Harvard Rallies for 65-54 Victory against Brown

Friday, February 26

Providence, R.I.

7 pm

Brown University

Harvard

Harvard Rallies for 65-54 Victory against Brown

2/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Providence, RI- Sophomore Aileen Daniels (Waldwick, NJ) netted a game-high 17 points and Natalie Bonds (Taveres. FL) earned her fourth double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to get by Harvard, as the Crimson rallied for a 65-54 victory at the Pizzitola Sports Center on Friday night.

The Brown University Bears came out fired up and played outstanding basketball on both ends of the floor during the first half. Brown, shooting 35 percent from the field, jumped out to a lead from the start, and held onto it through the majority of the half. However, Harvard made a late run in the final three minutes and eventually gained a lead, and headed into halftime with a 29-24 edge over the Bears.

After taking a 5-2 lead after the first three minutes into the game, the Bears continued to roll and improved the score to 11-5. Brown's high-pressure defense caused the Crimson 11 first-half turnovers, as Brown, courtesy of Daniels and Bonds, was able to gain a 16-9 advantage with 10:32 on the clock.

However, with just three minutes remaining in the half, the Crimson chipped away at their deficit and came within five, and a three and a jumper by Miriam Rutzen brought Harvard within two at the 1:39 mark.

Free throws by Victoria Lippert then tied the game up at 24-24 with 1:12 on the clock, and then scored the next five points to head into halftime with a 29-24 lead.

The Bears didn't back down in the second, as the squad came out with even more tenacity. Brown came back from its deficit and eventually regained the lead, 41-37, with 11:52 left. The Crimson then hit some big shots and made some solid defensive stops against the Bears regain a lead (50-44) with 6:20 left in the game.

Daniels hit a jumper off an inbounds pass and sophomore guard Hannah Passafuime (Soquel, CA) took a charge down on the other end. She followed it up with a three pointer to bring Bruno within one with 5:24 to go. However, Harvard's Emma Markley put in a lay-up and then the Crimson made three free-throws to increase their lead back up to six, 55-49.

While Daniels was able to make two free throws to cut Brown's deficit back to four, Harvard continued to knock down shots and shut down the Bears on offense to push its lead up to nine, 61-52, with just 1:08 remaining in the game.

The Bears couldn't come any closer and had to start fouling, allowing Harvard to achieve a 65-54 victory.

Leading the Harvard offense was Emma Markley with 15 points and six rebounds, followed by Brogan Berry's 12 points. Daniels led Brown with 17 points and three rebounds, followed by Bonds' 11 points and 11 boards. Bonds played solid all around for Bruno today, also adding two assists, four steals and one block in 31 minutes of play.

Brown is back in action tomorrow when it takes on the Dartmouth Big Green in its final home game of the 2009-10 season. The Bears will honor their three seniors, Bonds, Christina Johnson (Oakland, CA) and Courtney Lee (Archer, FL).