The Harvard women's basketball team crushed the Northeastern Huskies 83-59 last night at the I.A.B. to up their season record to 11-8.

The Crimson starting line, Nancy Boutillier, Karen Smith, Elaine Holpuch, Caryn Curry and Wendy Carle, jumped to a 10-5 lead in the early going. Crafty ballhandling enabled the Crimson to slip past the Husky full court press for a variety of layups and short jumpers.

Kim Belshe, coming in for the second quarter, sparked the team with three outside shots, as Harvard leapt to a 42-24 halftime lead.

Stingy Crimson defense consistently forced Northeastern to take poor shots, but the Huskies rebounding strength kept the game closer than it might have been.

The Crimson maintained their momentum in the second half. Holpuch began to dominate the defensive boards, eliminating the second shots that the Huskies had been getting earlier.

Under constant pressure from the tenacious Crimson squad the Huskies crumbled. Harvard outhustled the fumbling Huskies to the ball, played a tight, controlled game, and in the end walked off with an impressive twenty-six point triumph.

"It's the best game we've played this season. "Everyone contributed," Coach Carole A. Kleinfelder said afterwards. The coach was especially pleased with the performances of freshmen Kate Martin and Nancy Boutillier.

Karen Smith and Elame Holpuch played exceptional games. Holpuch scored twenty points and grabbed ten rebounds while Smith sunk 19, nine of them from the free-throw line.

"Everybody came through", co-captain Caryn Curry said, adding that the team had played a "more consistent and controlled game" than usual.

Harvard's performance last night shows the team's continued improvement and boosts their regional standing. "It's a big win", Kate Martin said, "everyone played well."