PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – After a resilient second half, the Harvard women's basketball team (6-6, 0-0 Ivy League), edged Saint Joseph's (4-8, 0-0 A-10), 73-70, today at Hagan Arena.
 
First-year Harmoni Turner led the Crimson's offense for the third-straight game after netting a career-high 25 points. Sophomore Lola Mullaney and senior Tess Sussman joined her in double figures with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Junior Maggie McCarthy tied her career-high in assists, dishing out a team-best six helpers. On the defensive end, junior McKenzie Forbes grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while Mullaney and Turner added seven and six boards apiece.  
 
Saint Joe's jumped out to a 6-0 lead off back-to-back triples to start the game. Mullaney hit a triple to get the Crimson on the board, before the Hawks increased their lead to 10-5 midway through the opening frame. Saint Joe's used a 5-0 run to extend its advantage t to 18-5, before the Crimson responded with two consecutive triples from Mullaney and Turner. The teams traded baskets through the remainder of the first quarter, before Turner drained a triple at the buzzer to put Harvard within six at 25-19.
 
Turner opened the second quarter with her third triple of the game to pull the Crimson within three points. After six-straight points from Saint Joe's, Sussman stopped the Hawks' run with back-to-back triples to bring the score to 35-28. Harvard stormed back to end the quarter on a 13-3 scoring run, including two triples from Mullaney, to tie the score at 38-38 headed into halftime.
 
Saint Joe's began the second half with seven-straight points. Turner silenced the Hawks' run with her fourth triple of the game, before Sussman brought Harvard within three at 48-45. Maddie Stuhlreyer and Elle Stauffer combined to knot the score at 48-48 off free throws. However, the Hawks used another 7-0 run to take the lead back at 55-50 at the end of the frame.
 
The Crimson came out in quarter four on an offensive surge, using an 8-0 run to gain a 58-56 lead over the Hawks. Lindsey Lawson dropped in four of Harvard's eight points. Back-and-forth action ensued midway through the frame, with buckets from Turner, McCarthy and Forbes. Forbes hit a triple under the two-minute mark to bring the Crimson within one point at 70-69. With under 30 seconds remaining, Forbes stole the ball in Harvard's defensive zone and Mullaney finished at the other end to give Harvard the lead and clinch a 73-70 victory.
 
Harvard Highlights
- The Crimson went 28-for-62 (.452) from field goal range and 11-for-22 from behind the arc (.500) against the Hawks.
- Turner shot 10-for-16 from the field (.625) and 4-for-6 on three-pointers (.667), her highest percentages of the season.
- Harvard outrebounded Saint Joe's, 37-32.
- The Crimson dished out 19 assists, led by McCarthy with six and Mullaney and Turner with four each.
- The victory marks the Crimson's first over Saint Joe's in program history and its third-straight win of the season as it heads into conference play. 

Up Next
The Crimson will open Ivy League play on the road at Princeton on Sunday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.