A flurry of three-pointers in the first half provided the Harvard women’s basketball team (16-8, 8-2 Ivy) a lead that it would not relinquish, resulting in a 72-59 victory over Brown.

The squad’s relentless play and rebounding avenged an earlier 57-56 road loss to the Bears (7-18, 3-8) on Feb. 12.

“There was added motivation because we were pretty disappointed with the loss at [Brown],” co-captain Christine Matera said. “I wouldn’t say [there was added] pressure—just motivation. But I mean, every game is important at this stage.”

Sophomore Victoria Lippert led the Harvard offense with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-6 from the beyond the arc. The Crimson capitalized on the Bears’ 23 turnovers, which turned into 34 points for Harvard.

“She can do it inside; she can do it outside,” said Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. “She can do it at the line and she was hitting her threes. I think Vic did a nice job tonight.”

Both teams started slow with a layup from Bears sophomore Lauren Clarke being the only points either team scored in the first two and a half minutes of the game.

The teams then traded baskets resulting in seven lead changes in the first nine and a half minutes. A Lippert three-pointer with 11:31 left in the first half gave Harvard a 13-12 lead and started a 19-2 run for the Crimson. The rally, which lasted about four minutes, set the score at 29-14.

Harvard’s streak was led by the hot shooting of Lippert and Matera. The two teammates highlighted the Crimson’s three-point shooting in the first half with both going perfect from downtown.

During the run, Lippert scored 10 points while Matera scored six. With 9:49 remaining in the first half, the co-captain made a three that gave the Crimson a 20-14 lead and started a run of four consecutive treys by Matera and Lippert.

“[Junior guard] Brogan [Berry] did a fine job of setting me [up for] the threes,” Lippert said. “[Matera] was hitting shots. Those shots don’t always go in, but it’s sure nice when they do. Great momentum-builder to be able to do that.”

Harvard never trailed after the run, but Brown, after regrouping during a timeout, came out and responded with 12-2 run of its own, making the score, 31-26, with 4:03 remaining in the first half.

The Bears had five different players hit shots in the run, highlighted by back-to-back threes by sophomore guards Sheila Dixon and Lindsay Nickel.

Nickel led the Bears with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from downtown. Brown held the Crimson to only one basket in a span of three minutes and 49 seconds during the Bears’ run.

A strong drive by freshman guard Christine Clark got her to the free-throw line and two points to stop the run.

Brown further closed the gap with an 8-2 run capped off by a Nickel three-pointer that cut Harvard’s lead to one with a halftime score of 35-34.