Women's Basketball Travels to Brown and Yale for Final Road Contests
Photo courtesy of Gil Talbot.
The Particulars
Harvard, the winners of seven of its last eight games and five
straight, remains on the road for its final two contests away from
Lavietes Pavilion. The Crimson travels to Brown Friday and Yale
Saturday.
Scouting the Crimson
Harvard’s five straight victories is the longest streak of
the season for the Crimson, who sports a 16-7 overall mark and a
7-2 Ivy League record. Emma Markley continues to lead the team with
14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Victoria Lippert
is second in scoring with 12.3 points per game. Brogan Berry paces
the team in assists with 6.0 per game and is third in scoring with
12.1 ppg.
The Crimson is shooting 43.2 percent from the field, which is
second in the league and 44th in the nation. Harvard shoots a
league-best 38.3 percent from beyond the three-point line and a
league-best 73.2 percent from the charity stripe. The
Crimson’s 69.9 points per game is second best in the league,
while its 36.9 rebounds per game ranks sixth.
Last Time Out
A pair of free throws from Brogan Berry with 47 seconds left held
up as the game-winning points for the Crimson in a 69-67 win over
Columbia Saturday night in New York City. Victoria Lippert scored a
career-high 28 points, including 15 in the second half to lead the
Crimson, while Emma Markley had 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven
blocks.
The Crimson and Lions battled back and forth throughout the game.
The lead changed 15 times and there were six ties in the 40-minute
game that came down to the last possession. Columbia led 34-33 at
the half and could never pull away by more than four.
Harvard’s largest lead was seven.
From Start to Finish
Harvard has led from start to finish in six games this season. The
Crimson never trailed against Maine, Holy Cross, NJIT, Columbia
(Jan.29), Penn (Feb. 6), Brown (Feb. 13) and Cornell (Feb. 19).
Gone Streaking
Harvard’s five wins in a row equals the Crimson’s
longest win streak of last season. Harvard made it five in a row
twice in 2008-09.
Rookie Honored
Victoria Lippert was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week Feb. 22.
Lippert was a thorn in Cornell and Columbia’s sides as she
posted a double-double against Cornell and a career-high 28 points
in the win over Columbia.
Lippert connected on her first eight shots and led the Crimson
with 13 points at halftime against the Lions. She added 15 more in
the second on an 11-for-13 effort from the field. Lippert was
4-for-4 from the free throw line and 2-for-2 from three-point land.
Lippert had 20 points and 10 rebounds against Cornell to average 24
points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in New York.
Since We Last Met the Bears
Brown is 1-1 since meeting the Crimson Feb. 13 at Lavietes
Pavilion to improve to 7-16 overall and 4-6 in the Ivy League. The
Bears handed Penn a 54-42 loss one night before falling to
Princeton, 64-38.
Hannah Passafuime paces the Bears in scoring with 10.0 points per
game and 11.2 ppg in conference contests. Christina Johnson
and Lindsay Nickel have also been a major part of the offense with
7.4 and 6.0 ppg., respectively. Natalie Bonds dominates the glass
with 6.8 rebounds per game.
The Brown Series
Friday is the 70th meeting between Harvard and Brown. The Crimson
has faced the Bears more than any other team in the league and
leads the series, 38-31. Harvard has won seven straight against the
Bears.
Since We Last Met the Bulldogs
Yale is 2-1 since facing the Crimson two weeks ago. The Bulldogs
defeated Dartmouth, 70-66, Penn, 70-38, but fell to Princeton,
65-44. Yale’s loss to the Tigers last Friday was only its
third at home this season and first against an Ivy League team.
Megan Vasquez and Yoyo Greenfield pace the offense with 11.3 and
10.2 ppg., respectively. Michelle Cashen controls the boards,
averaging 7.3 per game.
The Yale Series
Harvard leads the all-time series with the Bulldogs, 40-27, and
has won three straight. The Crimson has won 10 of the last 12
meetings.
Points in the Paint
Harvard scored 56 of its 88 points against Yale (Feb. 12) in the
paint. That’s 63.6 percent of the scoring under the basket
for Harvard’s best percentage of the season. The second best
showing of the season was against Navy, when the Crimson had 40 of
its 71 points scored in the paint.
When Brogan Berry Has…
Nine assists in a game, the Crimson is 3-1.
Eight or more, the Crimson is 5-1.
Seven or more, the Crimson is 12-2.
Moving On Up
Brogan Berry has 137 assists entering the weekend which ranks 10th
on the Harvard single season assists list. She needs seven to move
into ninth. She also only needs six helpers to earn a spot on the
Harvard career assists list. She has 230 career handouts heading
into the weekend.
Harvard Single Season Assists List
1. Jennifer Monti
178
2. Heidi Kosh
152
3. Jess Gelman
152
4. Jennifer Monti
152
5. Emily Tay
151
6. Maura Jealy
150
7. Emily Tay
147
8. Jess Gelman
144
9. Emily Tay
143
10. Brogan Berry
137
The Double-Digit Scorers
Emma Markley has scored in double figures in 19 of Harvard’s
23 games, including 16 of the last 19 contests. Brogan Berry has 14
games in double figures, while Victoria Lippert has in 13 games and
Christine Matera have 11 each.
February Factoid
Harvard is 167-67 in the month of February under head coach Kathy
Delaney-Smith. The Crimson has gone undefeated in the second month
of the year six times, with the most recent coming in 2007
(8-0).
Nationally Speaking
Harvard has four individuals ranked among the top 250 in the
nation in nine categories. The team is ranked among the top 45 in
five categories.
Brogan Berry ranks 12th in the nation in assists per game (6.0),
sixth in assist/turnover ratio (2.54), 37th in free throw
percentage (.847)
Emma Markley ranks 14th in the nation in blocks per game (2.7),
127th in field goal percentage (.432), 182nd in points per game
(14.3), 182nd in rebounds per game (7.3)
Christine Matera ranks 34th in three-point field goal percentage
(41.4), 45th in three-point field goals per game (2.5).
Harvard ranks 12th in three-point field goal percentage (.383),
21st in blocked shots (5.3), 30th in three-point field goals made
(7.1), 41st in assist/turnover ratio (0.91), 44th in free throw
shooting percentage (.732).
League Leaders (as of Feb. 22)
Brogan Berry leads the league in free throw shooting (.847) and
assists (6.0). Emma Markley paces the conference in blocks per game
(2.7) and Christine Matera leads the Ivies in three-point field
goals made (2.5).
The Offense
Harvard ranks second in the Ivy League in scoring offense with
69.9 points per game. The Crimson leads the Ancient Eight in free
throw percentage (.732), blocked shots (5.3 per game), three point
field goal percentage (.383) and three-point field goals (7.1 per
game).
The Crimson From Three
Harvard is averaging 7.1 three-pointers per game after 21
contests, which ranks 25th in the nation. The Crimson hit 11 threes
against Boston College and Boston University and posted
double-digit treys three times. Harvard is shooting 38.3 percent
from downtown, which stands 12th in the nation.
Crash Those Boards
Jackie Alemany grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds against Cornell
(Feb. 19). She is second on the team with 6.6 per game. Emma
Markley pulled down 15 against Holy Cross and Northeastern for a
new career high.
On the Bench
Kathy Delaney-Smith, the winningest coach in program history, is
in her 28th season on the bench for the Crimson. Delaney-Smith, who
has led the Crimson to 11 Ivy League titles, recorded her 400th
career victory with a 68-47 win over Brown on March 7, 2008. She
sports a 435-306 record 23 games into her 28th season.
Assistant Coach Bri Fecteau is back for her seventh season, while
Kelly Finley returns for her second. She served as a volunteer
assistant in 2008-09. Todd Earl, another Colorado State graduate,
joins the staff as a volunteer coach this season.
