SPORTS BRIEF: Women's Basketball Narrowly Tops Hofstra

It came down to the wire at Hofstra on Saturday, when the Harvard women’s basketball team went on an 11-6 run in overtime to seal the win, 70-67.

Up by six with less than three minutes to go in regulation, the Crimson fought to hold onto its lead. But with 13 seconds on the clock, the Pride tied up the game with a pair of free throws by senior forward Shante Evans, who had a game-high 24 points for Hofstra.

Harvard fell behind in the opening seconds of the overtime period after Pride sophomore forward Anma Onyeuku hit a jumper and followed it up with a driving layup 20 seconds later.

Senior forward Victoria Lippert, who finished the night with a game-high and season-high 21 points, put the Crimson within one with her third three pointer of the game. With 38 seconds to play, Lippert drew a foul and hit back-to-back free throws, giving Harvard its first lead of the period. As the clock wound down, junior guard Christine Clark sunk two from the charity stripe to end the game.

Defense was crucial in the Crimson’s third straight victory. Harvard held Hofstra to 35 percent shooting from the field in the first half and 39 in the second, which allowed the team to stay in the game despite being outscored 30-23 in the second period.

After the Crimson jumped out to a four-point lead to open the match, the next 15 minutes were a contentious back-and-forth battle in which there were 12 lead changes. Harvard took control in the last five minutes and went on a 9-2 run to close out the period up by seven.

The Pride came back reinvigorated after the break, chipping away at the Crimson’s lead and tying up the score at 41 with 12 minutes to play. After trading points for the next four minutes, Harvard opened up a six-point lead—its biggest lead of the half—on a three pointer by Lippert.

In its sixth win of the season, the Crimson topped Hofstra in shooting percentage across the board. Harvard also benefited from its depth, with 12 bench points to the Pride’s two. Despite going 0-2 from the charity stripe, junior guard Melissa Mullins led the bench with six points in 21 minutes on the court.