Markley, Lippert Help Crimson Hold on for Win

With time for one last play and the Harvard women’s basketball team holding on to a two-point lead, Columbia All-Ivy forward Judie Lomax put up the final shot, confident that it would fall through the net to send the game into overtime.

What she didn’t know, apparently, was where Emma Markley was on the court.

Lomax’s hopes for a game-tying shot were quickly put to rest, as the Crimson junior forward put up a huge block that allowed Harvard (16-7, 7-2 Ivy) to escape Levein Gymnasium with a 69-67 win over Columbia (15-9, 6-4) on Saturday night.

“Emma said ‘no’ [to Lomax] big time,” freshman forward Victoria Lippert said. “That was a huge stop right there. It was a great finish.”

With Lomax on the court, the Lions had three possessions off offensive rebounds to convert the needed bucket. And though Lomax might have the advantage when it comes to rebounding, Markley did what she does best—block shots.

“I was pretty sure she was going to get the rebound,” Markley said. “When she got the ball, I decided to make sure that she wasn’t going to get the shot.”

Markley’s well-timed block was part of a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double performance–her sixth of the season—and it could not have come at a better time for the Crimson. The victory over Columbia solidified its second-place standing in the Ivy League and put the Lions—who entered the game with a one-game advantage over Harvard—in third. But as expected, the win did not come easily.

“Columbia was coming at us,” Lippert said. “We knew that we had to bring our A-game.”

The Lions opened up the first half with their signature full-court press. While the constant pressure from Columbia failed to stymie the Crimson from advancing the ball up the court, it was self-inflicted turnovers that prevented Harvard from taking a lead going into halftime.

“We had a couple of turnovers that didn’t really need to happen,” Lippert said. “When we were trying to fast break, our passes were a little bit off, and we didn’t quite finish.”

“For a while, we were playing very timidly,” Markley added. “We were afraid to shoot [the ball].”

Regardless, Harvard entered the break down by just one, 34-33, thanks to a buzzer-beating trey from sophomore point guard Brogan Berry.

Though the Crimson’s 14 first-half turnovers offset its 59.1-percent shooting clip, Harvard played stifling defense of its own, attacking the boards and limiting Lomax—the nation’s leading rebounder—to just one offensive rebound.

Lomax would eventually find her place inside the paint, dominating the second half with her 17-point, eight-rebound performance. But it was Lippert who stole the show.

The freshman sensation continued her impressive rookie campaign with a career-high 28 points on 9-for-11 shooting, including a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc.

“Sometimes you just get in the groove,” Lippert said. “I felt pretty good today, but this wouldn’t have happened without my teammates giving me the ball. They do a great job of finding me and getting me those open looks.”

“Victoria’s a phenomenal player,” Markley said. “She’s very strong, she can get to the hole, she can score. She’s always looking to get open, which makes her even more of a threat.”

Yet even Lippert’s outstanding effort was not enough to help the Crimson pull away from Columbia in the second half.

With 5:36 to go, Harvard used a 9-0 run to take a 62-55 lead, but Columbia responded with 10 unanswered points of its own to pull ahead by three.

But a trey and a pair of clutch free throws from Berry would pull the Crimson back ahead by two with just 47 seconds to go.

It wouldn’t be until Markley’s block–and the sound of the buzzer–that the win would be sealed for Harvard.

Having won its past four games by at least 15 points, the Crimson was forced to find a new way to win, and it succeeded.

“We always say one shot at a time,” Lippert said. “We had to focus on each individual possession and value it. We had to concentrate on each individual play, take the smart play on offense, and stay confident with making the decisions with our shooting.”

—Staff writer Kevin T. Chen can be reached at ktchen@fas.harvard.edu.