Christine Matera led the Crimson with 16 points (photo courtesy of Gil Talbot).

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard women's basketball team won its second straight and eighth at home Saturday evening with a 69-53 win over Cornell. Junior co-captain Christine Matera led four Crimson players in double figures with her game-high 16 points.

Matera was 5-for-12 from the field and 4-for-10 from beyond arc. She also had three rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Brogan Berry added 14 points and seven assists and junior Emma Markley put up 10 points and pulled down seven boards. Freshman Elle Hagedorn scored a career-high 12 points.

Cornell scored the first basket of the game before Matera's first three-pointer of the game gave the home team a 3-2 lead. Five-straight points from the Big Red put the visiting team up 7-3 with 17:37 left in the first half. Cornell held onto that lead for the next 14 minutes slowing down the Crimson offense. A fast-break lay-up from Hagedorn sparked a 12-0 run for the Crimson, putting the home team up 21-16 with 2:16 left in the first stanza. The Big Red added three points before the halftime buzzer sounded making it 21-19 at the break.

Harvard never trailed in the second half, but the Big Red did tie the score twice. With 15:25 remaining in the game, Fitzpatrick tied the score at 32-32 with a fast-break lay-up. A trey from Hag. edorn and a bucket in the paint from Markley put the home team up by five. A three from Laura Benson and another two-point basket from Fitzpatrick tied the score at 37-37. Harvard answered with nine straight points over the next 1:33 of play. The Big Red did not get closer than six points in the final 10 minutes of the game, while the Crimson led by as many 16 in the second half

The Crimson shot 41.0 percent from the field in the game, while the Big Red managed 31.6 percent. Harvard outrebounded Cornell,47-35.

Harvard hits the road for a pair of conference games at Princeton and Penn next weekend.