Harvard Snaps Losing Streak With Win Over Binghamton

The only thing Harvard women’s basketball guard Lindsay Hallion seemed to miss Friday night was her tooth. The sophomore, who tallied a career-high 17 points and eight rebounds, helped the Crimson snap its eight game losing streak in a 71-62 victory over Binghamton, even after she lost a front tooth with 10:33 left in the first half. Three other Harvard players reached double figures in the Crimson’s first victory since November 22.

After falling behind early, Harvard (3-9) grabbed its first lead, 25-22 with 6:57 left in the first half on a three-point play by Hallion. The Crimson went on a 14-4 run, punctuated by back-to-back threes by sophomore Lauren Freid and senior Shana Franklin, to grab a commanding 39-26 lead with two minutes left on the clock. The Bearcats (6-4) added two free throws to finish the half at 41-31.

Harvard’s defensive pressure confused Binghamton throughout the night, and held the Bearcats, ranked 17th in the country in field goal percentage, to 25% shooting from the field in the first half. Although it started the game strong, Binghamton missed its last 10 shots of the half— its final field goal was a three from guard Shea Kenny with 11 minutes left. Harvard head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith attributed the Bearcat’s drought to improved defensive pressure by the Crimson.

“We’ve been focusing on strong defensive pressure and teamwork,” Delaney-Smith said. “I think we did a great job with both for the most part. We’ve been trying to get more team defense with more help and a better rotation inside. I think they were surprised by our pressure. They’re a good offensive team, but we did a good job making the entry pass difficult.”

It was the Crimson defense and composure down the stretch that ultimately won the game for Harvard. The Bearcats opened the second half with a 14-7 run, capped off by a trey by sophomore guard Laura Sario, to close the gap to only three, 48-45, with over 14 minutes remaining. Although the momentum seemed to be swinging to Binghamton’s favor, Harvard answered with two free throws from Hallion and three pointer by senior Laura Robinson—who notched 12 points in the game—to stretch the Crimson lead back to eight.

“Our defense and rebounding were awesome,” co-captain Maureen McCaffery added. “We were a lot more aggressive on the boards and did a great job boxing out. Everything finally came together for all 40 minutes.”

Down by four with three minutes left, the Bearcats attempted to fluster Harvard with full court pressure. Although several questionable calls, such as a charge by freshman Emily Tay (10 points), went in Binghamton’s favor, it failed to convert several field goal attempts that could have swung the game to its favor. As the Bearcats desperately tried to regain possession and the lead by committing fouls, the Crimson appeared unaffected by the pressure in nailing five of seven free throw shots to close out the game. McCaffery, banged up by the Bearcat’s rough fouls, was 4 of 4 from the line down the stretch—and 6 of 7 for the game—in notching twelve points and seven rebounds. Robinson’s free throw with seven seconds left would be the last point of the game, and, as the buzzer sounded on a Crimson victory, the players stormed the court in jubilation.

“This win was so big for us,” Hallion said. “We needed to get the ball rolling and get more confidence heading into Monday and then next weekend in our first Ivy League game against Dartmouth. They say that winning cures all. Things haven’t been going our way, and that little bit of confidence will help us a lot.”

Harvard will continue its nine-game homestand on Monday with a game against Colgate at 7 p.m.