Female Athlete of the Year Runner-Up: Victoria Lippert

With 38 seconds left in overtime against Hofstra, senior Victoria Lippert sunk two free throws to give the Harvard women’s basketball squad its first lead of the extra period. Moments later, teammate Christine Clark hit two more to cushion the lead to three points and secure the victory.

Just as she did all season, including in a Princeton game in which she hit four consecutive free throws to ensure the three-point win, the San Diego native hit clutch shots to lead her team to victory.

“Victoria is maybe at the top of the list of all student-athletes I’ve coached in the 30-odd years I’ve been coaching,”Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “If she’s not the best, she’s one of the best athletes who can handle pressure and who wants the ball in her hands with a chance to win.”

Despite the disappointment of ceding the Ivy League championship to Princeton, the team matched its postseason performance of the year before, winning its first game against Hartford in the WNIT before losing to the eventual champions, Drexel.

Lippert was key in the victory over the Hawks, hitting jumpers and draining a three-pointer to extend the lead when Hartford came close to reclaiming the edge. The senior, who led the team with 51 three-pointers on the season and is second in the Harvard record books with 185 career treys, powered the Crimson’s offense with 19 points.

“I think, in every game, no matter who the opponent is, I bring the same level of intensity and desire to win,” Lippert said. “So I think definitely when the game is on the line or during important games, I want to come through and do whatever I can to win those games.”

After three years of selection to the All-Ivy Second Team, Lippert, who averaged 13.7 points per game, was named to the All-Ivy First Team after her final campaign.

Although the senior was not completely content with the final result of the Ivy schedule, the 20-win year, an undefeated home record, and a postseason victory sweetened Lippert’s last season in a Harvard uniform.

“I think winning the title was the biggest goal, so it’s hard to be completely satisfied,” Lippert said. “But I’m very proud to have gotten to play for Harvard and for the successes that we have had.”

—Staff writer Samantha Lin can be reached at samanthalin@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @linsamnity.