The Crimson will take on Alcorn State and Minnesota at the
2011 Best Buy Classic (Ron Feltman).
The Storyline
The Harvard women's basketball team, which has won two straight
and three of its last four, will put its streak on the line when it
faces Alcorn State and Minnesota at the 2011 Best Buy Classic. The
Crimson will take on the Lady Braves of Alcorn State on Friday,
Dec. 9 at 3 p.m., and will meet the host Golden Gophers Saturday,
Dec. 10 at 5 p.m.
Fans can follow the action via live stats, audio and video
broadcasts through GopherSports.com.
Last Time Out
Victoria
Lippert scored 14 second-half points and the Crimson went a
perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line down the stretch, helping to
preserve a 69-62 win for the Harvard women's basketball team at New
Hampshire Tuesday.
Lippert led Harvard with 17 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the
field and 3-of-4 from three. Christine Clark
added 16 points and seven rebounds, and was a perfect 11-of-11 at
the line on the night. Brogan Berry chipped
in 15 points, three steals and two assists.
The Crimson finished the game shooting 43.8 percent from the field
and was 19-of-23 from the line.
Click here to watch highlights from Tuesday's
game.
In the Clutch
Harvard has played several games this season which have been
decided down the stretch, and two of the team's leading scorers
have stood up to the challenge. Brogan Berry is shooting 57.1
percent (4-7) with less than two minutes to play and is a perfect
6-of-6 at the line for a total of 14 points. Christine Clark,
meanwhile, has totaled 12 points on 60.0 percent shooting (3-5)
while going 6-of-8 at the charity stripe.
Freebies
Christine Clark went a perfect 11-of-11 at the free-throw line at
New Hampshire, becoming the first Crimson student-athlete to finish
a game with more than 10 attempts and zero misses since Reka Cserny
'05 went 12-of-12 vs. Columbia on March 1, 2003. Clark is shooting
86.0 percent (37-43) at the line this season and currently ranks
fourth in the Ivy League.
Double-Diping
Emma Golen
recorded her first career double-double against Boston University,
posting career-highs in both points (10) and rebounds (10). Miriam Rutzen,
meanwhile, matched Golen on the glass with 10 boards of her own.
Golen and Rutzen are the first duo from Harvard to notch at least
10 rebounds in the same game since Jackie Alemany '11 (13 rbs.) and
Victoria Lippert (10 rbs.) did so at Cornell on Feb. 19, 2010.
Golen's double-double was the first for the team since Emma
Markley's '11 22 point, 11-rebound effort against Brown on Feb. 12,
2011.
And the Award Goes To...
Emma Golen was named the CollegeSportsMadness.com Ivy League
Player of the Week Dec. 5 after posting her first career
double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Boston
University. Harvard has been recognized twice this season by the
Website, as Christine Clark was named player of the week following
the Crimson's appearance in the Hawkeye Challenge to open the
year.
Eyeing 1,000
Junior Victoria Lippert has scored 840 career points and needs
just 160 more to become the 16th member of Harvard's 1,000 point
club. Both Brogan Berry and Emma Markley '11 joined the club last
year, becoming the second duo in program history to reach the 1,000
point plateau in the same season. Erin Maher '93 and Deb
Flandermeyer '93 were the first to do so in 1993. Berry, meanwhile,
became just the fifth student-athlete in program history to reach
1,000 points in her junior season.
Nationally Known
Harvard entered the week ranked 17th in the NCAA in free-throw
percentage (77.2) and is 45th with a +6.8 rebounding margin. The
Crimson also ranked 83rd in field-goal percentage (41.6) and 89th
in scoring offense (68.0).
Individually, Brogan Berry owned the 23rd best assist-to-turnover
ratio (2.6) in the land while Christine Clark's 17.7 ppg were good
for 66th.
They're on Fire
Harvard leads the Ivy League in field-goal percentage and
free-throw percentage, connecting on 41.8 percent of its attempts
from the floor and 78.3 percent at the line. The Crimson has led
the league in free-throw percentage each of the last two seasons
while finishing second in field-goal percentage over that same
span.
Christine Clark (45.6) ranks fourth in the conference in shooting
percentage while Victoria Lippert (43.8) and Brogan Berry (41.7)
rank fifth and ninth, respectively.
Cleaning the Glass
The Crimson has outrounded its opponents in six of seven games
this season, including each of the last four. Harvard had not
outrebounded opponents in four straight games since the 2008-09
season, when it went eight straight games with a rebounding
advantage. Harvard's 39.0 rpg rank second in the Ivy League while
its +6.3 rebounding margin is also good for second.
Miriam Rutzen ranks fifth in the Ancient Eight with 6.3 rpg while
Christine Clark and Emma Golen are tied for ninth with 5.9 rpg.
A Tale of Two Halves
Harvard has thrived in the first half of games, averaging 35.3
points on 42.7 percent shooting while allowing 30.9 points on 40.7
percent shooting. In the second half, however, the Crimson is
scoring just 32.9 points on 41.0 percent shooting while allowing
37.6 points on 45.8 percent shooting. Additionally, Harvard has
made 30-of-78 attempts from three before the break but just 9-of-58
after.
Player of the Week
Christine Clark was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on
Nov. 28 after averaging 17.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg in a 1-1 week for the
Crimson. The sophomore turned in an 18-point, nine-rebound
performance in Harvard's 69-57 win over Rhode Island, and followed
it up with 17 points and five rebounds against Holy Cross. Clark
did this while shooting 52.0 percent from the floor and 88.9
percent at the line. This was her first player of the week award
from the conference after having been named rookie of the week
three times last season.
Lavietes Love
Harvard has enjoyed a distinct home-court advantage since the
2008-09 season, posting a 32-7 home record in that time including
three-straight wins in home openers. Harvard is 2-1 at Lavietes
this season and is shooting 40.1 percent in the friendly confines.
The Crimson went 10-2 at home last season and averaged 77.4
ppg.
Triple Threat
Returning All-Ivy selections Christine Clark, Brogan Berry and
Victoria Lippert are each averaging over 10 ppg and are among the
Ivy League's leading scorers. Clark has netted 17.4 ppg, which is
good for second in the conference, while Berry ranks 10th with 12.0
ppg and Lippert 11th with 11.7 ppg.
You Can Count on Clark
Christine Clark has scored in double-digits each game this season
and in nine straight dating back to last year. In 35 career games,
Clark has scored at least 10 points 28 times and has been limited
to under five points only once.
Career Day
Both Elle
Hagedorn and Elise Gordon
recorded a career high in points in Harvard's win over Rhode
Island, with Hagedorn notching 14 points and Gordon 10. Missy Mullins pulled
down a career-best five rebounds against the Rams and Emma Golen
notched a career-high two steals.
Team Effort
All nine Crimson who saw action against Rhode Island scored at
least one point. Harvard had at least nine student-athletes score
at least one point 12 times last year, including a 96-63 win over
New Hampshire when 13 Crimson put points on the board.
Milestone Moments
Senior co-captain Brogan Berry became the 15th member of Harvard
women's basketball's 1,000 point club last season. Berry is
currently ranked 12th in program history with 1,155 points, needing
73 points to break into the school's top 10 and 225 points to enter
the Ivy League's top 30.
Berry also ranks fifth at Harvard with 425 career assists and is
17th in Ancient Eight history. This season she could join Emily Tay
'09 (1,263 pts., 514 ast.) as one of only two student-athletes in
program history to score 1,200 points and dish out 500 assists.
Her career free-throw percentage of 81.7 is good for ninth in the
Ivy League record book.
Click here to visit the Media Center on GoCrimson.com
to access Harvard's most up-to-date career records.
Career Scoring (Harvard)
1. Allison Feaster '98 2,312
11. Barbarann Keefer '88 1,169
12. Brogan Berry '12 1,155
Career Assists (Harvard)
1. Jennifer Monti '02 558
4. Barbarann Keefer '88 434
5. Brogan Berry '12 425
Career Assists (Ivy)
1. Jennifer Monti '02, Harvard 558
13. Betsy Gilmore '95, Dartmouth 428
Cheryl Rath '89, Penn 428
Patricia Kern '03, Columbia 428
16. Kathleen Jonhson '93, Columbia 427
17. Brogan Berry '12, Harvard 425
Patty Mills '86, Cornell 425
Career Free-Throw Percentage (Ivy)
1. Angela Soriaga '06, Dartmouth 89.9
9. Brogan Berry '12, Harvard 81.7
Now Starting for Harvard...
Junior Emma Golen made her first career start at Iowa while senior
Brogan Berry made her 87th. Harvard has used the same starting
lineup for each game this season, which includes Berry (92 career
starts), Christine Clark (35), Victoria Lippert (53), Golen (7) and
Miriam Rutzen (19).
Player to Watch
Senior co-captain Brogan Berry, who has posted 15.0 ppg and 4.7
apg season, was featured on Graham Hays' list of mid-major players to watch on
ESPN.com.
Preseason Poll
With three returning All-Ivy selections and coming off an 18-10
season, the Harvard women's basketball team was picked second in
the 2011-12 Ivy League Preseason Poll. The Crimson, which has
finished second in the conference in each of the past three
seasons, received 117 points and garnered three of the poll's
first-place votes. Two-time defending Ivy League Champion Princeton
was tabbed first, receiving 133 points and 14 first-place votes,
while Yale (103) and Penn (68) rounded out the top four. Brown
(66), Columbia (52), Dartmouth (52) and Cornell (21) ranked fifth
through eighth, respectively.
2011-12 Ivy League Preseason Poll
1. Princeton (14) 133
2. Harvard (3) 117
3. Yale 103
4. Penn 68
5. Brown 66
6. Columbia 52
Dartmouth 52
8. Cornell 21
Captaining the Ship
Seniors Brogan Berry and Lindsay Louie were
chosen by their teammates as captains for the 2011-12 season. Berry
is a three-year starter and two-time team MVP, while Louie earned
the Harvard Pride Award following the 2009-10 season.
Catch the Crimson in 2011-12
Harvard fans can watch each of the team's 12 home games in 2011-12
live online through GoCrimson.com. A women's basketball pass costs
just $59.95 and this year also includes audio broadcasts for the
team's games at Providence, New Hampshire and Brown. Click here to sign up today.
Inside Ivy League Basketball
"Inside Ivy League Basketball," an online radio show dedicated to
talking basketball in the Ancient Eight, launched Thursday, Nov. 10
on BlogTalkRadio.com. "Inside Ivy League Basketball" takes an
in-depth look at all the news and notes surrounding Ivy men's and
women's basketball on and off the courts. Click here to listen now.
