Just when it seemed Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith had settled on a depth chart for her guards, sophomore Laura Robinson came along and messed everything up.

With junior Rochelle Bell gradually returning from injury and sophomore Jess Holsey sliding nicely into the starting shooting guard role beside senior point guard Bev Moore, the top three backcourt slots appeared to have been filled.

But with a solid performance in the closing moments of Thursday’s game against the Northeastern Huskies, Robinson more than proved her mettle—an appraisal reflected by her 22 minutes on the court yesterday.

“I’m not surprised by that,” Delaney-Smith said. “Laura is an entirely different player than she was last year. She loves the pressure. She makes great decisions with the ball, so we’re not surprised by that.”

Boston University’s defense was.

Drawing minimal coverage as the Terriers attempted to neutralize co-captain forward Hana Peljto and junior center Reka Cserny, Robinson made her presence felt on her first touch, draining a trey from the left sideline en route to a career-high 14 points. Robinson netted six of nine shots, including two of five behind the arc.

But she wasn’t the only guard BU lost in the frontcourt’s lengthy shadow.

Moore torched the nets early, draining three shots from beyond the arc in the game’s first eight minutes and threatening to single-handedly outscore the Terriers midway through the opening period. Moore also served up five assists despite limited second-half playing time. Holsey added seven points and four assists of her own.

“Laura, Bev and Jessica are all going to share time at the 1-2 spot,” Delaney-Smith said. “They’re all different players and bring different strengths to the team. It’s the kind of thing where [if] I’m not putting someone back in, it isn’t necessarily that they’re doing bad. It’s that someone on the floor—like Laura—is having a superstar performance.”

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Despite a brutal slate to open the year, including road trips to Minnesota and Florida, the postponement of the scheduled home opener against Lafayette delayed Harvard’s first outing in Lavietes Pavilion until the team’s seventh game of the season.

“Home! Home!” Delaney-Smith exclaimed after the game. “I don’t remember a start like this, as tough a non-conference start, and not being home.”

And after a performance against Northeastern in which the rims were particularly unforgiving to the Crimson, the return home proved particularly timely.

“We just love our rims,” Delaney-Smith said. “They’re soft. We love them.”

The more friendly rims proved particularly helpful on the few occasions Harvard’s jump shots weren’t passing straight through the cylinder.