Women's Hoops Staves Off Cornell for 17th Straight Time

With a bit under four minutes left on the clock, a long three from Cornell guard Megan LeDuc hushed the crowd at Lavietes Pavilion. An eight-point lead held by the Harvard women’s basketball team just four minutes earlier had dwindled down to one, 58-57.

But despite the late surge from the Big Red on Saturday, the Crimson responded with a three of its own, courtesy of co-captain Kit Metoyer. After a layup from Cornell cut Harvard’s lead to two, senior Shilpa Tummala responded much like she usually does—with a deep three—this one off a pass from freshman Sydney Skinnner.

From there, the majority of both teams’ points would come at the line. After cutting the lead to three off a pair of free throws, the Big Red (13-11, 5-5 Ivy) could not pull any closer despite pulling down three offensive rebounds on the ensuing possession. The Crimson (12-11, 7-3) would go on to make four of six at the line to lock up a 68-63 win.

“I know in the end it was a little tough because we missed a few rebounds, which definitely would’ve helped us out, but even with that adversity we still pushed through and were consistent,” co-captain AnnMarie Healy said.

The win extended Harvard’s win streak against Cornell to 17, but perhaps even more impressive is the fact that it kept the Big Red winless in Cambridge—the Crimson is a perfect 34-0 against Cornell at home since they first played in 1975.

Despite the historic implications of the matchup, Harvard’s latest win came by way of no easy affair. After outlasting the Big Red in overtime only three weeks ago, the Crimson’s win on Saturday came at an equally close margin.

Throughout the first quarter, neither team could seem to get their shots to fall. Five Cornell turnovers and poor shooting on behalf of Harvard brought the quarter to an end with the Big Red up, 13-12.

“I thought we were pretty sporadic,” Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “I thought offensively we weren’t executing our system well at all. We were going one-on-one or taking threes. I don’t think we were very patient, I don’t think we executed well, and I don’t think we rebounded well.”

Despite the slow start, the two sides were neck and neck for much of the rest of the game. After a 9-2 run put Cornell up by six late in the second quarter, the Crimson responded with a three from Skinner. A long three from Metoyer a few minutes later tied the game at the half, 32-32.

Coming off a win against Columbia that saw the Harvard outrebound the Lions and force 23 turnovers in a 30-point victory, the Crimson’s defense struggled to shut down Cornell inside, specifically when it came to junior forward Nia Marshall. She finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and two steals.

“Nia is one of the best players in the league, statistically and otherwise,” Delaney-Smith said. “We knew coming in that we had to work on her. If you isolate Nia on the perimeter or even on the block, she really has an ability to score. [We] needed help off of other people.”

In a game that featured 14 lead changes, Harvard’s seniors led the way per usual. The senior trio of Healy, Tummala, and Metoyer combined for 43 points and 15 rebounds.

“Shilpa is a go-to [scorer], so is Kit, so is AnnMarie,” Delaney-Smith said. “The three of them, to their credit, want the ball and want to score.”

Late in the game, the Big Red continued to outrebound the Crimson, but the visitors could not capitalize on offense. In the second half, Cornell shot 33 percent from the field. While the Crimson only shot 35 percent over the same frame, Harvard stayed ahead with shots from beyond the arc and good defense.

“We took some chances.” Delaney-Smith said. “We threw some zone at them at the end, we took some risks, just to break the rhythm up, and it worked.”

It was the late defensive effort from the Crimson that ultimately held off the Big Red. Despite giving up offensive rebounds on late possessions, Harvard managed to keep Cornell off the scoreboard late.

“I think something we’re really focusing on, especially in these last games is consistency,” Healy said. “I’m really proud of the team and how there were no big runs or letdowns by ourselves. I’m really excited that we were able to play good, hard defense.”

—Staff writer Troy Boccelli can be reached at troy.boccelli@thecrimson.com.