Women's Basketball Bests Brown, Drops Heartbreaker To Yale

Harvard (10-7, 2-1 Ivy League) started its weekend road split with a heartbreaking defeat at the buzzer at the hands of the Bulldogs (13-6, 3-1 Ivy League). The Crimson saw its five game winning streak come to an end, however Harvard bounced back the following day with a dominant 100-83 victory against Brown.

HARVARD 100, BROWN 83

Coming off of a devastating loss at the hands of its conference rival, the Crimson went into its game against the Bears focused and motivated to secure a victory. Harvard’s leading scorer, junior guard Katie Benzan, addressed the team’s resilient mentality against Brown.

“We were very determined to get a win on Saturday,” said Benzan. “Our frustration and anger came out against Brown.”

The Wellesley native demonstrated this fierce mindset with her offensive explosion of 25 points, nearly surpassing her career high of 27 points. Senior captain Madeline Raster also had a strong contribution to the Crimson’s potent offensive attack with 20 points of her own. Raster alluded to the team’s assurance as a catalyst for its high scoring this game.

“Our team had a lot of confidence in our offense and felt good about our shooting against their 2-3 zone,” said Raster.

The Harvard offense flourished against the Bears with stellar play from sophomore forward Jadyn Bush and senior forward Jeannie Boehm, both of whom recorded double-doubles to help the Crimson on both ends of the court.

The game started out with neither team being able to get the edge over the other. There were six ties and four lead changes in the first quarter alone, as both teams’ offenses had great performances. Harvard’s four triples in the first quarter allowed the team to get out to an early 25-23 lead.

The game continued to be tight in the second quarter, as Brown rattled off seven straight points to start the period and had the lead for most of the quarter. Sharpshooter Katie Benzan would answer back with three straight triples to tie the game at 48-48 going into halftime.

The Crimson was able to pull away in the third thanks to a stalwart defensive performance where they held the Bears to only 10 points. Raster hit back to back triples to push the lead to double digits and the team entered the final frame with a 73-58 lead. Harvard continued their relentless offense in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory with a final score of 100-83.

YALE 65, HARVARD 62

The Crimson were in a back and forth affair for the majority of Friday’s game at the Lee Amphitheater. Their offense was clicking from the outset in a game that saw four Harvard players record double digit points. Jadyn Bush and Madeline Raster had 12 points apiece, while Jeannie Boehm and Katie Benzan contributed 11 of their own.

The teams traded baskets in the first quarter, with Yale having the lead for the majority of the period thanks to an early 5-2 run. Back to back triples from Raster and senior Sydney Skinner cut the deficit to one, to give the Crimson momentum heading into the second period

The second quarter was just as back and forth as the first, as there were four lead changes in the period alone. Harvard continued to rely on its balanced attack, led by Raster’s seven first half points. The team went into the half down 32-31, but plenty confident they would be able to continue their strong performance in the second half.

The Crimson defense led the charge in the third quarter holding the Bulldogs to only 11 points. The defensive efforts were led by Boehm who grabbed seven rebounds for the game. The offense was not as potent as it was in the first half, but was enough to keep Yale from stealing the lead for a majority of the second half.

The two teams continued to battle in a very tight game before Yale started to pull away with a seven point lead that came off of four straight baskets. Senior captain Madeline Raster did everything she could to prevent a Bulldogs win, by hitting two game-tying baskets in the final minute. Unfortunately, her efforts would not be enough, as Yale hit a buzzer beater at the end of the game to secure a 65-62 victory.

Following the game, Katie Benzan remarked on the team’s play down the stretch.

“We were very disappointed in Friday’s loss”, said Benzan. “We knew that we had that game in our hands and we just let it slip through.”

Next week, Harvard continues its road trip with back to back games at Columbia on Friday, and at Cornell on Saturday. Look for the Crimson to keep up their strong conference play on their way to an Ivy League Championship.

— Staff writer Mahtab Shihab can be reached at mahtab.shihab@thecrimson.com.