A career-high 22 points for Harvard’s fourth-year forward Destiny Nunley led the Harvard Crimson (2-1) to a 69-62 win over the University of Maine (2-2) Tuesday, Nov. 15. Maine was down by one headed into the fourth quarter when Nunley dropped 11 points, holding the lead until the end.
The game was even for the first three quarters, never wavering past a seven-point lead for either team. Maine was down by one entering the fourth quarter and would never regain the lead.
Maine was led by fourth-year guard Sigi Koizar who managed to gather 21 points over the course of the game. Koizar went 5-16 on the court, making two three-pointers and also going nine for nine of her free throw attempts. Koizar was accompanied by three other players that managed to earn double digits in the point category: first-year forward Laia Sole with 13 and redshirt second-year guard Tanesha Sutton and first-year guard Blanca Millan with 10 apiece. Sole led all other Black Bears in assists with five. She also picked up eight total rebounds.
Throughout the beginning of the season, Sole is Maine’s second leading point scorer behind Koizar who has 53 points. Sole has gone 15-35 within the arc with the addition of one three-pointer and four free throws. Sutton has been the most accurate shooter for Maine this season, making .571 percent of her field goals and .750 of her three-point shots to tally 34 points for the Black Bears.
Despite the talent of Maine’s starting five, Harvard was able to gain 16 points from the bench compared to Maine’s five. All but two of Harvard’s players scored a point, including a 10-point performance from second-year guard Sydney Skinner. Skinner was activated off the bench in the first quarter as she picked up five points, two rebounds and an assist. Skinner would round out the second half with five more points, four more rebounds and another assist. Skinner was one of three Harvard shooters to score double digits in points, accompanied by Nunley and second-year guard Madeline Raster who scored 14.
Even though Maine kept it close for the majority of the game, their dismal shooting percentages in the second half left Harvard with the win. In the second half, Maine went 7-31 from inside the arc and 2-14 from outside compared to their first half performance of 14-30 and 5-10 respectfully. Harvard remained accurate throughout the whole contest as well as picking up four fast break points compared to Maine’s zero.
The Black Bears beat Saint Peters in the Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge
The Black Bears Women’s Basketball team travelled to South Carolina for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge starting on Sunday, Nov. 20, beating Saint Peter’s University (0-2) 59-43 in their first game of the tournament.
Sole led the team with a game high of 16 points, her highest scoring game of the season. For Saint Peter’s, fourth-year guard Alyssa Velles led the scoring for her team with 12 points on the night, her highest scoring game of the season after scoring no points in their previous game against Penn State. Third-year forward Talah Hughes was the only other player to make it to the double digits, scoring 10 points on the night.
Other high scorers for the Black Bears were Millan with 9 points, Sutton with 8 points and Koizar with 8 points.
Throughout the game, there were three lead changes, with both teams playing hard, with game being tied up four times during play. It was anyone’s game until Maine pulled ahead in the final quarter of play.
Maine saw seven turnovers compared to Saint Peter’s 26 turnovers, however Maine managed to get 26 points off of turnovers while Saint Peters only saw two. Hughes had five of the turnovers for the Peacocks while her teammate first-year guard Sammy Lochner saw another five.
Maine got 30 points in the paint compared to Saint Peter’s 12 points. Maine also managed to get 5 fastbreak points. Saint Peters had 17 bench points compared to Maine’s 14 points.
Saint Peter’s had 41 rebounds compared to the 35 that Maine had. Hughes had 14 of Saint Peter’s rebounds, with third-year forward Sajanna Bethea had had seven. Sutton led the team in rebounds for the Black Bears with nine rebounds while first-year guard Naira Caceres had seven, followed by fourth-year forward Sheraton Jones had six on the night.
Maine ended the game with the largest lead that the game saw, a 16-point lead, giving them their first win of the tournament.
Maine’s tournament play will continue on Monday, Nov. 21 against the University of South Carolina with a tip-off time of 7 p.m. Saint Peters will go on to play Hampton at 5 p.m. also on Monday, Nov. 21. Tournament play continues through Tuesday.
