Shake-Up Lights Fire Under Crimson

Less than two minutes into the second half of the Harvard women’s basketball team’s 85-68 win against Boston University (3-4) at Lavieties Pavilion yesterday, the Crimson (5-3) found itself staring down a 41-30 deficit and a hot Terriers squad that was riding a 7-2 run to open the frame. With her team on the verge of completely losing control of the contest, Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith decided that it was time to make a statement.

“I thought we were sluggish, tired—no fight or intensity,” Delaney-Smith said. “[We had a] very slow start to the second half. That’s just wrong because we are a good team.”

Looking to start a fire in her squad, Delaney-Smith removed all of her starters from the game and sent her bench out onto the court.

“I don’t think the starters liked it when I pulled them all out that early,” the coach said.

The move worked. The Crimson reserves began to chip away at the BU lead, and when the starters returned three minutes later, the lesson had been learned.

Sophomore guard Brogan Berry converted a three-point play immediately after checking in and proceeded to lead Harvard on a relentless comeback effort.

Berry scored 11 of her game-high 19 points over the next six minutes, laying in the tying shot with 9:07 left in the game and then assisting Claire Wheeler’s three-pointer that put the Crimson up, 56-53.

“I think the comeback was sparked by the coaches,” Berry said. “We knew we were playing bad and that we needed to come together.”

Harvard’s resurgence was partly the product of Berry’s explosive performance and her teammates’ timely shots—such as a three-pointer from junior Jackie Alemany with 14:17 left in the half that cut a 10-point Terrier lead to seven and prevented BU from running the score up—but the Crimson comeback wouldn’t have been possible without improved play on the defensive end.

After BU exposed holes in Harvard’s zone, Delaney-Smith switched to man-to-man.

“They were killing our zone, and [we had] matchup issues in our man, but if we dug in, then there weren’t matchup issues, so we ended up liking our man,” Delaney-Smith said.

Behind its defense, the Crimson completely reversed the momentum of the game. Junior forward Emma Markley led Harvard with 10 rebounds in the game, while Alemany and Wheeler cleaned the glass with six and five, respectively. Alemany pickpocketed the Terriers to the tune of five steals, and five Crimson players recorded a block.

“BU came out hard, and we weren’t prepared,” Berry said. “In the first half and first five minutes [of the second half]...we didn’t come to play, but it really showed a lot of fight in our team that in the last 15 minutes, we played with tough defense and came together as a team.”

With its defense fortified, Harvard took to lighting up the scoreboard. After taking the lead with 8:22 left in the second half, the Crimson finished the contest on a 29-13 tear.

Alongside leading scorer Berry, Markley and junior Christine Matera posted 16 points apiece, and Wheeler contributed 14 of her own.

Harvard closed out the win, making BU the second local rival that the Crimson has beaten this season. The squad upset Boston College, 82-81, in its first game.

“This was such a good win,” Wheeler said.

“We’re trying to beat all the Boston teams and prove ourselves to be the best in area.”

But even in victory, Delaney-Smith was less than satisfied with her team’s performance.

“I guess if I look at the overall picture, a win is always good,” Delaney-Smith said.

“I would’ve thought we were closer to establishing an identity as a team but, after this game, I’m a little disappointed.”

Harvard is now 4-0 at home this season and has the chance to oust yet another Boston foe, Northeastern, on Wednesday in its final game before reading period.

—Staff writer Loren Amor can be reached at lamor@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer B. Marjorie Gullick can be reached at gullick@college.harvard.edu.