CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's basketball will begin their final five nonconference game road stretch this Wednesday against University of Maine. The Crimson will look to bounce back against the Black Bears at 6:00 p.m. at Memorial Gymnasium and on ESPN+.
What to Know
- Harvard has begun their 2023-24 season and the second year under head coach Carrie Moore 5-3 with five strong victories and only falling to a trio of Power 5 opponents.
- The Crimson most recently hosted its second and final nonconference home contest this past Saturday against University of Michigan. Despite battling tightly and leading at the half, the Crimson ultimately fell, 66-80.
- Against the Wolverines, Lola Mullaney posted a season-high 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting to lead the Crimson in scoring. With her 25 points, the Crimson senior jumped into 11th on the Harvard all-time career points list. Being just 17 points away from surpassing Sharon Hayes '87, Mullaney will soon become this first Crimson player to crack the top-10 in all-time points since Christine Clark in 2014.
- Mary Hollensteiner and Elena Rodriguez each added eight points in the contest. Rodriguez had yet another all-around performance by adding two steals, one blocks, and leading the team in rebounds with six and assists with four.
- The Crimson, who rank 49th in the country and first in the Ivy League in three-point percentage defense, held Michigan to 28.6% from beyond the arc. The Wolverines had shot 50% or better from three in their last two contests leading up to the game.
- Harvard forced 23 turnovers on Saturday, against a Michigan squad that has been averaging a little over 14 per game this season.
- In the first NET Rankings of the season, the Crimson checked in at No. 58. The ranking is the highest NET in program history and ranks the Crimson 13 spots higher than the final poll of 2022-23.
- So far this season, the Crimson are averaging 73.8 points per game with a +5.4-scoring margin, both of which rank second in the Ivy League.
- Mullaney is having a strong start to her senior campaign, averaging 15.1 points per game which ranks seventh in the Ivy League. The senior leads the league in three-pointers made per game, averaging 3.0, and is third in three-point percentage, shooting 35.8%. Nationally, Mullaney ranks 24th in three-pointers per game and 25th in total three-pointers made with 24.
- Rodriguez, who ranked first in the league in field goal percentage last year, is picking up right where she left off. The junior is second in the Ivy League while shooting 57.4% through the team's first eight games. Rodriguez also has the fourth best assist to turnover ratio (1.4), and ranks fifth in assists (3.4 per game) and blocks (1.1 per game), and seventh in rebounding (6.5 per game).
- The Crimson season will consist of 13 nonconference matchups before it begins conference play on Saturday, January 6 against Yale.
- Wednesday's matchup will be the 19th installment of the series in which Harvard trails 8-10. The Crimson have recently worked to even the series by winning the last two matchups between the two squads.
- The last time the two teams meet, Harvard dominated the Black Bears at Lavietes Pavilion, 84-56 on December 18, 2023.
Next Up
The Crimson will return to the Boston area to face off against crosstown foe, Boston University, on Saturday, December 9. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Case Gym and on NESN.
