Strong Start Sets Tone For Victory

It seemed like it was going to be easy for the Crimson women’s basketball team.

Junior Emma Markley directed the opening tip-off to sophomore point guard Brogan Berry, leading to a basket by freshman Victoria Lippert before 10 seconds had expired, and Harvard amassed nearly 20 points before Holy Cross got on the board.

Lippert and Markley were hitting their shots and would finish the half with 10 points apiece. It looked like the Crimson (4-3) would sail smoothly to an eventual 74-57 defeat of the Crusaders (3-5).

“I loved how we started, and I’m proud of how we started,” Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “It’s not unusual to get a big lead like that and then think that the game is over.”

But a change of winds was in store.

As the first half wore on, the Crimson appeared more and more comfortable with their seemingly-unchallenged lead, and Holy Cross started to fight its way back into the game.

The Crimson rode into halftime with a 16-point advantage, but the game was much more even.

The teams switched roles in the second half. This time, it was the Crusaders who got on the board first, with guard Brianna McFadden hitting two free throws to open the second period.

“I guess my halftime speech was awful,” Delaney-Smith said. “I’ll work on fixing [it].”

Holy Cross charged into the second half with an energy that was absent from its play in the opening minutes of the game. Harvard seemed unable to respond to the Crusaders’ increased intensity on defense, and its shots simply stopped falling.

“Too many of us are catching as passers and not catching as shooters,” Delaney-Smith said. “We’re catching the ball, and then getting low and looking to shoot. I want us to be catch-and-shoot people.”

On the other end of the court, the Crimson found itself in foul trouble, and Holy Cross capitalized on its trips to the line.

Crusaders forward Whitney Fremeau hit two free throws with 14:27 to go, narrowing the margin to three.

“I think the game is really about momentum,” Markley said. “The more energy you can bring to the court, the more energy from the bench, the more energy from the fans, whatever you can do to rile your team up is eventually what’s going to rule the game.”

With the score 40-37, the Crusaders took control of the game’s energy as well as its momentum.

“What we had to do was calm ourselves down, think about the fundamentals and focus on defense,” Markley said.

Fittingly, Harvard’s turnaround started on defense with a rebound from junior co-captain Claire Wheeler. On the following play, Berry slashed to the basket, where she was fouled.

The sophomore hit both of her shots.

“Brogan’s our rock,” Delaney-Smith said. “She’s the boss on the floor.”

Lippert was next on the board with a three-point shot at 12:53, followed by a Wheeler layup, putting Harvard back up by 10.

Never again would Holy Cross challenge the Crimson for the lead.

Harvard dominated the end of the game just as convincingly as it did from the tip-off.

Markley led the way with 18 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

“They had to double her to take her left shoulder away and they still couldn’t stop her,” Delaney-Smith said.

Berry was second in scoring with 16 points, and junior co-captain Christine Matera went 4-for-8 from beyond he three-point line. Lippert finished with 13, as four Harvard players scored in double digits.

“Everyone has to contribute,” Markley said. “It can’t be one or two players. Everyone’s got to bring it.”

The Crimson closed out the game with a 17-point margin of victory. Towards the end, the Crusaders lost the composure that had brought them within three, and Harvard finished the game as smoothly as it began it.

“We need to come out with a lot of intensity,” Markley said. “We did. We came out with a lot of energy in the first half. In the second half, it started to go back and forth, but we were able to pick ourselves up and finish strong.”