Harvard’s Win Is One for Books

Harvard hit the books--the record books.

The Crimson became the first 16th-seeded team to win an NCAA tournament game, men’s or women’s, by defeating top-seeded Stanford, 71-67, late Saturday night in the West Regional game at Stanford.

“I guess this means my name is going to go into some book now,” Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said.

Harvard, the Ivy League champion, won its first NCAA tournament game in three tries and also ended Stanford’s 59-game winning streak at Maples Pavilion.

Asked if she had ever had a bigger day, Delaney-Smith said: “My wedding day, maybe. I’m not even sure if that measures up.”

Harvard (23-4), led by Allison Feaster’s 35 points and 13 rebounds, advanced to a second-round game tonight against Arkansas.

“We still can’t believe that we did it,” Feaster said. “I finally realized we were going to beat them with 18 seconds left when we were up by five, but I also thought, ‘How many times have you seen a last-second shot win a game?’ ”

But the improbable became reality and Harvard’s players and coaches spilled onto the floor as the buzzer sounded, hugging and dancing in celebration.

“Maybe the chemistry wasn’t there tonight,” Stanford’s Olympia Scott said. “Obviously, we weren’t the same.”

Regan Freuen’s 19 points led injury-depleted Stanford (21-6), which played without Vanessa Nygaard and Kristin Folkl, both out because of knee injuries.

Before Harvard’s victory, top seeded teams were 75-0 against 16th-seeded teams in the women’s and men’s tournaments.

“Well, this isn’t what we planned,” Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer said. “Harvard had excellent play from Allison Feaster. You have to give them a lot of credit. We were tight. They doubled, tripled and quadrupled Olympia [Scott] in the middle, and we didn’t shoot well enough from the outside to counteract that.”

Notre Dame 74, Texas Tech 59--Ruth Riley scored all 23 of her points in the second half to lead the Irish (22-9) to an upset of the top-seeded Raiders (26-5) in the Midwest Regional at Lubbock, Texas.

Riley went nine for 12, using her 6-foot-5 frame to convert lob passes and tip-ins into easy baskets over the smaller Raiders. She missed all but one minute of the first half because of early foul trouble.

The game was close until midway through the second half when the Fighting Irish scored 12 consecutive points to take a 55-44 lead. The Raiders never threatened again.

North Carolina 85, Florida International 72--Tracy Reid became the Tar Heels’ all-time leading scorer with 17 points in a victory over the Golden Panthers (29-2) in the Mideast Regional at Chapel Hill, N.C.

The second-seeded Tar Heels (26-6) advanced to a regional semifinal for the fifth time in the last six years, and seventh-seeded Florida International (29-2) saw its 18-game winning streak snapped.

Reid, an All-American forward, has 2,160 points, surpassing Tonya Sampson’s school record of 2,143 set from 1991-94.

Arizona 94, Virginia 77--Adia Barnes had 30 points and Lisa Griffith scored 11 of her 17 points in the second half at Tucson as the Wildcats (23-6) withstood a rally in the East regional to keep Virginia (19-10) out of the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years.

Lisa Hosac had 29 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who fell short after staging a 20-6 run after falling behind, 62-37, with 12:51 remaining.

Connecticut 75, George Washington 67--Paige Sauer scored 23 points in the East Regional at Storrs, Conn., to lead the Huskies (33-2) to the round of 16 for the fifth consecutive year.

Third-ranked UConn shut down George Washington’s top scoring tandem of Noelia Gomez and Elisa Aguilar, who had eight points apiece after coming into the tournament averaging 17.6 and 17 points, respectively.

The Colonials finished 20-10.

Kansas 62, Iowa 58--Freshman Jennifer Jackson scored 15 points and Suzi Raymant added 13 at Iowa City, Iowa, to lead the Jayhawks (23-8) to an upset of Iowa in the West regional.

Kansas, making its seventh consecutive NCAA trip and ninth overall, advanced to the regional semifinals for the second time in school history and fourth-seeded Iowa finished the season at 18-11.

North Carolina State 88, Youngstown State 61--Chasity Melvin scored 19 points to lead five teammates in double figures at Raleigh, N.C., as the Wolfpack (23-6) downed Youngstown (28-3) in the the East Regional.

The loss ended a 12-game winning streak for the Penguins, the first Mid-Continent Conference team to get past the first round.

Old Dominion 75, Nebraska 60--Mery Andrade led a 15-2 run that boosted the Monarchs (29-2) past the Nebraska (23-10) in the East Regional at Norfolk, Va.

Andrade broke a 43-43 tie by making two free throws with 14:59 left, then added two jump shots and two more free throws, two assists and hustled to force a jump ball in the run, which gave Old Dominion a 58-45 lead.