In Game of Runs, Crimson Streaks Past Bumbling Bears

A flurry of three-pointers in the first half provided the Harvard women’s basketball team (16-8, 8-2 Ivy) a lead that it would not relinquish, resulting in a 72-59 victory over Brown.

The squad’s relentless play and rebounding avenged an earlier 57-56 road loss to the Bears (7-18, 3-8) on Feb. 12.

“There was added motivation because we were pretty disappointed with the loss at [Brown],” co-captain Christine Matera said. “I wouldn’t say [there was added] pressure—just motivation. But I mean, every game is important at this stage.”

Sophomore Victoria Lippert led the Harvard offense with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-6 from the beyond the arc. The Crimson capitalized on the Bears’ 23 turnovers, which turned into 34 points for Harvard.

“She can do it inside; she can do it outside,” said Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. “She can do it at the line and she was hitting her threes. I think Vic did a nice job tonight.”

Both teams started slow with a layup from Bears sophomore Lauren Clarke being the only points either team scored in the first two and a half minutes of the game.

The teams then traded baskets resulting in seven lead changes in the first nine and a half minutes. A Lippert three-pointer with 11:31 left in the first half gave Harvard a 13-12 lead and started a 19-2 run for the Crimson. The rally, which lasted about four minutes, set the score at 29-14.

Harvard’s streak was led by the hot shooting of Lippert and Matera. The two teammates highlighted the Crimson’s three-point shooting in the first half with both going perfect from downtown.

During the run, Lippert scored 10 points while Matera scored six. With 9:49 remaining in the first half, the co-captain made a three that gave the Crimson a 20-14 lead and started a run of four consecutive treys by Matera and Lippert.

“[Junior guard] Brogan [Berry] did a fine job of setting me [up for] the threes,” Lippert said. “[Matera] was hitting shots. Those shots don’t always go in, but it’s sure nice when they do. Great momentum-builder to be able to do that.”

Harvard never trailed after the run, but Brown, after regrouping during a timeout, came out and responded with 12-2 run of its own, making the score, 31-26, with 4:03 remaining in the first half.

The Bears had five different players hit shots in the run, highlighted by back-to-back threes by sophomore guards Sheila Dixon and Lindsay Nickel.

Nickel led the Bears with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from downtown. Brown held the Crimson to only one basket in a span of three minutes and 49 seconds during the Bears’ run.

A strong drive by freshman guard Christine Clark got her to the free-throw line and two points to stop the run.

Brown further closed the gap with an 8-2 run capped off by a Nickel three-pointer that cut Harvard’s lead to one with a halftime score of 35-34.

“One of the things was to stop their threes and buckle down on defense and get one stop at a time,” Lippert said. “Just come out with momentum and keep it for the rest of the half. Have no letdowns and just take it on our home court and defend our house.”

The Crimson came out of halftime and responded with a 5-0 run while playing strong defense, holding the Bears scoreless for the first three minutes and 40 seconds of the half.

After Brown’s first bucket by Hannah Passafuime’s three-pointer, Harvard went on a 10-3 run, which pushed the lead to 50-40 with 13:34 remaining in the game.

But once again, the Bears responded to the Crimson’ streak with an Aileeen Daniels three-point play and a Nickel trey, cutting the score, 50-46.

“I think it was a game of runs,” Matera said. “We had opportunities where we brought the lead to double digits, and then they would bring the score back down to four to six point. So we were looking to extend the lead at those times where we got it to like 10 or 13 points, and it just didn’t happen. They played a really hard game, and we weathered their runs.”

Another Harvard run pushed the score to 57-47 with 9:45 left in the period. Brown never got within six points the rest of the night, keyed by strong free-throw shooting from Berry, who made 5-of-6 down the stretch to ensure the victory.

“I’m proud; I thought we played like champions,” Delaney-Smith said. “I thought that we handled the pressure and felt that we came together. I loved the fact that we took care of the ball and did not have a lot turnovers; we took good shots for the most part, and our defense was tough.”