Cambridge, Mass. - The Harvard Women's Basketball team (14-8, 7-3 Ivy) will play host to Columbia and Cornell this weekend. Friday's game will be presented by Bumble and streamed on ESPN+ as the Crimson take on the Columbia Lions at 6 p.m. Saturday, Harvard will face Cornell at 5 p.m. as the game is streamed on ESPN3.
Friday's game against Columbia will celebrate Black History Month where attendees will learn what Black history means to the Harvard Women's Basketball team. Saturday's game against Cornell will be the team's Alumni night as the Crimson share past and present accomplishments of their alum.
What to Know
• Harvard women's basketball opened the Carrie Moore era this season with 7 nonconference wins and 7 wins through the first ten games in conference play. This weekend will present second matchups of both Columbia and Cornell, this time at home in Lavietes Pavilion.
• Moore is in Year 1 after the retirement of Kathy Delaney-Smith, who was at the helm of the Crimson program for 40 years. Moore was named The Kathy Delaney-Smith Head Coach For Harvard Women's Basketball on April 6, 2022, and arrived in Cambridge after spending the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach at Michigan, helping the Wolverines to a 25-7 record and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. Moore also had assistant-coaching stints at North Carolina, Princeton and Creighton.
• Lola Mullaney hit the 1000 career points benchmark against Yale, surpassing the mark as she made a shot from three. Mullaney is only the 22nd player in Harvard history to hit this mark and is well on her way to climbing the Harvard record books as she is only in her junior season. In the Crimson's most recent contest at Penn, she led the team in scoring for the fifth time this season with 18 points.
• Sophomores Harmoni Turner and Elena Rodriguez have had career seasons, each reporting career highs in multiple metrics and multiple double doubles throughout conference play.
• Turner started the 2022-23 season with a career high 31 points against URI. She has gone on to report 12 rebounds twice as a new career high, most recently pulling the ball down 12 times at Brown. She also dished out a career high 12 assists when the Crimson played Penn on Jan. 28. In another career high this season, she stole the ball from Maine 7 times.
• Elena Rodriguez posted her career high points scored in the first game against Penn, putting up 28. She pulled down 14 rebounds and passed off a career high 5 assists at Dartmouth on Jan. 16. Most recently she made a career high 3 blocks at Yale.
• Rodriguez has been consistent with double doubles as of late, putting up 17 points with 11 rebounds at Penn on Saturday, Feb. 11. She has reported a double double in four conference games this season.
• Throughout conference play, Rodriguez leads the league in two statistics: field goal percentage (.587) and blocked shots (1.5 per game).
• Harvard is meeting Ivy League competitor Columbia for the 74th time in series history, one in which Harvard leads 64-9. The Lions currently hold a 5-game win streak over the Crimson, winning the first matchup this season 82-56.
• Harvard will host Ivy League opponent Cornell in their 86th matchup in series history, one in which Harvard leads 74-12. The Crimson won the first game this season at the home of the Big Red, 66-53.
• Harvard's 2022-23 schedule featured 12 non-conference games before Ivy League play began. With a 7-3 Ivy record, Harvard is tied for second in standings with Penn.
• If Harvard wins either of their games this weekend, and Yale loses against both Penn on Friday and Princeton on Saturday, Harvard would clinch a spot in the Ivy Madness tournament on Saturday.
Up Next
The Crimson will travel to their final road game of the regular season at Princeton on Friday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
