HANOVER, NH – Harvard women's basketball (13-8, 6-2 Ivy) began the second half of Ivy League play by rolling past Dartmouth (6-14, 0-8 Ivy), 68-50.
A balanced offensive attack with five players reaching double digits aided Harvard's 68 points against the league's top scoring defense.
Lola Mullaney led all scorers with 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting while
Harmoni Turner (14),
Katie Krupa (14), Mona Zaric (11), and
Abigail Wright (11) each joined in double figures.
How it Happened
Dartmouth notched the first bucket of the contest but would go on to score just five more points throughout the rest of the first frame. Scoring opened up for the Crimson two minutes into the game as
Lola Mullaney drained a triple off a
Harmoni Turner assist.
The deep shot from Mullaney marked her 262
nd career three-pointer, moving the senior into the No. 2 spot on the all-time list. Another triple from Turner followed by an assist to
Gabby Anderson allowed Harvard to grow an early six-point lead. The Crimson continued to build its advantage throughout the ten minutes ultimately ending with a double-digit lead at the conclusion of the first frame.
The Crimson carried its momentum into the second quarter, growing its lead while also not allowing the Big Green to surpass double digit points until nearly halfway through the frame. While putting up an identical 17 points through the second 10 minutes and shooting over 43% from the field, Harvard went into the locker room with a 34-21 lead. At half, Mullaney, Turner, and Mona Zaric were all nearing in on double figures, each with nine points.
While the Big Green came out of the locker room shooting at a higher percentage, the Crimson continued success and over 50.0% shooting allowed the lead to never fall under double digits. By knocking down the opening bucket of the frame, Zaric surpassed double digits for the first time in her Harvard career.
Katie Krupa began to heat up in the third by notching her first points of the night and going on to record eight of her 14 points in the frame.
Scoring in the fourth was Harvard's lowest total of the night but strong defensive stands forced the Big Green away from striking distance. Krupa registered her third triple of the game at the 4:05 mark to give the Crimson its biggest lead of the game and ultimately seal the 68-50 victory.
Harvard Highlights
- Five Crimson players reached double figures on the night as Lola Mullaney led with 16 points followed by Harmoni Turner and Katie Krupa with 14 and Mona Zaric and Abigail Wright with 11 points each.
- Four of Harvard's five double digit scorers shot 42% or better from the field as the team shot 40.3% throughout the contest and 43.5% from three.
- By knocking down the opening bucket of the contest, Mullaney notched her 262nd career three-pointer, moving her past Erin Maher '92 and into No. 2 all-time in Harvard women's basketball history. Along with her 16 points, the senior added five rebounds, two assists, a block, and three steals in the contest.
- Turner grabbed seven rebounds while also leading the team in assists and steals with four each. The junior now sits with 169 career steals and is just three away from passing Tammy Butler to enter the top-five all-time in Harvard history. Turner also recently entered the top-10 all-time for career assists and is just two out from continuing to move up the list.
- With her 14 points, Krupa reached double figures for the third straight contest and 10th total time this season.
- By notching 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, Zaric posted a new career-high, reaching double digits for the first time with the help of a trio of triples.
- Wright closed out the double-digit scorers by reaching 11 points on 62.5% (5-for-8) shooting. The first-year also joined Turner in leading the team in assists with four.
- Gabby Anderson led the team in boards by pulling down a season-best with eight while also dishing out three assists and registering two steals.
- Elle Stauffer provided strong minutes off the bench by adding six rebounds including three crucial offensive boards down the stretch.
- Harvard were able to put up 68 points on Dartmouth who leads the league in scoring defense, typically holding their opponents to an average of 54.8 points.
- While shooting 43.5% from distance, the Crimson surpassed double digit triples for the seventh time in 2023-24 and for the first time since its 11 against Delaware.
- The Crimson outrebounded the Big Green by grabbing 37 boards to Dartmouth's 33. 16 of the squads' total boards came on the offensive end. With its 16 offensive rebounds, the Crimson accumulated 19 second chance points while only letting up two to the Big Green.
- Led by Turner with four, the Crimson notched 10 steals and forced 19 turnovers to reach double figure takeaways for the fourth time this season.
- With the victory, Harvard improved to 56-36 all-time over Dartmouth and extends its winning streak to six.
Next Up
Harvard will return home for the first time in February to face off against Cornell and Columbia for the second time in three weekends. Beginning with the Big Red, the Crimson will open the two-game weekend on Friday, February 16 with a 6:00 p.m. tip-off. Following a day off, Harvard will look to bounce back against the Lions on Sunday, February 18. Play is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. in Lavietes Pavilion and on ESPNU.
