Harvard Women's Hoops Starts Year With Win

The Harvard women’s basketball team kicked off 2012 in winning fashion on Tuesday, routing regional foe UMass, 68-47, at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass. Behind strong guard play and stingy defense against the Minutewomen (5-10), the Crimson (6-6) proved that it will be a force to be reckoned with down the stretch this season.

“It was our best game so far this year,” Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “We did a great job preparing for the game and playing as a team. We stuck to the scout and were consistent all four quarters.”

The Crimson began Tuesday’s contest hot from three-point range. Four Harvard starters converted from behind the arc to give the squad an early eight-point lead, 12-4. Though this streak didn’t continue, Harvard’s three-point shooting was far better than its season average of 28.7 percent—the team finished the contest making 45 percent of its shots from downtown.

“As individuals, we’ve all gone into the gym and taken advantage of the extra time we’ve had [on campus,]” sophomore guard Christine Clark said. “I think that translated into us making our threes [against UMass.]”

Sophomore guard Missy Mullins provided the Crimson with a spark off the bench in the first half, substituting in to score a quick six points on 3-of-3 shooting. The play of Mullins and the Harvard bench helped create separation in Tuesday’s contest. Harvard’s bench chipped in 21 points, while the Minutewomen’s reserves failed to reach double-digits, contributing a mere seven points.

“Players like [Mullins], [sophomore center Elise Gordon], and everyone that came off the bench came in and had a really strong defensive presence,” Clark said. “Our team fed off of their defensive stops.”

With 5:10 left in the first half, Harvard found itself on top, 21-12. Following a layup by sophomore center Elise Gordon, the Crimson closed out the half on an 18-3 run and never looked back.

Harvard co-captain Brogan Berry had a double-double against UMass, adding 10 assists to her 12 points. Sophomore guard Christine Clark and junior forward Emma Golen also scored double-digits, contributing 13 and 10 points, respectively.

“I was surprised that it was [Berry’s] first career double-double,” Clark said. “Coming out as a senior, she’s been playing tremendously well. I’m really happy that she was able to get her first career double-double, and the fact that we won makes it even better."

“[Berry] knows it’s her senior year,” Delaney-Smith added. “She’s stepping up and being a leader. She’s done that all year for us.”

Clark and junior forward Emma Golen also scored double-digits, contributing 13 and 10 points, respectively.

To kick off the second half, Golen and junior forward Victoria Lippert drained a pair of three-pointers to put Harvard up, 45-19. Buckets by Golen and Gordon gave the squad a 30-point lead, and co-captain Lindsay Louie put the Crimson on top by 32 points—its biggest lead of the game—with 6:10 remaining on the clock.

UMass cut the Harvard lead to 23 by putting together a 9-0 run with just over three minutes to play, but it was too little too late; the Crimson’s lead proved to be insurmountable.

Harvard’s balanced scoring stood in stark contrast with that of its regional rival, which was led by forward Shakia Robinson’s game-high 17 points and the 15 of center Jasmine Watson. Aside from the Minutewomen’s starting frontcourt, no UMass player chalked up more than five points.

“It’s surprising because UMass is more talented than some teams that we’ve lost to,” Delany-Smith said. “They have two forwards who are terrific and some guards who can really shoot the lights out. We locked them down. It wasn’t a one-on-one thing, it was an complete team effort.”

The Crimson defense held its opponent to under 50 points for the first time this season. Harvard tallied nine steals in the game, including three from Berry, and forced the Minutewomen to shoot 2-of-21 from behind the arc.

“As a team, we came in really focused on [UMass’] tendencies and what we had to do in order to have success,” Clark said. “Our defense was key.”

“Defense. Everything about [Tuesday’s] game was defense,” Delany-Smith added.

—Staff writer Dominic Martinez can be reached at dmartinez@college.harvard.edu.