Admittedly, the atmosphere was tough in the Hart Center for the Holy Cross game. A hometown crowd of 1,284 competed with the school band and loudspeakers blaring dance music to cheer on the home team, causing a mild roar on the court level. Cheerleaders and an annoying Holy Cross "crusader" danced in front of Harvard's players when they were attempting free throws, adding to the distractions.

"I have talented freshmen," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. "It's just that they're freshmen and so you're not always able to tell how they are going to handle a big situation, a crowd of 1,200 screaming and yelling or a veteran team that can connect inside-outside and everywhere else."

And Delaney-Smith played the freshmen early and often in both games.

The few older players on the team seemed tired, unable to keep their steam up. Captain Laela Sturdy--the leading scorer in last weekend's win against Sacred Heart--played just 20 minutes Friday. Junior center Melissa Johnson and senior guard Courtney Egelhoff played for 19 and 18 minutes, respectively, in Johnson's case partly because she picked up two fouls in the first four minutes.

Freshmen Kate Ides and Sarah Johnson and sophomore Lindsay Ryba filled in the gaps, all playing for more than 10 minutes in the post positions. Kelley was on the floor for 28 minutes, going 3-of-4 from the three-point line, but costing the team six crucial turnovers.

Kelley came in to take some of the pressure off Monti, the Crimson's primary ball-handler and only true point guard, but Holy Cross' aggressive defenders pressured Kelley into stopping her dribble early and forcing passes where they shouldn't have gone. Of course, it was easy to spot her mistakes because she was often entrusted with the ball.

Against La Salle, a weaker opponent, the Crimson often seemed to have the game in the bag. With 14:58 left in the second half and Harvard up 10, Kelley made a beautiful play. On a pass from Sturdy, she swished a hook shot from the baseline that knotted the score at 54-42.