Familiar face on Dream eases transition for Harding

During their careers at Duke, teammates Lindsey Harding and Alison Bales left their mark on the Blue Devils basketball program. As seniors, Harding and Bales guided Duke to a 32-2 record, as the team reigned atop the polls for much of the 2006-07 season.

With Harding at point guard and Bales under the basket, they developed a chemistry that fostered their growth.

“I put a lot of pressure up top, and she was like our enforcer down low,” Harding said of their days at Duke. “Having that confidence that if I get beat she’s behind me, helped make me a great defensive player.”

When their senior season ended in a Sweet Sixteen loss to Rutgers in the NCAA tournament, Harding and Bales went their separate ways. Four years later, they’ve reunited on a Dream team that traded for Harding on draft day in April.

“It seems like we’ve spent a million hours practicing together,” Bales said. “We read each other very well, and we can predict where the other is going to be.”

Last season, the Dream made a WNBA finals appearance for the first time, but were swept in three games by the Seattle Storm. Coach Marynell Meadors saw the acquisition of Harding from Washington as an opportunity to provide the team with an extra boost and more depth at point guard.

“Lindsey was one of the pieces of the puzzle that our coaching staff talked about after the season was over last year in what we could do to improve our team,” Meadors said.

Harding has started eight games this season and averages 8.5 points. “As a point guard, you want to set everyone up,” Harding said. “But the truth of the matter is that I’m better when I’m either cutting hard or driving hard because then it opens it up for everyone else.”

Shalee Lehning ran the point for the Dream the past two seasons. This season, Lehning has moved into more of a secondary role, coming off the bench to provide a spark in relief of Harding.

“I think we’re a very fortunate basketball team to have two point guards,” Meadors said. “They complement each other, and they work together as a team within the team.”

Harding had two months to study the Dream’s playbook and familiarize herself with the tendencies of her teammates, but she has adapted quickly to the Dream’s style of play.

“Our team is a little bit different in that we really like to push the ball, and every guard can bring the ball up,” Bales said. “I think [Lindsey is] doing a really good job, especially now, in getting to know everybody else on the team and where they want the ball.”