Box Score PHILADELPHIA, PA – Despite a strong second half comeback, Harvard women's basketball (15-11, 8-5 Ivy), fell to Penn (15-11, 7-6 Ivy) this afternoon, 67-69.
Harmoni Turner led all Crimson scorers with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting while also adding four rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Lola Mullaney followed closely behind and was a key contributor in Harvard's comeback with 18 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Elena Rodriguez closed out the double figure Crimson scorers with 12 points and a team-leading six rebounds.
How it Happened
The Crimson came out of the gate hot, beginning with a
Lola Mullaney triple just 14 seconds into the contest. Ignited by an and one finish from
Abigail Wright, the Crimson went on 13-3 run across three and a half minutes to grow its lead to 11.
Included in the run was
Harmoni Turner's first bucket which pulled her into No. 10 all-time for career points. Despite the hot start, the Quakers began to find their groove on offense and ultimately took the 21-20 lead at the conclusion of 10 minutes.
Harvard's scoreless drought was brought to a close in the second as
Katie Krupa knocked down a triple to cut the Penn lead to two. The Quakers continued to hang onto its lead throughout a majority of the quarter until a second chance bucket from Turner with a little over a minute remaining restored the Crimson advantage. Ultimately, Penn was able to connect one more time in the frame to take the, 38-37, lead heading into the locker room.
As the Crimson were unable to connect on the offensive end during the first half of the third quarter, the Quakers were able to build their lead out to as many as 11. At the 4:21 mark, a Mullaney triple sparked the Crimson comeback. The senior would go on to score eight straight points in a 14-1 quarter ending run to help put the squad in front headed into the final 10 minutes.
Following
Gabby Anderson tying up the contest, a
Katie Krupa buzzer beater is what ultimately put Harvard up 51-49.
The Crimson were able to hold on to the lead throughout the first half of the frame, continuing to respond to any Quakers' buckets until the home team regained the advantage at the 5:02 mark. Penn breaking the 60-60 tie at the 1:19 mark proved to be the deciding swing as the Quakers would not lose the lead throughout the rest of the match up. Several late game heroics, including a Turner triple with three seconds left to bring the Crimson within one, nearly pulled Harvard in front but the squad ultimately fell, 67-69.
Harvard Highlights
- Harmoni Turner led all scorers by contributing 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field while also adding four rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
- With her first bucket of the day, Turner broke into the top-10 list for all-time career points, passing Deb Flandermeyer. In only her junior season, Turner now stands with 1,334 career points and counting. Turner becomes the second Crimson player this season to check into the top-10 scoring list after teammate Lola Mullaney became the first in nearly 10 years to do so against Boston University.
- Mullaney reached double figures for the 21st time this season by adding 18 points. The senior was instrumental in the team's third quarter comeback by adding eight of the team's 14 points in the frame.
- In addition to her 12 points, Elena Rodriguez led the team in rebounding with six boards. The contest marks the 13th time in 2023-24 that the junior has led the squad in the statistic.
- The team assisted on 15 of its 23 made buckets led by five dimes from Katie Krupa. The sophomore also added nine crucial points, four rebounds, and a block.
- As a team, the Crimson shot 42.6% from the field by going 23-for-54 throughout the contest. Of its 67 points, the Crimson scored 32 in the paint, compared to the Quakers 24.
- Despite falling, the Crimson held a slight advantage in the rebounding battle, grabbing 33 boards to Penn's 31.
Next Up
Harvard will conclude regular season action on Tuesday, March 5 against Dartmouth. Tip-off in the Crimson third game in five days is set for 8:00 p.m. ET inside Lavietes Pavilion and on ESPN+.
