“I am so impressed by Nani’s defense,” Healy said. “She will tire out every point guard because of her combination of quickness and endurance.”
Adding to the backcourt depth is Indiana native Madeline Raster. Raster’s ability to get to the net and tenacious rebounding ability distinguished her as a recruit. Raster is joined in the backcourt by guard Kelsey Bogdan from nearby Illinois, who played on an AAU squad for eight years.
Brittney Deadwiler, a guard out of Union City, Calif., is the only freshman walk-on for the 2015-2016 season. After the uncertainty of walking on, Deadwiler has made an impression on her teammates with her intensity and energy. In high school, she was a three-year letter-winner in triple jump, long jump, and high jump.
The remaining two rookies, Hayley Isenberg and Sarah Luedke, will join Healy in the frontcourt as the Crimson seeks to fill the shoes of Temi Fagbenle ’15, who led the team last year in points per game with 14.4.
Isenberg, a 6’2’’ forward out of Dallas, wants to improve and learn from the upperclassmen as much as possible this season but chances are, they might be learning a fair amount from her as well.
Her length, height, and ability to play both in the paint and beyond the three-point line make her a challenging mark for any defender. Like Skinner, Isenberg was a McDonald’s All-American nominee as a senior, when she broke her own high school single-season block record by 15, finishing with 111 on the year.
While Isenberg hopes to bolster the Crimson on the court, she is also focused on helping her teammates on the sidelines.
“Off the court, it’s about being really supportive for our teammates,” Isenberg said. “It’s really hard to have a short memory, so I want to make sure my teammates’ minds are on the next play.”
Luedke, a three-time captain from Longview, Wash., earned high school records in career points, blocks and rebounds. If these high school stats are any indication, Harvard has acquired a dominant inside force.
“Sarah brings a lot to our team by being big inside, getting boards, and finishing her one dribble power move,” Healy said.
In a league where the rookies are forced to play against several competitive Ancient Eight opponents, including nationally ranked Princeton, they must be ready to go when called upon. This season, simply due to the team’s large incoming class relative to the rest of the squad, it will be critical for the freshmen to live up to Delaney-Smith’s adage of not playing like freshmen.
“We will play a lot of freshmen,” Delaney-Smith said. “Sometimes they’ll be great, sometimes they’ll make freshman mistakes, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s okay.”