Shown here in earlier action, sophomore Christine Clark picked up where she left off after a stellar rookie campaign, dropping a career-high 28 points against Iowa Saturday evening. She attempted to lead her squad back from a late nine-point deficit Sunday against Butler, but the Crimson fell short.
A last-minute charge by the Harvard women’s basketball team fell just short Sunday afternoon, when co-captain Brogan Berry and sophomore guard Christine Clark brought their team back to within one point after trailing, 69-60. But the Crimson (0-2) was unable to convert on its final possession and fell, 69-68, to Butler (1-1) at the KCRG-TV 9 Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa.
It was the second of two games this weekend for the Harvard women, who fell to a highly touted University of Iowa team after holding a commanding first-half lead in the opening round of the tournament on Saturday night.
“It was a disappointing weekend for us overall,” Berry said, “but hopefully it will serve as a catalyst to raise the bar higher for ourselves the rest of the season.”
BUTLER 69, HARVARD 68
Harvard may have been feeling the aftereffects of its game the previous night, for the team was slow to get going in the first half.
“I thought we started the game really poorly,” Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said.
The two sides traded baskets for much of the half before the Bulldogs—led by freshman forward Haley Howard’s 13 first half points—pulled ahead, 34-26.
Co-captain Lindsay Louie stemmed the run with a bucket, and Berry, who led the Crimson with 11 first-half points and 18 on the day, added a three-pointer to bring Harvard within three.
But Butler continued to pull away before Berry hit another three at the buzzer to send the Crimson into the locker room down, 42-36.
“Poor defense, poor shooting, no offensive connection,” said Smith of the team’s first-half performance.
Harvard scored the first six points of the second half to tie the score at 42, but the Bulldogs responded swiftly with a 12-0 run.
The Crimson clawed their way back and a put-back from sophomore center Elise Gordon brought Harvard within one, 55-54, with just under 10 minutes to play.
After trading a few buckets, Butler poured in nine straight points to take a 69-60 lead with 1:34 to play.
Clark took over for the Crimson at that point, scoring five of her 15 second half points to bring Harvard within four. Berry drained a three with 25 seconds left, cutting the deficit to one.
The Bulldogs missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds remaining, and Harvard pulled down the rebound. The stage was set for a comeback victory, but the Crimson was unable to get off a last-second shot, and Butler walked off with the win.
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