CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – On the night when the Crimson celebrated its Ivy League Tournament Championship from a year ago, a balanced offensive attack pulled Harvard women's basketball (1-0) past St. John's (1-1), 61-56.
11 different Crimson players saw the court in the season opener and nine scored to give Harvard a victory over the Red Storm for the second consecutive season.
Karlee White and
Nina Emnace each put up career-bests with 16 and eight points, respectively.
Abigail Wright also added 11 points and seven rebounds in the contest.
How it Happened
Saniyah Glenn-Bello and White tallied two quick buckets for the Crimson in what was an otherwise low-scoring first quarter. A free throw at the 3:52 mark would give the Red Storm its only lead of the contest as Harvard closed the frame with a 6-0 push in the final two minutes and would never again relinquish its advantage.
St. John's settled in during the second quarter, outscoring the Crimson 16-14 and shooting an even 50% from the field. Harvard expanded its lead to seven to start the frame but the Red Storm cut the deficit to one midway through. With each St. John's push, Harvard responded and never lost its lead entirely.
The Crimson kept its foot on the gas straight out of the locker room, pushing its lead to nine at the 7:46 mark. Harvard's lead then reached double digits at 45-34 courtesy of an
Alayna Rocco layup with nearly two minutes remaining. Another late quarter push and a buzzer beater from the Red Storm cut the deficit to five heading into the final 10 minutes.
Harvard's defensive identity was the ultimate key to its victory with several big stops down the stretch. The Red Storm possessed the ball down one with just 13 second remaining. A block from Wright and a strong rebound from
Olivia Jones put Jones on the free throw line with the chance to extend Harvard's lead. Jones sank both from the charity stripe and the Crimson led by three with 10 seconds left on the clock. White's fourth steal of the night sealed the win as she intercepted the inbound pass and hit two free throws to ice the game.
Harvard Highlights
- Karlee White had a career-night as she led in scoring with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting and added five rebounds and four steals.
- Nina Emnace also provided crucial minutes and set a new career-best for scoring with eight points and three steals.
- Abigail Wright joined White in double figures, tallying 11 points while also grabbing seven boards.
- Olivia Jones came up in the clutch for the Crimson, scoring four crucial points down the stretch.
- In total, nine different Harvard players scored this evening and five scored at least seven points.
- Harvard's defensive identity hasn't wavered since last season, as the Crimson had 14 steals and forced 24 turnovers.
- Harvard won the rebounding battle, 41-30, thanks in large part to its 19 offensive boards.
- With the win, Harvard has now won two straight over the Red Storm and evened the all-time series to three-all.
Next Up
In a quick turnaround, Harvard will face No. 13 Michigan in Ann Arbor on Sunday, November 9 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
