Harvard will celebrate Senior Night on Saturday while
looking to earn its third trip to the WNIT in four years (Gil
Talbot).
The Storyline
The Harvard women's basketball team begins its final push towards
a postseason bid this weekend when it hosts Columbia Friday, March
2 at 7 p.m. and Cornell Saturday, March 3 at 6 p.m. The Crimson has
three games remaining on its schedule, and is one-half game behind
second-place Yale for the Ivy League's automatic invite to play in
the WNIT.
A live video stream will be available for both games through
GoCrimson.com with play-by-play man Greg Kadetsky and analyst Tom
Cuddy on the call. Live stats will also be available through
GoCrimson.com.
Postseason Scenarios
Harvard enters the weekend one-half game behind Yale for second
place in the Ivy League with a trip to the WNIT on the line. The
Crimson has three games remaining on its schedule while the
Bulldogs have two. Below are the scenarios for either Harvard or
Yale to clinch the postseason bid:
• Harvard can clinch on Saturday by winning both its games
this weekend and Yale losing both.
• Harvard can clinch on Tuesday by winning each of its three
remaining games and Yale losing one of its two this weekend.
• If both teams win each of its remaining games, Yale would
win the second-place tiebreaker by virtue of having beat top-seeded
Princeton.
• If Harvard loses any of its three remaining games, and Yale
beats Princeton but loses to Penn, Yale would win the second-place
tiebreaker by virtue of beating top-seeded Princeton.
• If Harvard loses to Cornell, and Yale loses to Princeton,
Yale would win the second-place tiebreaker by virtue of being 2-0
against Cornell.
• If Harvard loses to Columbia, and Yale loses to Princeton,
the second-place tiebreaker would be determined by a random
draw.
Thank You, Seniors
Harvard will celebrate the accomplishments of this year's
graduating seniors, co-captains Brogan Berry and Lindsay Louie,
prior to Saturday's game against Cornell. Berry and Louie have
helped the Crimson to 71 wins over the last four seasons, including
39 in Ivy League play, and the program's first two appearances in
the WNIT in 2009 and 2010.
Non-Profit Organization Night
Local non-profit organizations can receive free admission to
Friday's game against Columbia. Please e-mail dharsvp@fas.harvard.edu to reserve your tickets
today!
Harvard Faculty and Staff Night
All Harvard faculty and staff may receive up to four free tickets
to Friday's game against Columbia with a valid H.U.I.D. Click here to request
your tickets today.
Coke Family 4 Pack
Family's can purchase their Coke Family 4 Pack for Saturday's game
against Cornell which includes four tickets to the game and four
free Cokes for $20. Online sales only, click here to purchase today.
Last Time Out
Victoria
Lippert scored 17 points and hit a three-pointer with just 1:13
remaining to take the lead for good as the Harvard women's
basketball team defeated Penn, 57-53, Saturday night at the
Palestra.
Lippert shot 7-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-4 from three,
and hit her biggest shot of the night with the game on the line,
breaking a 50-50 tie, the seventh tie of the night, and helping
Harvard secure the victory.
Emma Golen
added 13 points and was 4-of-8 from behind the arc while Christine Clark
chipped in 12. Harvard shot 43.5 percent for the game and was
11-of-13 from the line.
Click here to watch highlights from the
game.
History in the Making
Brogan Berry became the first Ivy Leaguer to surpass both the
1,300 point and 500 assist plateaus last weekend and is only the
56th student-athlete in NCAA women's basketball history to do
so. Entering Friday, Berry ranked third in Harvard history
and sixth in Ivy League annals with 507 career assists, and is the
sixth all-time leading scorer for the Crimson with 1,37 career
points. She needs just three more points to break into the Ivy
League all-time top 30, and is on pace to become just the 49th
student-athlete in NCAA annals to score 1,400 points and dish
out 500 assists.
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
2. Hana Peljto '04 2,109
3. Reka Cserny '05 1,863
4. Tammy Butler '95 1,605
5. Erin Maher '93 1,582
6. Brogan Berry '12 1,377
Career Assists (Harvard)
1. Jennifer Monti '02 558
2. Emily Tay '09 514
3. Brogan Berry '12 507
Career Assists (Ivy)
1. Jennifer Monti '02, Harvard 558
5. Lauren Benson'10, Cornell 515
6. Brogan Berry '12, Harvard 507
Career Free-Throw Percentage (Ivy)
1. Angela Soriaga '06, Dartmouth 89.9
5. Brogan Berry '12, Harvard 83.0
Just Like Home
Harvard went 8-6 in road games this season, and clinched the
program's first winning road record since 2008-09 with its 57-53
win at Penn on Saturday. The Crimson enjoyed a five-game road
winning streak from Jan. 3 to Feb. 4, marking the program's longest
road winning streak since a seven-game stretch in 2008-09.
Players of the Week
Junior Christine Clark and senior Brogan Berry have combined to
earn five Ivy League Player of the Week honors this season, the
most for any single team in the conference. Clark has been named
player of the week three times after earning three Ivy League
Rookie of the Week awards last season. Berry, meanwhile, owns five
career player of the week honors, putting her one shy of entering
the Ancient Eight's all-time top 10.
Welcome to the Club
Junior Victoria Lippert became the 16th member of Harvard's 1,000
point club on Feb. 10 against Penn and is only the sixth
student-athlete in Crimson history to do so as an underclassman.
Lippert enters the weekend ranked 14th in program annals with 1,062
points. Senior Brogan Berry is also a member of the 1,000 point
club and was the fifth student-athlete to eclipse 1,000 points as
an underclassman. She currently ranks sixth in the Harvard record
books with 1,377 points.
300
Harvard won its 300th game in Ivy League play at home against
Penn, becoming the second program after Dartmouth to reach 300 wins
against Ancient Eight opponents. The Crimson has won 281 Ivy League
games under Head Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith, and has won at least 10
games in the conference 16 times.
Its Been A While
Head Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith, in her 30th season at the helm of
the Crimson, coached in her 800th career game on Saturday at Penn.
Delaney-Smith has also been on the sidelines for 405 Ivy League
contests, and coached game 400 at home against the Quakers.
Seeing Crimson
Freshman Erin
McDonnell was the star of the most recent Seeing Crimson
feature on GoCrimson.com. In the video, McDonnell breaks down the
keys to playing post defense and gives you a first person view of
what it looks like to take a charge.
Haven't We Seen You Before?
Senior Brogan Berry entered the weekend having made 111 career
appearances in a Crimson uniform, including 110 career starts.
Should she appear in each of the Crimson's final regular season
games, she will finish with 114 career appearances, second only to
Christine Matera's '11 115. If Berry starts each of Harvard's
remaining regular season games, she will set the new program record
for career starts at 113.
20/20 Vision
Christine Clark and Brogan Berry combined for six consecutive
20-plus point performances from Feb. 3 to Feb. 18, a feat which the
Crimson had not achieved since going 15 straight games with a
20-point scorer in 2003-04.
Clark began the streak with 23 points at Cornell and followed that
up with a 21-point night at Columbia, becoming the first Crimson
since Victoria Lippert in 2010 to score at least 20 points in
back-to-back games. Berry posted back-to-back 20-point games
against Penn (26) and Princeton (21), marking the first time in her
career she has done so. Clark moved the streak to six games with a
20-point effort at Brown and a 23-point showing at Yale.
Doubling Up
Four Crimson have combined to post six double-doubles this season,
with Christine Clark notcing back-to-back double-doubles against
Princeton and Brown to become the first Harvard student-athlete to
do so since Emma Markley '11 in 2011. Clark leads the team with
three double-doubles on the year while Brogan Berry, Emma Golen and
Miriam
Rutzen have each notched one.
Shooters' Touch
The Crimson shot 51.0 percent (26-51) from the field at Yale,
marking only the second time this season the Crimson has made at
least half of its attempts from the field. Harvard also shot 50.0
percent (26-52) against Alcorn State, marking the first time the
team had done so since shooting 60.9 percent (28-46) in a 77-46 win
against Columbia on Feb. 19, 2011.
Freebies
Harvard was a perfect 21-of-21 at the free-throw line at Columbia,
tying the program record for free-throw percentage in a single game
and marking the first time the team has been perfect on more than
15 attempts. The Crimson is one of just 10 teams in the NCAA this
season to finish a game without a miss at the line and at least 15
attempts, and along with Syracuse's 23-of-23 performance is one of
only two teams to do so with at least 20 attempts.
Christine Clark led Harvard with a 12-of-12 performance at the
line, tying her with Reka Cserny '05 for the best single-game
performance in program history. Clark made 29 consecutive free
throws earlier this season, including an 11-of-11 performance at
New Hampshire.
Nationally Known
Harvard entered the weekend ranked 12th in the NCAA in free-throw
percentage (76.7) and was 39th with a +5.2 rebounding margin. The
Crimson also ranked 13th in personal fouls (13.2) and 96th in
three-point field goals per game (5.6).
Individually, Brogan Berry owned the 31st best assist-to-turnover
ratio (1.9) in the land while her 4.4 apg were good for 69th. Berry
also ranked 15th in free-throw percentage (88.1) while Christine
Clark came in at 45th (83.3).
They're on Fire
Harvard entered the weekend ranked second in the Ivy League in
field-goal percentage and first in free-throw percentage,
connecting on 40.5 percent of its attempts from the floor and 76.9
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.
Individually, Victoria Lippert ranked second in the conference in
shooting percentage (46.2) with Emma Golen coming in 10th (43.4).
Brogan Berry had the best percentage at the line (88.1) with
Christine Clark ranking fourth (83.3).
From Way Down Town
Emma Golen entered play this weekend leading the Ancient
Eight in three-point percentage (41.3) while Victoria Lippert
ranked fourth (38.8). Lippert's 1.8 three-point field goals per
game, meanwhile, were good for fourth in the conference as Golen
ranked 10th at 1.4.
Golen and Lippert have combined to shoot 42.9 percent from three
over the last 20 games, with Golen hitting on 30-of-66 attempts and
Lippert nailing 36-of-88.
Cleaning the Glass
The Crimson entered the weekend having outrebounded its opponents
in 21 of 25 games this season, including 10 straight from Nov. 22
to Jan. 7. Harvard had not outrebounded opponents in 10-straight
games since the 2006-07 season, when it went 15 straight games with
a rebounding advantage. Harvard also entered the weekend ranked
second in the Ancient Eight in rebounding offense (39.4),
rebounding defense (34.3) and rebounding margin (+5.2).
Individually, Miriam Rutzen ranked eighth in the Ancient Eight
with 6.2 rpg after having grabbed 10 or more boards in five games
this season.
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. Entering the weekend Clark had netted
15.2 ppg, which was good for fifth in the conference, while Berry
and Lippert ranked eighth with 12.2 ppg each.
D-Fence
The Crimson is 12-1 this season when allowing less than 60 points
and has held six of its last seven opponents to under that total.
Harvard held both UMass (47) and TCU (44) to under 50 points,
marking the first time it has done so in consecutive games since
March of 2008. Both the Minutewomen (26.6) and Horned Frogs (23.7)
also shot below 30 percent, a feat which the Crimson had not
accomplished since at least the 2001-02 season, the last season for
which complete game-by-game records are available.
You Can Count on Clark
Christine Clark has scored in double-figures in 24 of 26 games
this season, and had a streak of 21 consecutive double-digit
performances dating back to last season. In her first 53 career
games, Clark had scored at least 10 points 44 times and has been
limited to under five points only three times.
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. Christine Clark entered the weekend
shooting 61.5 percent (8-13) with less than two minutes to play
while going 31-of-37 from the line for a total of 47 points. Brogan
Berry, meanwhile, had totaled 38 points on 43.8 percent shooting
(7-16) while going 24-of-27 at the charity stripe.
BIG Time Win
Harvard's 63-56 win over St. John's on Dec. 22 was the team's
first over a BIG EAST opponent in exactly eight years, following a
73-59 win at Providence on Dec. 22, 2003. It was also Harvard's
first win over a BIG EAST opponent at Lavietes Pavilion since a
79-76 triumph against Syracuse on Nov. 22, 2002, and its first over
a BCS conference school since an 82-81 win over Boston College on
Nov. 14, 2009.
And the Award Goes To...
Christine Clark was named the College Sports Madness Ivy League
Player of the Week on Feb. 19, marking the fifth time this season
the award has gone to a Crimson student-athlete. Clark has earned
the award three times while Brogan Berry and Emma Golen have each
been honored once.
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.
"The 5-8 Ohio native averaged 4.6 assists per game as a junior and
ranked ninth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. She's not
all pass, holding onto the ball often enough to lead the Crimson by
averaging 13.6 points per game and shoot 39 percent from the
3-point line."
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.
