Breakout performances by two freshmen and a failed rally were not enough to save the Harvard women's basketball team last night as it lost 70-67 to a scrappy Central Connecticut State.

Inopportune turnovers, poor shooting and atrocious defense doomed the Crimson (1-5) despite the play of freshman forward Tricia Tubridy, who finished with 15 points, and freshman guard Jennifer Lee, who had 10 points and six assists. All totals were highs in their young careers.

"[There was] nothing good about this game," said Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith after the game. "I don't want to talk about comebacks or good freshmen."

"This is one of the most disappointing losses I've ever coached," she said.

Tied at 20-20 with 5:02 to go in the first half, the Blue Devils (2-2) used a 19-4 run over seven minutes to break open the game.

Thoroughly disappointed with the play of her starting five, Delaney-Smith benched the entire line and put in five new players.

"They were horrible," Delaney-Smith said. "They weren't ready to play in the first half or in the second half."

Only in the last five minutes did the Crimson begin to make a run, and that was without freshman forward Hana Peltjo, the team's leading scorer, on the floor. Peltjo finished with five points and nine rebounds over 19 minutes, largely played in the first half.