In the past, similar poor shooting has caused Harvard to tighten up, and resulted in losses such as last weekend’s at Yale. On Saturday, however, the Crimson remained composed and found other ways to score.

Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith cited her team’s mentality as the source of the improvement.

“It could be because we’re not thinking down the road, we’re not thinking title,” Delaney-Smith said. “I think that there’s a lot of pride in all Ivy League schools. That’s why Yale, after devastating losses, they were able to muscle up and win against us—because Ivy League student-athletes play with a lot of pride.”

CATCHING THE TRANSFER

Three of the Lions’ starters did not begin their careers with the Lions, and a fourth transfer—Adia Revell—saw only six minutes on Friday night.

Both Altman and Crimson senior Bev Moore made their Ivy League debuts last year, from Holy Cross and Louisiana Tech, respectively, and proved how valuable transfer athletes can be. There are disadvantages, however, to bringing in transfers.

“I’m not a fan of it, because I’m about the synergy of the team, and sometimes it takes a year or two or three to get what you want,” Delaney-Smith said.

Altman was originally recruited by Harvard, but chose instead to attend Holy Cross. When she resolved to transfer, Delaney-Smith tried to get her into a Crimson uniform, but the admissions office decided otherwise.

“Harvard would not admit her,” Delaney-Smith said. “This was in early July, and Harvard [said] wait another year and Columbia let her in.”

“Basically, she pursued every option in the Ivy league, and it just happened that Columbia at that particular moment had the ability to accept her late in the year,” Butler said.

While it is notoriously difficult to transfer to Harvard—only 55 students were admitted from over 1,000 applicants last year—Columbia has several undergraduate schools, and Butler cites that distribution as a reason the Lions have so many transfer athletes.

Altman and Copeland both attend Columbia College, after Copeland transferred from Fresno St.

“Lisa Copeland, she was our top recruit,” Butler said. “She chose to go to a full-scholarship school, Fresno State, didn’t like it, and she called and asked us if we were interested in her transferring.”

Lions captain Liza Chorney transferred from the Colorado School of Mines into Columbia’s engineering school, and Revell from Rhode Island to Barnard College.

Although Friday night’s result did not go in Altman’s favor, she doesn’t regret her decision to transfer into the Ancient Eight.