Owls hold off Crimson
Harvard's Rollins scores 22 in defeat
The effort was noble, but in the end a nearly flawless performance by Harvard's Katie Rollins was no match for Kennesaw State's balance.
Rollins, a junior forward, hit all nine of her field goal attempts en route to a game-high 22 points - including 9 of the Crimson's first 11 - but Kennesaw State held off Harvard, 83-71, in the first round of the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center Holiday Tournament at Atlanta yesterday.
Britteny Henderson and Jennifer Baker each scored 17 points, Ashley Johnson added 16, and Gia Lockett contributed 12 for the Lady Owls (5-6), who used their offensive depth to pull away late in the second half after Rollins singlehandedly kept the Crimson (7-6) in the contest in the early going.
Harvard took an 11-8 lead behind Rollins, whose lone miss on the day came at the free throw line (she was 4 for 5 from the stripe).
But the Lady Owls found their rhythm and took their first lead, 14-13, with 12:50 to go in the first half on a Lockett jumper.
Lockett pushed the Kennesaw State lead to 20-15 with a layup a minute later, but Harvard stayed close, and a Rollins layup made it 20-19 with 10:11 left in the half.
But then the Lady Owls took control, tearing off a 19-5 run over the next seven minutes to take a 41-25 lead after Baker hit one of her three 3-pointers. The Lady Owls went into halftime with a commanding 47-31 advantage.
Freshman Emma Markley scored 10 points and had 10 rebounds in just 13 minutes for the Crimson.
UConn 70, Hartford 24 - Maya Moore scored 21 points and Tina Charles grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds to lead the top-ranked Huskies to a rout at Hartford.
Renee Montgomery added 12 points for UConn, which opened the season 10-0 for the 10th time since 1994-95, the season the Huskies won the first of their five NCAA titles.
It's been nearly four years since the Huskies were ranked No. 1, and they were every bit the powerhouse last night. The Hawks (10-3) were coming off last week's upset of then-No. 25 Michigan State, and managed to stay even with UConn for the first five minutes.
But any hope of another upset evaporated in a 17-4 UConn run early in the first half. The Hawks committed 17 first-half turnovers and missed 23 consecutive shots over a span of nearly 10 minutes. A layup by Hartford's Danielle Hood with 9:47 left was the Hawks' final field goal of the half as the Huskies took a 43-17 lead into the break.
Maryland 89, Richmond 59 - Marissa Coleman scored 23 points and Crystal Langhorne added 15 points and 15 rebounds to help the No. 5 Terrapins cruise to victory at College Park, Md.
Coleman went 6 for 8 from the field, made four 3-pointers, and grabbed 10 rebounds to ignite the Terrapins (15-1).
Brittani Shells led Richmond (7-6) with 27 points.
Georgia 71, Florida St. 62 - At Miami, Tasha Humphrey scored 22 points, and Angel Robinson added 12 points and 18 rebounds to help the No. 7 Bulldogs (11-0) beat the Seminoles (7-4) in overtime in the Florida International University Sun & Fun Classic.
Mara Freshour led Florida State with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Saint Joseph's 71, Auburn 69 - At Philadelphia, Amy Wold scored 17 points, Sarah Acker had 16, and the Hawks (7-6) upset the No. 15 Tigers (12-2) in the championship game of the Hilton Philadelphia Hawk Classic.
Notre Dame 82, St. Francis (Pa.) 39 - Erica Williamson scored a career-high 16 points and added eight rebounds as the No. 16 Fighting Irish (11-1) dominated inside against the smaller Red Flash (3-8) at South Bend, Ind.
Rhode Island 56, Stony Brook 55 - At Bethlehem, Pa., Safi Mojidi hit the winning shot with 13 seconds remaining, lifting the Rams (6-6) over the Seawolves (4-8) at the Christmas City Classic.
Mojidi led Rhode Island with 14 points, while Sierra Cooper recorded a career-high 14 rebounds.
Holy Cross 79, UNC Asheville 60 - Briana McFadden scored 19 points, hitting all 11 of her free throws, and three other Crusaders (5-7) reached double figures in the consolation game of the State Farm Classic at Gainesville, Fla.
Maine 54, Miami 53 - Freshman guard Emily Rousseau scored 12 points to help the Black Bears edge the Hurricanes in the opening round of the 2007 Hurricane Holiday Classic at Coral Gables, Fla.
Amanda Tewksbury chipped in with 11 points for Maine (3-9), which took a 33-21 lead into halftime.
Maurita Reid paced the Hurricanes (5-8) with 25 points.
UMass-Lowell 85, Glenville St. 72 - Junior center Revital Carmon scored a career-high 19 points and sophomore guard Megan Berry added 16 as the River Hawks defeated the Pioneers in the second round of Valley Cup Classic at North Andover.
The victory was the fourth straight for the River Hawks (6-5). Glenville State (3-6) suffered its sixth straight loss.
Lehigh 68, Brown 38 - Kaela Pierce hit 7 of 9 shots on her way to 20 points, and the Mountain Hawks (6-6) built a 42-22 lead heading into halftime to rout the Bears (1-10) at the Christmas City Classic in Bethlehem, Pa.
Army 59, Central Conn. 54 - At New Britain, Conn., Megan Evans and Cara Enright each had 13 points and Stefanie Stone added 12 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Cadets (6-5) hold off the Blue Devils, who got 14 points from P.J. Wade.
Colby-Sawyer 65, Rensselaer 45 - At South Padre Island, Texas, senior Noelle Surette had a game-high 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Chargers (6-4) rolled in the championship game of the South Padre Island (Texas) Shootout. Elizabeth Barker of Springfield paced the Engineers (4-5) with 14 points and 13 boards.
Wisconsin-La Crosse 85, Bridgewater St. 76 - Junior forward Mackenzie Hunter connected on 10 of 11 shots for 24 points as the Eagles (4-6) prevailed at the Land of Magic Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla. Senior forward Colleen Feeney led the Bears (7-3) with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Bryant 74, Caldwell 55 - Cara Johnson scored 21 points and collected 11 rebounds, and Kelsey O'Keefe contributed 14 points and 15 rebounds as the Bulldogs (10-2) roared to a 41-18 halftime lead and cruised to a school-record eighth straight victory in the Bryant Holiday Classic at Smithfield, R.I.
Saint Anselm 78, New York Tech 51 - Fifteen different players scored, with Carleen Orawsky leading the way with 11 points, as the Hawks breezed to victory at the Bryant Holiday Classic.
Saint Anselm (4-7) built a 38-14 halftime lead and led by as many as 39 points in the second half.
Southern N.H. 68, New Haven 67 - Megan Shay's 3-pointer with 39 seconds remaining proved to be the winning basket as the Penwomen (5-6) held off the Chargers (5-5) in the second round of the San Diego Surf 'N' Slam.
AIC 59, Bloomfield 49 - At Springfield, Alexis Castro went 14 of 16 from the free throw line en route to 26 points, and Mirlande Francois grabbed 16 rebounds, boosting the Yellow Jackets to the win at the Sheraton Hall of Fame Classic.
Bentley 63, Barry 58 - At Miami Shores, Fla., Ashley Bruton scored all of her season-high 13 points during a game-ending 28-16 run as the Falcons (8-4) rallied for the victory in the second round of the Barry Holiday Classic. 