Crimson’s Scoring Blitz Secures Pink Zone Victory

It was more than just an Ivy League grudge match when the Harvard women’s basketball team (15-8, 7-2 Ivy) faced Columbia (5-19, 4-6) on Saturday night. Alumnae weekend, Pink Zone night for breast cancer awareness, and the potential of junior guard Brogan Berry hitting her 1000th point had Lavietes Pavilion buzzing—and the Crimson did not disappoint.

Harvard finished a solid first half only to extend the margin and put away the Lions halfway through the second, sending Columbia back home with another conference loss, 77-46. The Crimson has swept the series with the Lions this season.

“I thought we had a really good team feel and team chemistry today,” freshman guard Christine Clark said. “It was just a really good game dynamic-wise.”

Harvard got the first half off to a strong start with a 4-0 run in the first two minutes after Clark and senior forward Emma Markley scored back-to-back layups.

The Crimson didn’t maintain the lead for long, as the Lions pushed back, tying the score five times as both squads exchanged the lead twice in the first 10 minutes. But Harvard grabbed the momentum off of a clutch play by sophomore guards Victoria Lippert and Jasmine Evans, where Lippert intercepted a Lions pass and delivered it to Evans for a baseline three.

Harvard and Columbia turned the ball over 14 and 16 times, respectively, making for a fast-paced half with few shot attempts but great defense on both halves of the court. The highlights of the Crimson’s defense included big, crowd-pleasing blocks by Clark and co-captain Jackie Alemany.

The half culminated when Berry reached her 1000th career point for Harvard, but she didn’t allow this triumph to diminish her focus.

“It’s a great honor, just a lot of hard work over the last three years,” Berry said. “I realized I was close, but I really didn’t think about it going into the game. It’s just like any other game; I just want to win and get the victory for my team.”

The Crimson used the energy from Berry’s accomplishment, plays like Evans’ three, and its cheering section filled with alumnae to build its largest lead of the game—12 points—with 2:49 left. The home team set the score at 32-23 to end the half.

Coming out of the break, Harvard scored first and quickly, with a jumper by Berry followed by a Clark layup, setting the tone for a Crimson-dominated second half.

Columbia called a timeout at 18:08 with the score set at 36-23 in an attempt to slow Harvard’s momentum, and the tactic seemed to work, as the Crimson and Lions alternated scoring over the next couple minutes. But a huge block by Markley and her layup on the other end terminated Columbia’s scoring push and allowed Harvard to stretch its lead.

While Clark played well in the first half, she out-did herself in the second. Notably, she sank a three-pointer as the shot clock expired while her court awareness allowed her to pick up the ball, off the body of the referee, and score two points.

“I expect nothing less from her,” Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “I am as excited about coaching her as I’ve ever been about anybody. Her work ethic is off the charts. She’s unselfish. You can criticize her, you can correct her—she’s a sponge. She just wants to get better and better, and she’s fiercely competitive.”

In her 33 minutes of play, Clark made 84.6 percent of her shots from the field en route to her career-high 28 points.

But Saturday’s game was truly a team effort. Of the 13 players who entered the game, 10 chipped in points. And those who didn’t provided integral assists, defense, and ball control for the Crimson.

“I thought it was really good how everyone came in and contributed,” Clark said. “A lot of people got playing time and helped get the win.”

Despite a tough full-court press, Harvard managed to expand its lead to 31 points with just over two minutes remaining.

“I loved that we were able to stretch the lead,” Delaney-Smith said, “which is something that we haven’t done as much as I think we should be able to.”

Winning this game meant an alumnae-weekend sweep for the Crimson women.

But despite the victories, Harvard is gearing up for a grueling week of practices. Next weekend, the home team will face Yale and Brown, two teams the Crimson lost to earlier in the month.

“We’re going to focus on our game this week,” Delaney-Smith said, “I’m not going to focus a whole lot on Brown, I’m not going to focus a whole lot on Yale; I’m going to focus a whole lot on Harvard.”