It was a sunny Sunday morning--the Square was deserted, and all was quiet on the Cambridge front. But while the rest of the city slept off the side-effects of Saturday-night partying, a group of middle-aged men squared off against a contingent of hungover women in what was far more than a mere pick-up game at the IAB.
This unique contest was a University battle--a basketball war between an administrative squad known as Bok's Jocks, and the Harvard women's basketball team. When the dust had settled, the taller, stronger, board-dominating faculty quintet, led by the 16-point performance of a former Stanford varsity hoop scrub turned Harvard president, sent the not-yet-sober women to their aspirin bottles with a 68-41 headache.
'Just Too Small'
"They really outplayed us in every department except rebounding--they were super-tough but just too small," said winning player-coach Derek Bok. "It's amazing how far the program has progressed since the last time we got together with the women's team three years ago."
"I'm glad we had a platoon system out there," said weary Administrative Vice-president Joe Wyatt, who, at forward, formed the starting five with guard Bok, playmaker Daniel Steiner '54 (University Counsel), outgoing Police Chief David Gorski (forward), and center Mike Brewer (a member of the Office for Government and Community Affairs).
Score Early
Bok put his Jocks on the scoreboard with the contest's first points, a pair of swish foul-shots. A Gorski lay-up boosted the pad to 4-0 before freshman sensation Caryn Curry's jumper from the key broke the ice for the Division II Massachusetts Women's champions.
But three consecutive steals proved to be the varsity's undoing in the early going, as the administration ran up a 10-2 bulge they were never to relinquish.
"The Administration never backs off from a challenge," said an ebullient Steiner, who organized the affair in response to a telephone conversation with Katherine Fulton. The junior forward was re-elected to the captain's post for the 1977-78 campaign by her compatriots at a Saturday evening team dinner.
The fast-paced contest was marked by heavy in-fighting under the boards that prompted Coach Bok to say, "I've heard of faculty-student contact, but this is ridiculous." But that physical battling worked to the advantage of the high-flying faculty five, who converted many of their scores on tip-ins and follow-ups.
The absence of Sue Hewitt and Beth Craig, the two tallest women on the varsity team, was obvious when the Jocks got points on the multiple "three for a quarter" tip-in situations.
Too Much T.V.
When the six-foot Bok, who obviously enjoyed his role as floor general, embellished an easy rebound by soaring high in the air, it prompted one teammate to snicker "He's been watching too much T.V. lately."
In an effort to boost her team's sagging fortunes, Carole Kleinfelder, in the spirit of Bob Cousy, turned player-coach and directed her team both on and off the floor. Laurie Frizzell, Kleinfelder's assistant coach, also suited up for the contest, the former Northeastern forward's play sparking the women through the middle of the first half.
Perhaps the slickest play of the game for the varsity cagers involved the player-coach tandem. After Hildy Meyers, who led the women with ten points, passed off to Kleinfelder, the coach flipped a scintillating behind-the-back toss to Frizell who took the pass down the lane for a driving lay-up.
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