The Crimson will look to Keith Wright and Christine Matera to step up this season.

In sports, any successful team is ultimately driven by good leadership. For the Harvard women’s basketball team, good leadership will be decided by a duo of talented seniors who have three previous years to guide them.

Christine Matera and Jackie Alemany will lead a troupe of veteran players in an attempt to leave a lasting legacy by winning an oft-elusive Ivy League title.

In many ways, being at the end of their basketball careers brings each captain back to where she began.

For both Matera and Alemany, basketball has been a lifelong commitment.

“I’ve been playing since I was four or five,” Alemany says. “My dad…had always loved basketball...and introduced me to it. I’ve basically been competitive from the womb.”

Matera, who used to tag along to her older brother’s basketball practices—which happened to be coached by her father—grew up in a family of athletes.

“I can’t really remember a time when I wasn’t playing basketball,” the New Jersey native says. “I played a lot of sports growing up, but my focus ended up being basketball really early. It’s always been my passion.”

This love for basketball brought both Matera and Alemany to Harvard, where, under the coaching of Kathy Delaney-Smith, they built careers that emphasized consistency rather than flashy performance. Matera brought her shooting skills, and Alemany brought her defensive and rebounding effort—talents that distinguished the two Crimson players in the Ivy League.

As a junior last season, Matera led not only Harvard but also the conference in three-pointers made with 2.5 per game. Alemany was eighth and 10th in the Ancient Eight for rebounding and assists, respectively.

Despite their impressive individual accolades, Alemany and Matera have gained more than personal achievements.

“It’s definitely been a positive experience in my life, although it hasn’t been easy,” Alemany says, when speaking about her four years on the team. “There have been ups and downs, as with anything in which you invest this much time. But I love my coaches, and I love my class.”

“It’s been a growing experience,” Matera echoes, “but it’s been a great experience playing under Kathy [Delaney-Smith], who is one of the best coaches in the Ivy League, and for a program that has a history of being one of the best.”

The knowledge the seniors gained in the early part of their careers has been influential as they rose to the position of captain, something the underclassmen have recognized.

“The captains have contributed a lot of guidance in terms of what the coaches want and how our offense and defense should look,” sophomore Elle Hagedorn says. “The underclassmen look to Christine and Jackie for leadership, and we’re looking to see how they act on and off the court.”

Hagedorn is one of the 12 returning players this season, making up the same core from the last season’s roster, one that did not graduate any seniors. The returners posted a 20-9 overall record last year, and Harvard made its eighth postseason appearance and second straight run in the WNIT.

The new freshmen, though, have jumped right into action and, with the help of the captains, have fit into their new team.

“The freshmen have come in and are so talented and eager to do well,” Alemany says. “They’ve all been tough about injuries, and everyone has the same goal. It’s easy when everyone is on the same page.”

In spite of the team’s success last year and its current preseason second-place Ivy League ranking, Matera and Alemany want to do better and leave a winning legacy, especially after having shared the Ivy title with Dartmouth and Cornell during their rookie year.

“The seniors haven’t had the chance to go to the NCAA tournament,” Matera says. “We’re looking to win the Ivy League outright and go to the tournament this season. It’s the one thing we’re really focused on and definitely within our grasp.”

“When we came in as freshmen, we had the idea that we would go to the NCAA tournament and get Ivy rings,” Alemany adds. “We haven’t yet, and this is our last chance, so we really want to capitalize on our potential and talent. We want to finish strong.”

With the return of last year’s core, the introduction of new talent, and the leadership of the captains to bring the team together, this may finally be the season where Matera and Alemany win their long-awaited trip to The Dance.

—Staff writer B. Marjorie Gullick can be reached at gullick@college.harvard.edu.