Harvard W. Hoops coach has cancer

The Harvard Chrimson CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard women's basketball coach Kathy Delaney-Smith is now facing her toughest battle to date. The longtime coach, now in her 18th year at Harvard, was diagnosed with breast cancer in mid-December after a doctor detected a lump in her right breast during a routine checkup. "It's not anything really, other than a little imposition," she said after coaching the Crimson to a 73-67 win over Dartmouth on Friday to open the Ivy League season. "I feel very healthy. I'm very optimistic. I have a lot of energy. Unfortunately, I have to go through the [treatment]." Delaney-Smith, who had surgery the week before Christmas, will begin chemotherapy treatment soon, followed by radiation. According to Jamie Weir, Harvard assistant director of sports media relations, a biopsy of the tissue yielded positive news. "The borders were clean and it had not spread to her lymph nodes," Weir said. Delaney-Smith does not expect to miss any games this season as the Crimson (7-5, 1-0 Ivy League) delves head first into their league schedule. Harvard hosts Yale and Brown this weekend. "I don't expect it to [keep me out]," she said. "I might miss a practice. Maybe, maybe not. I'm not missing a game. I will be fabulous for the weekend." Delaney-Smith broke the news to her team just before Christmas. "We were devastated that anything remotely bad had happened to Kathy," captain Laela Sturdy said. "We were really upset when we first found out. But if anyone can handle it, Kathy can." Sturdy says the cancer has not changed the way the team treats its coach. "It hasn't affected the way we look at her as a coach," Sturdy said. "We are just trying to be strong and supportive of her. It's just another small challenge in the road. We are just wishing her the best." Delaney-Smith is the winningest basketball coach in Harvard history, currently owning an all-time record of 254-198. Her 250th career win came November 28 with an 83-50 win over Sacred Heart. Friday's win over Dartmouth gave her 150 career Ivy League wins. Delaney-Smith, who has the longest current basketball coaching tenure in the Ivy League, has guided Harvard to six Ivy titles and recruited Harvard's greatest women's basketball player ever in 1998 graduate and WNBA player Allison Feaster. In Feaster's senior season, the Crimson made history when they upset Stanford in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament. It marked the first time a No. 16 seed had ever beaten a No. 1 seed in either the men's or women's NCAA Tournament. Delaney-Smith was the Ivy League Coach of the Year for the 1996-97 season after guiding the Crimson to a perfect 14-0 league record. It was the only time a team has gone undefeated in Ivy League women's basketball history.