Clark's 28 Points Lift Women's Basketball Over Northeastern

A sense of déjà vu swept over the Crimson bench. A large lead was once again disappearing, as the team’s cross-town rival began to storm back with an improbable comeback. Just 10 days ago, the Harvard women’s basketball team (6-1), had watched a 17-point lead get cut to just six points against Boston University, with less than six minutes to play.

Now, under the lights of the Cabot Center against a tough Northeastern squad (4-2), the Crimson was again watching as its 18-point lead turned to just a five-point difference, with only 35 seconds remaining.

But, just like last time, captain Christine Clark stepped to the free throw line, knocked down two clutch free throws, and stole the ball to secure the win, 81-74, for Harvard. The defensive effort from the Crimson was on full display Tuesday night in its sixth consecutive win, as the team forced 15 turnovers, which translated into 12 easy points.

“We came out with really good defense to start off the game and continued until about five minutes left in the half, where we started to get into foul trouble,” Clark said. “That defense built us the lead and we were able to sustain it throughout the rest of the game.”

The Achilles heel of the Crimson this season reemerged following halftime, as Harvard went cold, shooting an abysmal 0-4 out of the break. Northeastern took advantage of the Crimson’s early second-half woes, breaking out into a 8-0 run to make it a two-possession game.

The Huskies’ guard Kazzidy Stewart led the charge for the home team, as she shot 50%, including five threes to reach 25 points on the night. Guard A'Lece Mark added 19 points for Northeastern, just a shade under her season average of 19.8 points per game.

“It is just being able to sustain that intensity throughout 40 minutes,” Clark said. “Once we do that, we will be really good.”

Despite a weak start out of halftime, the Crimson’s hot shooting kept the team in the game—Harvard shot 49% on the night, while Northeastern hit just 36% of its shots. Harvard continued to force turnovers, but the team was plagued by its own sloppy play as it tallied 24 turnovers.

“They stepped up their defensive pressure in the second half, and we were caught off guard,” junior guard Ali Curtis said. “They threw a full court press at us, and we tried to break it our traditional way, but they were taking away a lot of our normal looks.”

Down 6-5 at the start, Harvard suddenly turned on the jets, waking up and breaking out on a 9-0 run and forcing a Huskies timeout only a little over five minutes into the night.

The Crimson continued to dominate the tempo and play of the game, stroking the ball 9-12 from the floor and pushing its lead to 13. Harvard also continued its trend of shooting more threes, as it was able to knock down nine from behind the arc.

“I noticed they were sitting in a zone and all of my points were off threes,” said Curtis, who shot 4-6 from deep. “We move the ball very well and a lot of possessions we had everyone touch the ball.”

With less than eight minutes remaining in the half, the Crimson had increased its lead to 14, as Curtis managed to score. Curtis would finish the night with a career-high 16 points, 11 of which came in the initial 20 minutes of play.

“Ali was great tonight,” Clark said. “She played so well and helped us handle the pressure. She knocked down some big shots and without her 16 points it would have been a much different game.”

Coming off winning Ivy League Player of the Week, junior forward Temi Fagbenle, the former Ivy League Rookie of the Year, showed once again how effective she can be when healthy, as she finished the night with her ninth double-double of the season, 12 points and 12 boards. The junior was a constant presence around the rim, helping the team outrebound the Huskies, 43-32.

Clark reminded fans why she has been Harvard’s offensive answer this season, as she dropped 15 points in the first half, to give the Crimson a 50-37 lead. The captain would finish with 28 points, tying her career-high on a night when Harvard needed it.

“[I was] knocking down a few more shots then I have in the past few games,” Clark said. “I didn’t approach the game any differently.”