Crimson Ends On a High Note

A Dartmouth three-pointer and two free throws put the Big Green within three points of Harvard with less than two minutes to play in last night’s Ivy League matchup, though the Crimson had led the Big Green by a comfortable margin until the last few minutes of play.

Fortunately for Harvard, sophomore point guard Brogan Berry nailed two free throws, shooting one-and-one with 41 seconds remaining to seal the Crimson lead over Dartmouth. Harvard (20-8, 11-3 Ivy) earned its 20th win of the season with a 64-59 victory over the Big Green (11-17, 6-8 Ivy) at Lavietes Pavilion.

Though the Crimson never trailed the Big Green, Dartmouth forged a comeback in the last five minutes. Freshman guard Faziah Steen led the surge for the Big Green with 23 points, shooting 9-of-14 from behind the arc.

“They really locked it down on defense at the end of the game,” junior co-captain Christine Matera said. “We had too many fouls…We need to move our feet better and not reach as much, because we let them back in the game scoring when the clock was stopped.”

Harvard was able to end the game with a win, thanks to a balanced and composed offensive effort. Matera led the team in scoring with 17 points—including an impressive five-of-eight in three-pointers—and five Crimson players scored a least ten points.

Freshman guard Victoria Lippert, who shot four-of-eight from the field, made an impact for Harvard late in the game, hitting a three-pointer with 4:30 left to play to put the Crimson up 59-48 and stop Dartmouth from gaining momentum. Berry distributed the ball well, recording a game-high ten assists, in addition to six points of her own.

“I thought we did a lot of good things tonight,” said Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. “I thought we mostly made good decisions on the offensive end. It was on the defensive end that there were times we made errors that I don’t like my team to make.”

Freshman forward Miriam Rutzen also came up big for the Crimson last night with a career-high 11 points, along with four blocks and three steals.

Harvard began the contest with a bang, starting out with a 6-2 run and leading by as much as 12 in the first half.

“We came out really strongly, attacking both on defense and offense,” Matera said. “That was something we were looking to do. I think the last game we came out more on our heels and they set the tempo, so we were looking to come out on fire.”

Junior guard Jackie Alemany had an especially strong first half, starting the game’s scoring with a three-pointer and contributing to the Crimson’s first nine points. Alemany shot four-of-eight from the field and was two-of-three from behind the arc, contributing 10 points and four assists for Harvard.

“Jackie has been a gamer for us,” Delaney-Smith said. “She’s the spark plug. She just has that role and brings a lot of energy and passion to the floor.”

The Crimson controlled the tempo of play for the majority of the second half. Harvard was able to pull away from the Big Green right from the start of the half on a Matera three-pointer dished from Alemany on the first play of the half. Unfortunately for the Crimson, this momentum did not last.

“[After the strong beginning, the game] started to slow down, which was more of [Dartmouth’s] pace,” Matera said. “That’s what let them get back into the game.”

The game turned out to be a battle of three-point shooters, as 30 of Harvard’s points and 21 of the Big Green’s points came from three-point range. The Crimson ultimately outlasted Dartmouth, despite the very competitive last five minutes of play.  The outcome of this game carried particular importance for Harvard, as Dartmouth defeated the Crimson in a tight early-season matchup by a score of 45-44. A traditionally fast and aggressive team, the Big Green also defeated Harvard last year, ending the Crimson’s attempt at a three-peat in Ivy League titles.

“It will always be a rivalry,”  Delaney-Smith said. “It’s not so much this year because they sort of fell out of the race a little bit earlier than we did. We feel they upset us in the first game. That’s why I thought we really needed to make a statement here and get a [win].”

With the win in hand, Harvard looks forward to the postseason, as the imminent WNIT tournament poses a welcome challenge for the dynamic Crimson offense.