Women's Basketball Edges Brown, Stays Unbeaten at Home

A halftime proposal. The return of the program’s storied alumni. Breast cancer awareness night. The atmosphere was raucous, and it helped propel the Harvard women’s basketball team to a 69-59 win at Lavietes Pavilion over visiting Brown.

“The [atmosphere] was wild,” said captain Destiny Nunley. “In the beginning in our huddle, right before we go on the court, I said ‘Let’s play for everyone who’s worn a Harvard jersey.’ I hope that inspired everyone. We wanted to win for the alumni.”

In front of its largest crowd of the season, the Crimson (17-3, 5-2 Ivy) was able to overcome a number of runs by the Bears (13-7, 4-3) to break its two-game losing streak. It was, in a sense, a matchup that would help decide which of the two teams would contend for the conference title this season, and it appears Harvard answered that question.

The game was tight throughout, and it wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter that the Crimson finally put the nail in Brown’s coffin. Six straight points from Bears freshman Justine Gaziano, their leading scorer on the season and deliverer of 16 on the night, cut the lead to just one with 7:53 remaining. A clutch three by sophomore guard Nani Redford followed by a trademark Nunley baseline jumper provided some breathing room before Harvard suffocated the game, allowing zero points between the 6:31 and 1:47 marks of the final quarter.

“For us, we put most of our emphasis on defense,” said Nunley. “Every game that we won, it was because of our defense. I think that must be something that is different from other teams, because we put an emphasis on defense.”

Both teams pushed the pace at the start of the game, averaging a shot attempt every 15 seconds. Freshman center Jeannie Boehm was effective finding the open teammate early on, with all three of her assists coming in the first quarter. Boehm finished with 11 points, five rebounds, three blocks, and two steals on the night.

As Brown settled into the game and made adjustments, Harvard struggled to react. Turnovers and poor outside shot selection allowed the Bears to come back into the game after a tough start. A pair of threes by freshman guard Katie Benzan tied things up at 16 as the first frame expired.

“We want to go inside, but [our guards] were shoving it down Jeannie’s throat and they weren’t seeing the floor,” coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “I’d like a little less of that since she’s a freshman… she doesn’t always compose and look and then make her decision. She found [players] diving, but then Brown took it away, and Jeannie wanted to still make that pass and it wasn’t there. She needs to find the composure and look for the shooters on the perimeter.”

The Crimson started the second quarter strong, forcing Brown into offensive mistakes and taking advantage at the other end. Benzan and junior forward Taylor Rooks combined for Harvard’s first 11 points of the frame and helped stretch the lead to nine, 29-20, midway through the quarter. A trio of Bears threes, fueled by sophomore guard Shayna Mehta, who had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists on the night, helped cut the halftime deficit to just three.

Gaziano, Benzan’s main competition for Ivy League Rookie of the Year, and sophomore guard Taylor Will combined to reverse the Crimson’s strong start to the third quarter, propelling Brown to a 10-2 run which saw the Bears take their first lead since the first quarter with 2:33 left in the third. Allowing opponents back into games has been a common theme for Harvard this season, something that has prevented the Crimson from blowing teams out.

“[Extending leads] is what we need to learn how to do,” said Delaney-Smith. “This week I think we’ll spend working on stretching the lead.”

Lockdown fourth quarter defense and a couple of big buckets by Nunley helped seal the deal for the hosts, allowing Harvard to return to its winning ways after seeing its 16-game win streak end in disappointing fashion last weekend.

—Staff writer Manav Khandelwal can be reached at manav.khandelwal@thecrimson.com.