Women's Basketball Splits Pair of Games at Hilton Garden Inn Classic

Supported by stellar rebounding and strong offensive play, Harvard women’s basketball posted a 1-1 record this week in the Hilton Garden Inn Classic at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida.

The Crimson (6-5) outrebounded its opponents, Florida Gulf Coast and Akron, 113-67, in the tournament, posting season highs in rebounds in both games. Senior guard Taylor Rooks, who led the team in scoring in both games, and sophomore forward Jeannie Boehm were both selected to the all-tournament team.

“This weekend we really pushed through the bubble rebounding,” Rooks said. “We boxed out preemptively and and really crashed the offensive boards hard.”

HARVARD 76, AKRON 63

In its second contest of the tournament, Harvard bested the Zips (6-5) 76-63 in the first ever meeting between the two schools behind strong rebounding and a quick start. The Crimson’s 26 first quarter points set a season high for points in a quarter.

“Against Akron, we played a little bit tougher and a little bit angrier and a little bit more determined, and it showed itself,” coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said.

Early in the game, junior guard Madeline Raster drilled a three-pointer, one of her two in the first period, to make the game 7-5 in Harvard’s favor. Although the contest had yet to see three minutes pass, the Crimson would not relinquish this lead throughout the rest of the game.

Harvard dominated the glass, out-rebounding Akron 57-34. This marked a season high for rebounds in a single game by the Crimson. Freshman forward Jadyn Bush led the charge off the bench, grabbing a team-leading 14 rebounds for Harvard.

“We have so many talented rebounders on this team,” Boehm said. “Rebounding hasn’t been something we’ve always been great with, but we work on it every day in practice relentlessly, and it’s great to see it pay off.”

Yet again, the Crimson turned the ball over more times than its opponent, giving the ball away 17 times to the Zips’ nine. However, the capitalization on these turnovers proved key. Akron was only able to turn these turnovers into 11 points, while Harvard took advantage of these opportunities by scoring 14 points off of the Zips’ turnovers.

The Crimson continued its offensive attack into the second quarter, shooting 59 percent from the field in the quarter. Harvard went into the half with a 13-point lead in control of the game. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Crimson led by 21 points, up 70-49 for its largest lead of the game.

Harvard closed out the game and tournament with strong defense by eventually taking the game, 76-63.

FLORIDA GULF COAST 65, HARVARD 56

In a closely contested matchup, a late surge by FGCU (12-3) allowed the Eagles to top the Crimson. With just over one minute remaining in the contest, a tough FGCU defense and strong free-throw shooting allowed the hosts to prevail, 65-56.

“We played a really tough 38 minutes, but the last few minutes we made a few mistakes and handed them the game,” sophomore guard Katie Benzan said. “It was frustrating and irritating to give them the game like that.”

Neither team led by more than 10 points the entire game, as the back-and-forth affair remained tight until the final minute when the Eagles finally pulled away. Harvard’s late fourth quarter 8-0 run, its second of the game, gave them the lead, but a flurry of lead changes led to a tug-of-war that ended in FGCU’s favor.

Although the Eagles led by double digits twice, the Crimson continued to chip away at the lead each time to keep the contest close. Despite Rooks’s third double-double performance of the year in which she scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Harvard was unable to cut the deficit a final time at the end of the game.

Led by Rooks, the Crimson outrebounded FGCU by a margin of 56-33, its highest rebound total on the season before topping it the next day against Akron. However, the difference ultimately came in the turnover department, as Harvard gave the ball away 20 times, resulting in 15 points off of those turnovers for the Eagles.

“Twenty turnovers against Florida Gulf Coast, they’re a really good team.” Delaney-Smith said. “You can’t have twenty turnovers and think you’re going to do anything, and we still almost won the game.”

In the second quarter, FGCU pulled ahead 27-17, but the Crimson stormed back with an 8-0 run to keep the game close at the break with the Eagles leading 29-25 at the half.

Earlier in the first quarter, FGCU had an 8-0 run of their own to take an early 18-10 lead, but the Eagles’ streak was snapped on a three-pointer on the right wing from Raster.

With just over a minute and a half left in the game, junior guard Sydney Skinner made a layup to give Harvard a 56-55 lead, but these would be the Crimson’s final points of the contest. FGCU would take the lead just seven seconds later and would hold onto this lead, securing its 65-56 win.

—Staff writer Joseph W. Minatel can be reached at joseph.minatel@thecrimson.com.