The Harvard women's basketball team and the IAB's ancient electric scoreboards have something in common--sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.

Last night neither was working as the hoopsters dropped their third Ivy League contest in as many tries to a mediocre Yale squad, 57-49, as the scoreboard added the comic relief.

On one clock 13:49 remained in the half; on the other there were only 55 seconds left. Because the clocks decided to take the night off, scorekeepers had to periodically yell out the time remaining, which added a kind of junior high school effect to the game.

Double Vision

Midway through the first half, one scoreboard showed Harvard with 13 points while the other gave them only 11. At one point, just as Yale guard Theresa Durkin was streaking toward the basket on a breakaway. Harvard's 30-second shot clock inexplicably went off, stopping play before Durkin could score.

Amidst this mechanical carnival, the hoopsters exhibited the type of on-again-off-again play that has plagued their entire season, and watched another team--a team they should have beaten--stroll out of Cambridge with a victory.

Much of Harvard's season thus far has read like a grade-B movie script--predictable and annoying. They fall behind early, start to rally about midway through the game, even up the score, and then blow it.

Bow Wow

Last night's contest proved no different. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and held it throughout the first half, thanks to several outside shots by guard Sue Mallone and tough rebounding by 6-1 center Margy Hutchinson, a Cambridge resident. Yale took a 24-17 lead into the locker room at the end of the half.

With the opening of the second half, the Crimson began its comeback. The quintet of Ann Scannell, Pat Horne, Marget Long, Elaine Holpuch and Jane Judge started to click. Horne sank a couple of quick jump shots, and Long, who led the team in scoring (12 points) and rebounding (11), came up with some key caroms and the Crimson had taken the lead, 31-30.

This was the time for some replacements, or at least a time out. The players seemed worn out after the comeback, and started to drag. But there were no replacements and no time outs. Not until Yale had rebuilt its lead to a healthy 40-31, that is.

After relinquishing its brief one-point lead. Harvard couldn't get back into the game enough to make a serious bid for the win.

"I'm not sure exactly what happened." Long said, adding that "we just had too many lapses on offense--they switched their defense around alot and it hurt us." THE NOTEBOOK: The Crimson's next home game is Tuesday, Feb. 17, against Brown, when it will be looking for its first Ivy victory...Harvard's overall record stands at 4-11.