Women's Basketball Drops Two to Open Season

Harvard women’s basketball’s 2016-17 season ended when the team failed to record a win in the Ivy League Tournament. In this year’s Maine Tip-Off Tournament, the Crimson saw similar results.

Last Friday night, Harvard (0-2, 0-0 Ivy League) opened the 2017-18 campaign with a loss to Dayton in the Maine Tip-Off Tournament. On Saturday, the Crimson fell again, this time to Maine.

“We were really excited going into this weekend,” junior guard Nani Redford said. “We were playing in a tournament with three great teams.”

MAINE 76, HARVARD 51

In the second game of the tournament, Harvard took an early 8-3 lead over the Black Bears (1-1, 0-0 America East). However, Maine went on an impressive 14-point run to take the lead for good. By the end of the first quarter, the Black Bears had already netted three three-pointers.

“They shot out of their minds,” Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said.

Although Harvard was able to draw free throws, attempting 23 on the night, the Black Bears’ stifling defense held the Crimson to only 23.7 percent from the field. Junior guard Madeline Raster was the only Harvard player able to put up double digit points, finishing with 10 points.

In a back-and-forth second quarter, offense reigned. The Crimson shot 47.1 percent from the field, outdone by Maine’s 66.7 shooting percentage both inside and outside the arc. Although the Black Bears edged Harvard by only two points in the exciting quarter, Maine took the lead into the half, 42-33.

“We just didn’t play our game and allowed their momentum swings to take over,” Redford said.

The Black Bears regained its momentum from the first quarter, starting off the second half on a nine-point run, stretching its lead to 18 points. Maine would not look back.

The Crimson’s offense sputtered in the third quarter, making only one field goal the entire period. As a result, the team posted a field goal percentage of 5.6 percent in the quarter and scored seven points

The final quarter was much of the same, with the Crimson shooting only 20 percent from the field. Maine would add too its lead, resulting in a final score of 76-51.

DAYTON 72, HARVARD 66

The Crimson’s season opener was spoiled by the Flyers (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10) in a night characterized by free throws and streaky scoring.

The free throw line proved the difference maker, as neither team was able to effectively capitalize on its opportunities. Dayton shot only 60 percent from the line, while Harvard made 52.4 percent of its free throws.

“We played pretty well against Dayton, which was the strongest team, but couldn’t put the ball in the basket,” Delaney-Smith said.

Senior guard Taylor Rooks and sophomore forward Jeannie Boehm each nabbed the Crimson’s first double-doubles of the year. Boehm scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Rooks had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Rooks started hot, scoring seven of the Crimson’s 12 first quarter points. The Flyers responded to Harvard’s early 10-5 lead by finishing the first quarter on a 13-2 run.

“We didn’t come out as strong as we wanted to,” Redford said.

The second quarter was a tug-of-war, with Dayton only able to extend its lead by two points as the teams went into the half with a 35-27 Flyers lead.

The Crimson had four players with double-digit point totals. In addition to Rooks’ and Boehm’s double-doubles, Raster scored 10 points and sophomore guard Katie Benzan led the team with 16 points.

In the third quarter, Harvard was unable to string together enough points to retake the lead. The Crimson would chip away at the lead multiple times, even coming within two points, but Dayton pulled away before Harvard could snatch control of the game.

The final quarter was a back-and-forth that echoed the previous three periods. A three-minute scoring drought in the middle of the quarter saw neither team notch a basket as the clock ticked down.

The Flyers kept their cushion for most of the fourth quarter, holding off Harvard in the end by a score of 72-66.

“I think the biggest takeaway is we have a lot of potential and we’re very talented, but we have a lot to learn,” Redford said.