Columbia Comes Close to Upset; Cornell No Match for Crimson

After nabbing both a close victory and a blowout this weekend, Harvard women’s basketball has proven that it could pull out wins in a variety of circumstances.

The Crimson (11-6, 3-0 Ivy) faced the possibility of dropping a conference game at Columbia (3-15, 2-2) on Friday night until rookie Christine Clark saved the day, sinking a jumper with under four seconds left on the clock to win the game, 69-68. Harvard shook off the scare the next day to face a humble Cornell squad (5-13, 2-2) that didn’t put up much of a fight. The Crimson dropped the Big Red on the road, 67-36.

“We’re happy to come out of the weekend with two wins,” co-captain Christine Matera said. “The Columbia game was too close for comfort. [Clark] hit a huge shot and [sophomore Victoria Lippert] and [junior Brogan Berry] really carried us through the second half. But most importantly, we came out with two wins.”

HARVARD 67, CORNELL 36

After nearly losing the night before, the Crimson came out prepared on Saturday to avoid a similar situation, scoring more points in the first half than Cornell did in the entire game. Harvard posted 38 points in the first half and kept the Big Red to 18 points in each period.

“I think whenever we don’t play as well as we could have, the team gathers itself and plays better the next game,” said Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. “I had a lot of confidence going into the Cornell game. I think we’re deep enough [on the roster] and ready to play back-to-back.”

Despite the significant margin in the final score, the game started out close, with Cornell keeping up with the Crimson and leading, 9-8. Sophomore Miriam Rutzen then hit a pair of treys to ignite an 8-0 run that set the tempo of the contest. It was the start of another strong showing from Rutzen, who scored 12 points and swatted away five shots in the win.

“Miriam is a veteran now,” Delaney-Smith said. “[Rutzen], who didn’t play well Friday night, played extraordinarily on Saturday night.”

Classmate Victoria Lippert led the way with 15 points and five rebounds on the night. Senior forward Emma Markley, tied with Lippert for second on the team in scoring, did not play due to a minor injury sustained in the game against Columbia.

An eight-minute stretch ensued towards the end of the first half, when the Crimson kept the Big Red nearly scoreless, 21-2. Harvard shot an impressive 55.6 percent from the field in the first half.

“I think Cornell has a lot of new and young players,” Delaney-Smith said of the run. “Always, at the beginning of every game, it’s feeling each other out and making game adjustments, and basically that’s what we did.”

The second half started out with a 13-2 Crimson scoring blitz to push the deficit up to 30. Cornell sporadically scored throughout the period and had a small run with four minutes remaining to lower the margin to 25, but Harvard countered by widening the final gap to 31.

The Big Red experienced serious shooting woes, mustering a 22.9 field-goal percentage compared to Harvard’s 43.1 percent.

Like the Crimson, Cornell only had two players in double figures. Clare Fitzpatrick and Taylor Flynn each scored 10 points, with Fitzpatrick making only 3-of-15 shots.

Though Harvard only had Lippert and Rutzen with double-digit point totals, the Crimson exhibited a balanced offense throughout the night, one that had 11 players contribute to the final score.

HARVARD 69, COLUMBIA 68

Despite the Crimson shooting 45.8 percent compared to Columbia’s 40.3 percent, Harvard had to rely on a precocious rookie to preserve its unblemished Ivy record.

On the final possession of the game, Clark grabbed the offensive rebound off her failed attempt and hit a 12-foot game-winner—angled from behind the backboard, no less—with 3.1 seconds remaining.

“[Clark] is a competitor,” Delaney-Smith said. “That’s what she’s going to do all four years. She has never played like a freshman...she had a lot of poise and hit a big shot for us.”

Both the Lions and Harvard scored 38 points in the second period, and it was a one-point difference in the second half that made all the difference. The home team gave the Crimson a battle throughout, especially when it came to rebounds. Columbia grabbed 43 boards compared to Harvard’s 33.

“Welcome to the Ivy League, is what I think,” Delaney-Smith said of the Lions’ performance. “I’m not surprised at Columbia. I feel that the wins-loss record isn’t always indicative about what’s going to be on the floor in Ivy competition.”

“I don’t think we did horribly, but we didn’t play our best game either,” Delaney-Smith concluded.

—Staff writer Brian A. Campos can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.