Ithaca, N.Y. - The Harvard women's basketball team (11-7, 4-2 Ivy) came home from Cornell (8-11, 1-5 Ivy), with another win under their belt, defeating the Big Red 66-53 in Ithaca. 

The Crimson controlled the first quarter, with Lola Mullaney and Elena Rodriguez each scoring eight points in the first ten minutes of the contest. Harvard pulled down 12 rebounds over the Big Red's seven in the quarter to finish quarter one with a 23-20 lead. 

Cornell began to make a comeback in the second quarter, matching the Crimson with eight points. Harvard shot 33% from the floor over Cornell's 27% and pulled down three more rebounds than the Big Red to go into the half up 31-28.  

After a tie at 35 midway through the quarter, Harvard built back up their lead, outscoring Cornell 15-11 in the third quarter to go into the fourth quarter with a  46-39 lead. 

The Crimson stayed in control for the fourth quarter, building up a ten-point lead by holding Cornell to 0-for-4 from the floor for the first four minutes of the quarter. They blocked four Big Red shots in the second half and ultimately won the game with a score of 66-53. 

Harvard Highlights

• Mullaney scored 19 points for the Crimson, leading the team for the third game in a row. She shot 7-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-5 from three. 
• Rodriguez and Harmoni Turner put up double-digit points as well, scoring 17 and 15, respectively. 
• Rodriguez displayed excellent accuracy throughout the game, making 60% of of her field goal attempts - the highest percentage of anyone on the court who took more than two shots. 
• Rodriguez pulled down ten rebounds to lead the team in the metric; the only player on either side to report a double-double. She was followed by Turner, who pulled down eight. 
• Turner was instrumental to many Crimson points, dishing out seven assists that would later find the basket for the Crimson. She led the team, followed by Rodriguez with five.  
• Harvard bested Cornell in each of the following metrics: Rebounds (37-30), assists (20-13) and blocks (6-1).
• The Crimson made more free throws than the Big Red shot the entire game, putting in 15 from the line. 
• Harvard has now won their first game of the season against Cornell every year since 2008. After today's win, they will hope to move to 2-0 over Cornell this season as they host the Big Red at home on Feb. 18.  
• With today's win over the Big Red, Harvard has moved to 74-12 over Cornell all-time and to 4-2 in the Ivy League this season. 
• Harvard now sits in a three way tie for second in the Ivy League with Princeton and Yale, all holding 4-2 records. 

Up Next

The Crimson return home to host Penn on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. The game will be the team's featured Cambridge Day and Scout Day. It will be streamed on ESPN+.