CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Despite 30 points from McKenzie Forbes and a late fourth quarter rally to force overtime, the Harvard women's basketball team (12-10, 6-4 Ivy League) was edged by Penn (9-12, 4-5 Ivy League), 87-78, today at Lavietes Pavilion.
 
Junior McKenzie Forbes led the Crimson offense for the seventh time this season with a career-high 30 points. First-year Harmoni Turner joined Forbes in double figures with 23 points. Turner led on both ends of the court, grabbing a team-best seven rebounds. Senior Tess Sussman and junior Maggie McCarthy added seven boards to help lead the Crimson's defensive efforts as well, while McCarthy added a career-high eight steals to her tally.
 
Penn jumped out to an early 6-0 lead to begin the game. Forbes got the Crimson on the board with a layup and triple to make it a one-point game midway through the opening quarter. After the teams traded baskets, Turner dropped in two from the free throw line and a layup to tie the game at 11-11. The Quakers regained their advantage after an 8-2 run to make it 19-13 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Forbes put up a basket to start quarter two, before Penn netted six-straight points to increase its lead to double-digits at 25-15. McCarthy knocked down a triple to keep the Crimson in it, until the Quakers responded with a triple of their own and three more points to regain a double figure advantage. Forbes halted Penn's run with a triple to make it a 10-point game at 31-21. Mullaney sank a triple as well, however 10 points from the Quakers widened its margin to 17 as Penn took a 41-26 lead into halftime.
 
Mullaney and Turner kicked off scoring for the Crimson in the third, bringing Harvard within 13 with a pair of layups. McCarthy and Turner then drained back-to-back triples to make it a 10-2 Harvard run and cut the Crimson's deficit to seven at 43-36. Harvard and Penn traded baskets as the Crimson stayed within seven, before the Quakers pulled away and built an 11-point, 51-40, lead to conclude the period.
 
Forbes and Mullaney made it a seven-point game once again in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. After five points from Penn, Turner laid in her second triple of the night to keep the Crimson in it. An offensive surge from Turner, including seven points within two minutes of play, cut the Crimson's deficit to six at 58-52. Sussman sank two from the free throw line as Harvard continued to climb back and make it 59-54. Penn held onto its lead as the teams exchanged baskets, before Turner and Forbes combined for six points to bring Harvard within four at 64-60. Harvard and Penn traded free throw points down the stretch, as the Quakers maintained a 71-65 advantage. Forbes came alive in the final minute of play, sinking two consecutive triples and an extra point off the foul to make it a one-point game at 73-72. With four seconds left on the clock, Mullaney drilled a triple to tie the game at 75-75 and force overtime.
 
Penn started overtime with a layup and pair from the line to build a four-point lead. The Quakers' defense held Harvard off the scoreboard, as Penn put in two more from the line just over the three-minute mark. Forbes knocked down her fifth triple to make it an 85-78 game, but Penn's free throw shooting in overtime proved too much to overcome as the Quakers clinched an 87-78 win.
 
Harvard Highlights
- Forbes registered double-digit points for the sixth-straight game with a career-high 30, including five triples. The junior has now reached 20 or more points in four games this season and 30 for the first time this year.
- Turner recorded 20 or more points for the sixth time this season with 23.
- The Crimson tallied 13 steals, led by McCarthy with a career-high eight.
- McCarthy dished out a team-high four assists, followed by Forbes with three.
- Harvard and Penn have split its season series, as the Crimson previously bested the Quakers, 70-63, in January. 

Up Next
Harvard will hit the road for Columbia and Cornell next weekend, Feb. 18-19. The Crimson will take on the Lions on Friday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m., before heading to Cornell for a matchup against the Big Red on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. Both contests will be broadcast on ESPN+.