W. Basketball Stifles Yale Offense

The lopsided score seemed to suggest that the Bulldogs gave up before the game even started.

The Harvard women’s basketball team (16-7, 8-2 Ivy) crushed Yale (5-19, 2-9) in a 67-30 blowout Friday night at New Haven’s John J. Lee Amphitheater.

After the Crimson held Yale scoreless for the last 10 minutes of the first half of regulation, and built a 44-12 halftime lead upon a 22-0 first-half run, the Bulldogs never really had a chance.

The night, however, actually belonged to junior reserve Maureen McCaffery, who came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points. Even more impressive was the fact that she put up the points in only 26 minutes of action and on six-of-seven shooting from three-point range. The entire team had only eight three-pointers in the entire game.

“She was in the zone,” junior guard Jessica Holsey, who picked up seven points along with three assists. “[As a teammate] you definitely look for the hot shooters. She’s definitely one of the best shooters on our team.”

“A lot of people are capable of having a night like [McCaffery’s],” Holsey added.

Harvard’s stifling defense held Yale to 17.2 percent shooting from the field—including 14.8 percent in the first half. By the second half, it was clear that the Crimson had thoroughly confused the Bulldogs offense. Yale put up 37 shots in the second-half but made only seven, and went 0-for-5 from behind the arc.

“They started trying threes,” said junior guard Laura Robinson, who scored seven points and handed out a game-high six assists. “If those aren’t hitting, you can’t do anything.”

The Bulldogs’ futility in the scoring department was the worst that Harvard has forced in 25 years. The Crimson held Eastern Nazarene to 28 points in 1979.

“We were just clicking really well,” Holsey said. “It was really fun out there.”

Senior center Reka Cserny was again impressive, garnering her seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and ten rebounds. She also had five of eight total steals for Harvard.

The Crimson’s stingy defense, which forced 23 Yale turnovers, provided a valuable boost to its offense, as Harvard shot 53.8 percent from the field in the first half. The Crimson was on a “zone on a make, man on a miss” defense according to Robinson. That played a big part in bewildering Yale, which did not know which defense to expect.

“Everyone does their part,” Robinson said. “Everyone was boxing out, everyone was staying in front. That’s what happens.”

For Yale, the only bright spot was Chinenye Okafor, who recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Remarkably, 10 of those boards came on the offensive end.

For Harvard, the team is coming together and at just the right time.

“Everyone is more comfortable,” Robinson said. “You kind of have an idea of where others are, which helps with assists.”

Now within one game of first-place Dartmouth, Harvard has ridden its team depth within striking distance of an Ivy League championship.