Overtime Spoils Crimson Comeback

It was a night of disappointment for the Harvard women’s basketball team after its near comeback was foiled by the University of New Hampshire (3-1) last night.

After a slow start to the game, the Crimson (2-2) had a successful run in the second half that led to an overtime with the Wildcats.

But the effort did not prove to be enough as Harvard was defeated 78-65 at the end of the overtime period.

“We’re pretty disappointed again,” Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “We thought we could win this one, but instead we’re leaving with an overtime loss.”

Junior Emma Markley led Harvard with 21 points, but New Hampshire had the momentum from the opening whistle, jumping out to an early 15-3 lead.

The Crimson, on the other hand, had trouble putting points on the scoreboard.

“We started shooting poorly in the first half and that got under our skin,” Delaney-Smith said. “But we just can’t get discouraged so quickly, we have too many other ways to put the ball in the basket.”

“Inconsistency was definitely an issue throughout the game,” junior forward Jackie Alemany said. “We miss a few shots and we get down–it’s just not smart basketball.”

In the opening half, Harvard shot a dismal 16.7 percent from the field and was 0-7 from behind the three-point line.

Its first field goal did not come until 8:48 left in the half, off of a basket from Markley.

The Crimson was able to gain some ground thanks to Wildcat fouls late in the first half.

In the final six minutes of the period, Harvard appeared at the foul line five times–picking up seven points from the stripe–to begin closing the double-digit scoring gap.

At the end of the opening half, the Crimson had recovered to make it a 29-20 game.

And Harvard, propelled by a three-point play by Markley with less than 30 seconds left, carried all the momentum into the locker room.

“We came out in the first half and had a low shooting percentage, but we were able to come back from a big deficit,” Alemany said.

Unlike the first half, the Crimson took control in the opening minutes of the second period, and pulled to within three after a steal and layup from Alemany.

The early rally did not last, though, as New Hampshire reestablished its double digit lead off of a three pointer and shots from the foul line.

But Harvard had one last run to make, an admirable second half comeback that unfortunately was overshadowed by the loss.

Started by a three-point shot from junior co-captain Christine Matera, the comeback consisted of a 14-2 Crimson run that tied the game at 53 with 3:43 left on the clock in regulation. Harvard gained its first lead of the game with just over three minutes to play courtesy of a three-pointer from sophomore point guard Brogan Berry. With three seconds left in the second half and the Crimson ahead by one point, the Wildcats sent the game into overtime after making the second shot of a pair of free throws.

“That was a great comeback in the second half,” Delaney-Smith said. “It showed the fight we had.”

But Harvard lost its fight in overtime, as the Crimson was outscored 20-7 in the extra period.

Overtime began with three defensive errors from Harvard and a pair of threes from New Hampshire. The momentum that the Crimson had gained throughout the second half withered into a disappointing overtime performance.

“UNH appeared to want it a little more than we did,” Delaney-Smith said.

After a night plagued by inconsistency, Harvard will hope to recall the spark it had for the final few minutes of the second half but sustain it for entire games, rather than just flashes.

“The comeback was one of the main points of the game where we really came together,” Matera said. “But we need that the whole 40 minutes.”