The Harvard women's basketball team learned the hard way that basketball is, indeed, a contact sport, dropping a 58-40 decision at Northeastern last night.

"They weren't tall, but they were big--they really had muscle," sophomore guard Patty Horne said after the game. Swatting away eight shots and playing an aggressive, hacking defense, the Huskies forced the Crimson to the outside, shutting them down in the lane.

Although Harvard got Northeastern in early foul trouble, it couldn't capitalize, shooting four for 11 from the line and making a mockery of coach Carole Kleinfelter's sixth cardinal rule--shoot fouls at 70 per cent--in the process.

Harvard got into some foul trouble, too. Top scorer Ann Scannell (10 pts.) fouled out, as did 6-ft., 1-in. Elaine Holpuch. Without these two, the Crimson's offense fell apart. "When Elaine goes out," said guard Nancy Boutilier, "we really can't dish it out."

The hoopsters did manage to shoot at a respectable 46 per cent, but with top rebounder Holpuch in foul trouble, they managed to unleash only 39 shots to Northeastern's 54.

Holpuch, who had missed the previous three games with an injury, managed only five rebounds for the evening. Add that to the tenacious defense which kept Harvard on the perimeter, and the hoopsters couldn't manage many second chances on shots.

"They were playing man-to-man the whole game," Boutilier said. "The most our offense was doing was going to them."

One bright spot was Harvard's defense. "We played one of our best defensive games ever," Horne said. Three times the Crimson forced Husky turnovers when the home team couldn't inbound in the required five seconds.

"It wasn't a question of our defense breaking down," Boutilier added, "it was just our offense not keeping up with them."

THE NOTEBOOK: Now 2-5 in the Ivies, the hoopsters travel to Hanover, N.H. this weekend for the Ivy League tournament at Dartmouth. Harvard will probably be seeded sixth, but hope for a better finish. The Crimson topped Cornell in its last Ivy contest last Sunday...Holpuch was still not playing at full strength, but she hopes to be better by the weekend. She has been sidelined with a bad leg...Boutilier remains inactive as well. She is suffering from an ankle injury incurred in the Brown game last week. She will be out indefinitely.