Bulldogs Upend Crimson’s Hopes for Outright Title

They were one win away. One win separated the Harvard women’s basketball team from a repeat of its status as the sole Ivy League champions.

But that one win slipped away.

The Crimson (18-10, 11-3 Ivy) entered Yale’s John J. Lee Amphitheatre in control of its fate. As the clock ticked down on the regular season, however, the Bulldogs (7-22, 7-7 Ivy) took that control away in a painful 64-58 defeat Saturday night.

“We had everything to win,” Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “They had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Harvard’s rarely in that role and Yale’s always in that role. We had it in our control and we played tight.”

Although ownership of the paint belonged to Harvard—the Crimson scored 24 points and grabbed 46 rebounds to the Bulldogs’ 18 and 32, respectively—Yale’s defensive efforts held Harvard to 32.8 percent shooting from the field.

“They’re a very good defensive team,” junior guard Niki Finelli said. “We didn’t match their toughness tonight.”

Yale, led by sophomore guard Melissa Colborne’s 16 points, shot for 37.8 percent. Colborne shot her team-leading average and went 6-for-6 on free throws.

“We kept a forward on [Colborne], especially on the post,” senior forward Adrian Budischak said. “They played well. Not to take anything from them, but we hurt ourselves.”

An unusually high number of fouls, which granted the Bulldogs numerous scoring opportunities, plagued the Crimson throughout the game. Yale took advantage of Harvard’s foul trouble, scoring on 24 of its 35 free throws.

Despite the mistakes, the squad jogged into the locker room with a 30-29 lead and pushed it to 36-29 with 18:24 to go in the second half.

But this advantage would not last for long. The two teams traded leads for the most of the second half, as a combination of Harvard mistakes and Yale’s defensive presence kept the game close.

With less than five minutes left, the two teams were tied 52-52. Yale pulled away on a 6-0 run, forcing the Crimson to come from behind with time running out.

“[The last few minutes] were hell. It changed from us being in the driver’s seat to playing catch up,” said co-captain Lindsay Hallion, who led the team with 15 points.

With 30 seconds remaining, Finelli drained a three to bring the Crimson to within one point of the Bulldogs, 59-58. Co-captain Jessica Knox committed a foul to stop the clock, and after Yale missed the two ensuing free throws, Harvard’s had a chance to take to last shot.

Instead, the rebound put the ball back in the hands of the Bulldogs, and Harvard once again fouled. This time Yale made both free throws, bringing its lead to 61-58.

Back in possession with 24 seconds to score, the Crimson took the ball up court. Junior forward Liz Tindal took control and tossed up a would-be three.

“We had a lot of chances to win, as poorly as we played,” Delaney-Smith said. “Tindal almost had a three. That would have tied it up, but it went around the rim and out. Then we missed the rebound. That was a big moment.”

In the remaining few seconds, Harvard missed on another jumper and failed to sink two free throws.

In the meantime, Yale made three free throws after a pair of Crimson fouls, bringing the final score to 64-58.

Game over.

“They got momentum in the second half and they got it at the right time,” Hallion said. “We didn’t get it back. We made some tough fouls and we didn’t connect well. We had everything we wanted for the whole season in our hands and we let it slip away.”

With its loss to Yale, Harvard nonetheless earns the status of Ivy League champion. Instead of sole ownership, however, the Crimson must share its 10th conference title with Cornell and Dartmouth.

Both of those teams entered the weekend tied for second in the league, and after winning their respective games, both teams now share a piece of the championship. On Saturday Cornell (18-10, 11-3 Ivy) made quick work of Princeton, winning 76-59, while Dartmouth (14-14, 11-3 Ivy) squeaked by Brown, 51-48.

As for the other implication of this weekend’s games—the NCAA tournament berth—Harvard must now knock off its co-champions if it hopes to go to the Big Dance. The Ivy League will announce playoff scenarios in the coming days.