores, 41-40, at the half. Harvard also wrote itself into the Championship record book netting 16 three-pointers in the contest - the most ever in a tournament game. Co-captains Elizabeth Gettelman '96 and Elizabeth Proudfit '96 as well as Katy Davis '96 and Amy Reinhard '96 were the seniors who led the squad and the program to national prominence. Feaster, the 1995-96 Ivy Player of the Year, also played a large part in the Crimson's success, earning All-America and First Team All-Ivy accolades. Co-captains Kelly Black '97 and Jessica Gelman '97 led Harvard to a perfect 14-0 season - something no other team had done in conference play since the inception of double round robin play began in 1982-83. Feaster collected her second straight Ivy Player of the Year and third straight First Team All-Ivy accolades as well as Kodak All-America honors. Gelman was also a First Team pick while Black was chosen Second Team All-Ivy. Delaney-Smith was honored as the Ancient Eight's Coach of the Year. The Crimson drew top-seeded North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Heels' athleticism proved too much for Harvard which fell, 78-53, in Chapel Hill.

The 1997-98 contingent used the invaluable experience of the two previous campaigns to put together Harvard's most outstanding season to date. Despite dropping two league contests, a 12-2 Ivy mark was good enough for a third consecutive Ancient Eight title. Allison Feaster continued her domination of the Ivy League and began to receive well-deserved national attention, as she was named an All-American in addition to taking home her third consecutive Player of the Year trophy from the league, the first player to ever sweep the league's top honors by being named the Ivy's top rookie and then the Player of the Year for three years.

However, the most historical of all moments would occur on March 13, 1998, as the Crimson took the floor for a first-round game against Stanford in the West Regional. The 16th-seeded Crimson made NCAA Tournament history in playing spoiler, knocking off the #1 seed Cardinal (71-67) to become the first #16 ever - men or women - to defeat the top seed.

The loss of five players to graduation found the 1998-99 squad eager to prove its worth and challenge for a piece of the Ivy crown. Injuries was the main news throughout the season, as the team finished 10-15 and 7-7 in Ivy play. That is not to say that the season was without bright spots, as three buzzer-beating victories kept crowds cheering at Lavietes and strong play by newcomers showcased the exciting future of the program. Rose Janowski was a second team All-Ivy pick, while freshmen Jennifer Monti and Lindsay Ryba were Harvard's first-ever representatives on the All-Rookie Team.

Women's Basketball Alumni