CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's and women's basketball held its annual Crimson Madness preseason event on Friday, Oct. 13 at Lavietes Pavilion with
Elena Rodriguez and
Chisom Okpara combining to win the skills challenge,
Katie Krupa and
Lola Mullaney finishing as co-champions of the 3-point contest, and all student-athletes and fans enjoying the return of basketball.
Throughout the evening, fans enjoyed their first opportunity to catch a glimpse of the 2023-24 edition of Harvard basketball. The event began with a pre-party on the Lavietes Lawn for Harvard undergraduate students before team introductions. From there, the night included a skills challenge, a 3-point contest, team scrimmages, and a post-event autograph session.
Skills Challenge
Four groups of student-athletes took part in the skills challenge, which tested dribbling, passing, and shooting skills.
Elena Rodriguez and
Chisom Okpara combined to win the competition, clocking in at 42.3 seconds to top the duos of
Harmoni Turner and
Chandler Piggé (43.5 seconds),
Karlee White and
Denham Wojcik (44.8), and
Abigail Wright and
Greg Cooper (50.8).
3-Point Contest
A total of eight competitors took part in the 3-point shootout with
Lola Mullaney and
Katie Krupa emerging as co-champions following two tiebreaker rounds.
Following the first round of competition Mullaney and Krupa stood tied in the women's bracket while
Tyler Simon and
Malik Mack finished in a tie in the men's bracket. After another tie in the first tiebreaker, Mullaney and Krupa's combined score of 17 topped the combined score of 15 from Simon and Mack.
Team Scrimmages
The two teams closed the evening with a pair of 10-minute scrimmages.
On the women's side,
Harmoni Turner scored nine points alongside three steals and two assists while
Lola Mullaney netted nine points with two rebounds.
Elena Rodriguez and
Mary Hollensteiner each scored six points on 3-of-4 shooting, and
Abigail Wright grabbed six rebounds.
Closing the night with the men's scrimmage,
Louis Lesmond scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting and 2-of-3 triples with three rebounds,
Matt Filipowski tallied four rebounds, and
Malik Mack dished out three assists.
Gallery: (10-13-2023) Crimson Madness 2023
Next Up
Both men's and women's basketball tip off the season on Monday, Nov. 6 with the men hosting UMass Boston at Lavietes Pavilion at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) and the women playing at Maryland at 7:00 p.m. (BIG+).
