She may be one of the youngest and shortest members of the Harvard women's basketball team, but freshman Heidi Kosh came away with the team's strongest performance last night as the Crimson defeated Smith, 74-52, in Northampton.

Kosh, a 5-ft., 7-in. guard, shot eight-for-13 (62 percent) from the floor to pace Harvard in scoring with 17 points. The Hamden, Conn., native also led the team on the boards, pulling down nine rebounds.

Co-Captain Sharon Hayes, the team scoring leader in the Harvard Invitational last weekend, hit double figures for her third game in a row, scoring 14 points on a blistering eight-for-11 from the field (73 percent).

Sophomore Sarah Duncan, with 10 points, was the only other hoopster in double figures. The Chicago native, who pulled down 146 rebounds in her freshman campaign, also grabbed five boards last night.

The win was the third straight for the Crimson, which opened the season by defeating Fordham and Hofstra last weekend en route to its third Harvard Invitational title in six years.

Trailing by 15 points at the half, Smith failed to mount a second-half threat. The hosts came up short on the boards--30 rebounds to Harvard's 53--and committed 23 turnovers.

This weekend, Harvard will participate, for its first time, in the Boston Four Tournament with Northeastern, Boston College and Boston University.

The tourney should challenge the team's unblemished record. Last year's Crimson squad, which won a school-record 20 games, suffered its worst defeat against B.C.--a 91-51 count.

Harvard does not open its Ivy slate until January 9, when it travels to Philadelphia to face the Penn Quakers.

Crimson, 74-52 at Ainsworth Gym

HARVARD (74): Mary Baldauf 1-2--2; Andrea Eror 5-1--11; Heidi Kosh 8-1--17; Sharon Hayes 7-0--14; Barbarann Keffer 2-2--6; Nancy Cibotti 3-0--6; Sandra Springer 0-2--2; Sarah Duncan 4-2--10; Trisha Brown 3-0--6; Hanya Bluestone 0-0--0. Totals: 33-8--74.

SMITH (52): Marcella Zallot 4-2--10; Colleen Lahart 2-0--4; Georgianna Streeter 1-2--4; Betsy Herrmann 1-0--2; Hilary Fink 1-4--6; Cindy Corbett 2-4--8; Michele Grogan 3-8--14; Mary Jane Favazza 2-0--4.

Totals: 16-20--52.

Fouled out: None. Total fouls: Harvard 17, Smith 10. Assists: Harvard 12 (Keffer 5), Smith 10 (Lahart 4). Turnovers: Harvard 20, Smith 23. Rebounds: Harvard 53 (Kosh 9), Smith 30 (Grogan, Zallot 5 each).   Harvard  39-35--74   Smith  24-28--52