AMHERST--The Harvard women's basketball team dropped its third consecutive game, 72-64, last night at the University of Massachusetts. The defeat dips the Crimson record to 2-4.

Frustrated by early foul trouble, the hoopsters played a tenuous game, grabbing briefly at the chance for their first victory in two weeks--and then letting go. Against a UMass starting line-up that boasted four freshman over 5-ft., 7-in, tall, the Crimson simply never took control of the game.

Minuteman junior guard Wendy Ward tallied only eight points, but she managed to keep Harvard running all night. Ward ran the UMass attack, directing traffic for her freshmen teammates and getting them the ball at their favorite spots on the court. Her sharpshooters rarely missed.

Meanwhile, the foul trouble that held the Crimson back against Penn hit Harvard again. Co-Captain Pat Home committed three fouls early in the first half and watched most of the game from the bench.

Harvard tried to contain UMass with a man-to-man defense, but the hoopsters didn't block out underneath and UMass dominated the boards. When it did get the ball, the Crimson failed to convert its opportunities. Harvard's transition play rarely led to a Crimson basket.

Minuteman Karen Damminger netted a game-high 27 points. Crimson centers Elaine Holpuch and Wendy Joseph seemed reluctant to front Damminger on defense, and UMass had little trouble getting her the ball in close to the basket.

So Damminger did a lot of damage. In the second half, during a Crimson scoring lapse of three minutes, she scored five consecutive field goals. On the game, she shot 71 percent from the floor.

Tryouts

For the Crimson, guard Ann Scannell not only played tight defense on Ward but scored 19 points as well. Co-Captain Frenesa Hall tallied a personal high for the season, chalking up 10 points in relief of Home.

But despite a strong comeback effort in the last minutes of play, the Crimson couldn't or wouldn't pull off the win. With 1:07 remaining and the score 70-63, Coach Kathy Delaney Smith called a time-out. The hoopsters then dove for every possible steal, and drove the lane in search of three-point plays. But once at the foul line Harvard only hit two of six attempts.

Quick

"I don't think we played very well, "Smith said after the game. "We played with a total lack of intensity, and often a lack of confidence," she explained.

Smith feels the Crimson will soon break out of its current slump. The loss "is not going to get us down," she said. "We're not going to play like losers."

THE NOTEBOOK: The team traveled to forward Cindy Clapp's house for dinner after the game. Clapp is a junior transfer student form UMass...C.W. Post and Holy Cross invade Briggs Athletic Center this weekend as Harvard tries to break its winless skein.