Women's Basketball Tops Fairfield, Helps Delaney-Smith Claim 550th Win

After a short Thanksgiving break, Harvard women’s basketball (4-1) found itself back in Cambridge to take on the Fairfield Stags (3-3). Heading into the matchup, the Stags led the series against the Crimson 9-2 and boasted a four-game winning streak against Harvard.

Consider that streak over. Harvard snapped its losing ways against the Stags, claiming a 58-44 victory. In doing so, the Crimson pushed a winning streak of its own to four games.

“I thought this was our first real dominant game,” said co-captain Destiny Nunley. “It felt good to pull away from a team for once and to have a feel good win and not have to be battling at the end of the game.”

The victory at Lavietes Pavilion not only gave the Crimson its fourth straight win but also gave head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith her 550th career victory. Delaney-Smith is the 45th coach in Division 1 women’s basketball history to reach 550 career wins.

“I didn’t even know it was 550. That’s good—that’s a lot of wins, huh?” Delaney-Smith said. “You know what’s really funny: I’m very proud of that, but I never think in terms of milestones.”

Although the historic mark may not have been a focus of Delaney-Smith or her squad, it was a moment that the players were happy to play a part in.

“We didn’t know, but I’m not surprised,” Nunley said. “She’s an amazing woman and even better coach. It just feels good to win for her, and we just want to see how many more we can get this season.”

Harvard freshman guard Katie Benzan sunk a three pointer in the closing minutes of Saturday night’s game. “She is cold! She is cold!” exclaimed a Harvard fan from the student section as the Crimson went up by six points.

Benzan as well as the rest of the Harvard squad had ice in their veins as the team finished the game with a 14-point margin of victory, the largest mark this year.

Fairfield remained in the game through the start of the fourth quarter, and with a little over five minutes left, Fairfield’s senior forward Kristine Miller made a lay-up to bring the Stags within four points of the Crimson. That was the last time Harvard allowed Fairfield to score the rest of the contest.

“I actually loved our defense,” Delaney-Smith said. “Our offensive execution was good [too]—good shots, and missed shots.”

Still, the Crimson missed a lot of shots. The team’s field-goal percentage on the night was 35 percent, falling well below the team average on the season. Harvard also shot 25 percent beyond the arc, making only four three-pointers. The performance definitely was a letdown for a team that averaged nine three-pointers a game coming into the contest.

“Unfortunately tonight, although we did win, it wasn’t our best shooting night,” co-captain Taylor Finley said. “We’ve definitely shot better, and we know we’re better shooters than we showed tonight.”

Despite Harvard’s rough night of shooting, its defense proved stout enough that the winners still ended the game with a higher field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and rebound total.

“Our coach makes sure to tell us to finish a play till we get the rebound or score,” Nunley said. “That’s what we work on in practice all the time. We’re crashing the boards till the play is dead.”

The Crimson collected 48 rebounds, with 15 off the offensive glass. Most teams would be happy with that production, but for Harvard it was merely a product of poor shooting.

“We adjusted to the fact that we weren’t hitting the shots that we normally do,” Nunley said. “In response we crashed really hard, and I don’t think they were expecting that. As a result, that sent us to the line a lot.”

The Crimson took 18 shots from the charity stripe and sunk 12 of them. Good free throw shooting in the midst of poor three-point shooting would prove essential for the Harvard triumph.

A notable performance came from off the bench as sophomore guard Sydney Skinner scored 14 points, matching her career high, in the contest. The Plano, TX native gave the Crimson the boost it needed, along with junior forward Taylor Rooks, who recorded six points, four blocks, and 10 rebounds

“Taylor Rooks [being] able to come in and drop a few points for us and give our team confidence is a beautiful thing,” Nunley said. “We haven’t had that [depth] in year’s past since I’ve been here, but this year we do and that’s really exciting.”