CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Competing in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament, the fourth-seeded Harvard women's basketball team (13-14, 7-7 Ivy) came up short against the first-seeded Princeton Tigers (23-4, 14-0 Ivy), 72-67, today at Lavietes Pavilion.

Three Crimson players tallied double-digit points in the contest. Junior McKenzie Forbes led the way with 22, while first-year Harmoni Turner and sophomore Lola Mullaney followed not far behind with 19 and 15 respectively. Forbes also paced the Crimson's defense, tallying seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals on the day, while junior Maggie McCarthy put up seven rebounds, one block and one steal of her own.
 
Starting the game strong, the Crimson took an early 3-0 lead after a deep Turner triple kicked off the scoring for Harvard. A 4-0 Princeton run would give the Tigers a 4-3 advantage before two foul shots from Forbes pushed the Crimson lead back to 5-4 at two minutes into the game. Both teams would proceed to trade baskets, with Harvard trailing by just one at 8-7 halfway through the quarter. Another 4-0 Princeton run extended its lead to 12-7, before a Forbes three closed that gap to 12-10. A 7-0 stretch for the Tigers would give them a 19-10 lead, before a completed three-point play from Mullaney shrank the margin to 19-13 to close out the first period.
 
Two quick jumpers from Mullaney followed by one from McCarthy gave the Crimson offense a spark, with Harvard trailing by just two at 21-19 shortly into the quarter. A tough two from Turner would tie the game at 21 all and a contested three from Forbes would give the Crimson a 24-23 lead, their first since three minutes into the first. A layup from Stritzel pushed that advantage to 26-23, tying Harvard's largest lead of the game halfway through the period. Despite two quick threes from Forbes and Mullaney extending the Crimson's margin to 32-25, stellar offensive play from Princeton saw the Tigers take a 35-32 lead going into the half.
 
With defenses tightening up to kick off the third quarter, both teams went scoreless for the first minute of play. A Princeton three and subsequent jumpers would break the deadlock, pushing the Tigers' lead to 42-34 with seven minutes left in the period. Princeton's offense would continue to roll, outscoring Harvard 11-2 halfway through the quarter and affording the Tigers a 46-34 margin. Points from Forbes and Turner combined with stellar defensive play breathed life into the Crimson effort, closing the gap to 52-41. A McCarthy three in the waning seconds of the quarter continued that trend, with Princeton up 52-44 at the end of the third.
 
Carrying that momentum into the fourth, a quick three from Turner started off the scoring early for the Crimson. A successful three-point play from Forbes shrank the Princeton lead to just two, with Tigers up only 52-50 with nine minutes left to play. Despite the Tigers responding with two points of their own, a McCarthy layup and two successful foul shots from Forbes tied the game at 54-all with 6:30 left to play. Outscoring the Crimson 12-5 over the next three minutes, the Tigers roared back out to a comfortable 66-58 lead. Not backing down, the Crimson rallied with points from Turner, Forbes and Stritzel closing the margin to 66-64. While a bucket from the Tigers put their lead back up to 68-64, a clutch three from Mullaney put the Crimson behind by just one at 68-67 with 30 seconds left in the game. Unfortunately, Harvard's rally came up just short, with the Crimson falling to Princeton 72-67.
 
Harvard Highlights
- The Crimson shot 40.9 percent from behind the arc, knocking down nine triples on the night.
- Harvard forced 13 turnovers, capitalizing to the tune of 11 points off of turnovers.
- Princeton was held to 20.8 percent shooting from three-point range, putting in just five of their 24 attempts.
- Concluding the game with 67 points, this is the most points that the Crimson has put up on the Tigers since Feb. 15, 2019. 

Up Next
Harvard will await seeding for the WNIT, announced Monday, March 14.