Harvard Edges Columbia, Keeps Ivy Hopes Alive

Friday night the Harvard women’s basketball team did not play particularly well, but by nine p.m., the team was ecstatic. Not only did the Crimson (16-9, 9-2 Ivy) come out with a 71-70 win in a nail-biter at Lavietes Pavilion, but Dartmouth also beat league leader Cornell, placing Harvard in pole position to retain its Ivy League crown.

Defense and rebounding were the keys for the Crimson in what turned out to be an extremely tough battle against the Lions (9-16, 6-5).

“It wasn’t our best,” Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “We played like a team with everything to lose and they played like a team with nothing to lose. It was ugly at times but I loved our fight on the defensive end and on the boards.”

The importance of the grittier aspects of the game became apparent in the final few seconds.

With lead changes in what felt like every second-half possession, junior Katie Rollins put the Crimson up by one with a minute and a half remaining, courtesy of a nice inside move.

On the ensuing possession, some tight defense led to a Columbia miss, and junior Niki Finelli grabbed the rebound. After winding down the clock, co-captain Lindsay Hallion went to the line.

The first free throw touched every part of the rim before dropping, and after another make, Harvard took a 68-65 lead with just over a minute to play.

The Lions would respond to pull within one again, but would send Hallion back to the line.

After sinking the first free throw, Hallion missed the second, but senior Adrian Budischak was there to grab the offensive rebound. And after making her two free throws to go up by four, Harvard had guaranteed that Saturday’s showdown with Cornell was not ruined beforehand. “It was a tough battle,” said Finelli, who had a double-double, finishing the game with 12 points and 10 boards. “It came down to the physical play and toughness. Columbia came out fighting and it really just came down to defense and rebounding for us.”

Finelli also hit a huge three to start turning the momentum back in the Crimson’s favor with four and a half minutes remaining.

Harvard went with a very small lineup down the stretch, with Delaney-Smith playing only one of her two starting post players at a time in order to add some quickness to the defensive end so as to stop the Columbia drive. Rollins would play on the offensive end, while Budischak was put in for her defensive capabilities.

The benefits of the coaching move could not have been more apparent. After all, it was Rollins who put the Crimson up for good and it was Budischak who, right after coming back into the game, grabbed the all-important rebound that finished off the Lions.

“We were just trying to stay focused and stay in it for those last couple seconds when anything can happen,” Finelli said.

Harvard got off to a fast start on the night and had the crowd into the game right away.

The largest cheer came in a 30-second period five minutes in. Budischak, after receiving a nice feed from Rollins, made a layup before coming up with a huge block on the other end of the floor. Tay pushed the ball up, and a no-look pass found Budischak again to put the Crimson up, 13-4.

Budischak finished the game with 10 points, while Rollins and Tay had 14 each.

Columbia, however, fought back by shooting over 50 percent from both the field and behind the arc.

Despite a three from junior Liz Tindal and an acrobatic drive and layup from Tay to end the half, the Lions went into the break up, 36-34.

The second half was extremely tense and was characterized by some incredibly physical play. Columbia was pushing the Harvard post players the entire game while the Crimson guards had to deal with aggressive hand checks on a consistent basis.

Despite being frustrated with the non-calls, Harvard was able to get the important victory by playing hanging tough on defense and with determination on the glass.

“Things get crazy in the second round of the Ivies, and if you can pull through on the tight games that says a lot about your team,” Hallion said.

—Staff writer Jay M. Cohen can be reached at jaycohen@fas.harvard.edu.