Playing its third game in five days, including a second straight road trip, Harvard women’s basketball ran out of gas in the second half and fell 68-55 to UMass at the Mullins Center on Tuesday night.
In a fast-paced physical game, the Crimson (1-2) used an 8-0 run to close out the first frame to take a 17-13 lead, then scored 12 of the last 14 points of the second quarter to head into the locker room up 29-22.
After Harvard went ahead 41-35 with 4:36 left in the third on a triple from sophomore guard Nina Emnace, the Minutewomen (3-0) closed the gap to two heading into the final frame.
UMass scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to take a 47-44 lead, its first since the six-minute mark of the second stanza. Back-to-back layups from senior forward Katie Krupa and senior guard Gabby Anderson gave the Crimson a one-point advantage with eight minutes left in regulation. Unfortunately for the visitors, that was the last positive result of the evening.
Not only did the Minutewomen outscore the Crimson 21-7 the rest of the way, but the team’s prize rookie, guard Olivia Jones, was helped off the court with an apparent left knee injury after banging into Krupa with four and a half minutes to go.
Harvard basketball was unable to provide any updates on Jones when contacted by Ivy Hoops Online after the contest.
Some positives and less-than-positives from the trip to Amherst.
UMass discovered its offense in the second half
The Minutewomen were held in check over the opening twenty minutes with Harvard limiting the hosts to 25% shooting from the floor (22% from two) and its two top scorers, sophomore guard Yahmani McKayle and graduate guard Allie Palmieri, to eight points on 27% shooting and zero points, respectively.
Whatever head coach Mike Leflar and his staff, which features former longtime Cornell head coach Dayna Smith and Big Red associate head coach Val Klopfer, said at halftime worked in a big way.
Over the last 20 minutes, UMass connected on 54% of its shots (53% from two), while McKayle added 14 points on 36% shooting and Palmieri totaled 17 points on a 71% shooting effort.
Three-point offense arrived, but three-point defense continued to struggle
The Crimson, which entered the evening shooting 6-f0r-35 (17%) from beyond the arc, shook off the rust and went 10-for-26 (38%) from downtown.
Junior guard Mary Hollensteiner, who only played a minute in Friday’s win over St. John’s and took home the women’s three-point title at this year’s Crimson Madness, led the outside offense with a 3-for-5 effort. Emnace and junior guard Karlee White each went 2-for-4 from the outside line, while three other players each had one.
The six total three-pointers from the reserves helped the Ivy Leaguers bench outscore the Minutewomen 22-2.
On the other side, however, UMass went 9-for-20 (45%) from three with McKayle hitting five and Palmieri connecting on three.
After three games, Harvard’s opponents have notched 22 triples at a 41% success rate, which puts their national numbers at No. 335 and No. 345, respectively.
Rebounding continues to be a plus
Besides the three-point offense, the Crimson stayed competitive thanks to its rebounding effort.
Harvard ended the evening with a +9/+13% advantage on the glass, including 19 offensive boards with Anderson grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds and six on the offensive side.
After the first week of the season, the Crimson have 116 total boards, which is No. 64 in the land, while its 44.6% offensive rebounding rate puts the team at No. 42.
Turnovers not as much
In a game that featured two strong pressure defenses, the Minutewomen won the turnover battle.
UMass forced Harvard to turn the ball over 23 times, turning those miscues into 28 points, while the hosts only turned it over 13 times and the Crimson converted those into seven points.
Through the opening three games, Harvard’s defense is still one of the nation’s best at forcing mistakes, creating 57 turnovers (No. 67), but the defense has given the ball up 65 times (No. 343).
Things don’t get easier for Carrie Moore’s squad, as the team heads across the country to the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational in Berkeley, Calif. The Crimson will look to tighten up its defense and get back into the win column when it faces Oakland on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET and either Cal or Charlotte on Sunday.