Women’s Basketball Cruises Past Boston College 81-51 in Home Opener

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Harvard women’s basketball picked up a dominant win in its home opener, defeating Boston College 81-51 at Lavietes Pavilion, led by impressive offensive performances from captains Karlee White and Abigail Wright.

After falling by 20 to No. 17 Minnesota in its season opener on Monday, the Crimson (1-1) responded with a comfortable win over the Eagles (0-2), taking control in a dominant second quarter highlighted by an aggressive full-court press and efficient three-point shooting.

White led all scorers with 25 points, while Wright added 17 as the two seniors made 14-of-21 total field goals three days after shooting a combined eight-for-33 from the field against the Golden Gophers. Neither played more than 25 minutes.

“It was just a really solid effort by our team,” head coach Carrie Moore said. “I thought the response from our Monday night game was led by these two [White and Wright]. I read off their stat lines in the locker room with the team, but I just thought that their energy to start the game was what it needed to be, and I think they’re going to lead us in this way numerous times this season.”

After leading by just one after the first quarter, the Crimson quickly pulled away, outscoring Boston College 20-6 in the second quarter and 22-12 in the third. Harvard finished 12-for-30 on three-pointers (40 percent), with White leading the way by knocking down four triples on just five attempts.

But the name of the game for the Crimson was defense, as the visitors committed 19 turnovers while Harvard turned those opportunities into 22 points. The Crimson repeatedly trapped the Eagles’ offensive players near half-court after they had crossed the timeline and tied them up with double-and-triple teams — forcing seven turnovers in the second quarter alone.

Moore noted the major role that she expected defense to play in the team’s identity this year, and the changes in aggression from last season, when Harvard forced 19.1 turnovers per game and averaged 13 points off turnovers.

“Last year, we were pretty consistent with: ‘we want to push them sideline, and that’s the only time we’re trapping,’” Moore said. “This year, because teams know that we’re trapping, we’re trying to be a little bit more creative in terms of when we’re trapping and where we’re trapping on the floor. So I thought they did a really good job of that on the court, which was a great improvement from our last game.”

White agreed with the role of defense in the team’s identity, and focused on the Crimson’s willingness to risk picking up fouls in order to go for steals.

“We talk about keeping them on their toes,” White said about the team’s defense. “They don’t know when we’re going to trap. Coming from the same side or from the opposite side, we focus on just playing together, being relentless. No risk, no reward.”

While no other Harvard players were in double digits, junior guard Lydia Chatira’s 34 minutes were nine more than any other Crimson player. The Pikermi, Greece, native finished with nine points, four assists, and two blocks.

Harvard opened the game with a three-pointer from White followed by a layup from Wright that established an early 5-0 lead. But the Eagles responded with some baskets in the paint, eventually taking their first lead at 10-8 with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

After a layup from White and a transition three from sophomore guard Sam Wills, Harvard regained the lead, but Boston College stayed within striking distance by capitalizing on some sloppy plays by the host and entered the second quarter trailing just 15-14.

The Eagles briefly took the lead on a second-chance jumper from junior guard Athena Tomlinson early in the second quarter, but it would be Boston College’s final lead of the night.

Immediately after the lead change, the Crimson responded with a 9-0 run spurred by its increasingly aggressive defensive pressure. After White knocked down two free throws, Chatira recorded a thunderous block that turned into a second-chance fast break layup for Wright. Then, Jones intercepted an errant pass and drew a foul in transition.

A few minutes later, White intercepted a Boston College pass near half court and raced down the court for an uncontested layup, extending Harvard’s lead to 24-16 and forcing an Eagles timeout.

“I think when we can get up and turn people over in the full court, like that gets us going,” White said. “Those are easy buckets for us. Transition is our thing.”

The Crimson continued building its lead behind strong ball movement and outside shooting. Wright found sophomore guard Aubrey Shaw open on the left wing for a three-pointer, extending Harvard’s lead to 29-18.

Just under a minute later, Wright dished another assist to White, who knocked down a triple to increase the lead to 14. After a stretch of missed shots from both teams, Shaw hit another three from the left wing, sending Harvard into halftime with a 35-20 lead.

In the second quarter, the Crimson’s defense was especially effective, holding Boston College to just two field goals on 16.7 percent shooting. The Eagles also failed to make a three-pointer in the first half, while Harvard converted six of its 16 attempts from beyond the arc.

Wright racked up four assists in the first half, showing off her vision with numerous cross-court passes that set her teammates up with open shots. She mentioned after the game that she was focused on getting rid of the ball when she drew extra defensive attention.

“It’s just about making sure that I’m getting the ball where it needs to go,” Wright said. “If there’s two people on me, that means one of my teammates is open, and my teammates get to the right spots. “They knock shots down, and that’s an energizer that fuels me and fuels my teammates.”

Any hope for the Eagles to make the game competitive in the second half was quickly scattered by continued efficiency by Wright and White, who combined for 15 of Harvard’s first 16 points of the second half, including a converted and-one by each captain. White’s and-one — which directly followed Wright’s — extended the Crimson’s lead to 49-24 less than three minutes into the third quarter and capped a 34-8 Harvard run stretching back to early in the second quarter.

From there, it was smooth sailing for the host, as Moore emptied the Crimson bench by going 14 players deep. Shaw led all bench scorers with eight points, but six-foot-four sophomore center Maya Nahar looked strong in six minutes, finishing at the rim once and dishing out two assists.

“Maya is somebody that I’m going to continue to try to get more minutes for,” Moore said. “I think she’s a really great option for us in terms of her size and her playmaking ability. I think the hard part for me is that there’s so many [strong bench players] and there’s only so many minutes to be had.”

Despite the sizable lead, the Crimson did not take its foot off the gas, scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter and putting on an overall show for a home crowd that mostly stuck around until the final buzzer.

“Coming off of a loss, especially at a top 25 team away, in the first game of the season, we learned a lot,” Wright said. “Coach talks about it all the time. You’ve got to learn from your losses. So just taking that momentum into our first home game, knowing that we need to protect home court and respond in the best possible way; I think that people showed up and really showed out in that way today.”

Harvard will look to build on its win when it travels west to take on undefeated Holy Cross (2-0, 1-0 Patriot League) next Monday. The game tips off at 6 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

—Staff writer Samuel S. Rudavsky can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Tamar H. Scheinfeld can be reached at [email protected].