CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's basketball (5-5) held the Holy Cross Crusaders (3-5) scoreless in the third quarter en route to a 61-46 victory in its first game at Lavietes Pavilion since its home opener on November 7.
Four different Harvard players reached double figures, led by
Saniyah Glenn-Bello with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
Katie Krupa and
Alayna Rocco followed with 12 points each and
Abigail Wright rounded out the Crimson's double-figure scorers with 10 points. a
How it Happened
Harvard gathered an 11-6 lead at the 4:33 mark and it was the only two-field-goal lead for either team in an otherwise back-and-forth quarter. The Crimson went scoreless in the last two minutes, however, to allow Holy Cross to lead 14-13 after the first 10 minutes.
The Crusaders grew their lead to as many as six through the first two and a half minutes of the next frame, but Harvard never allowed the deficit to grow larger. While Holy Cross maintained its lead heading into the locker room, Harvard trailed by just two.
Harvard came out of the locker room hot, and the Crusaders went 0-for-6 from the field and had 11 turnovers in the third quarter, as the Crimson held them scoreless. On the other side of the ball, Harvard tallied a game-high 17 points in the frame to break open the contest.
Harvard continued to prevent a field goal for the first three minutes of the final frame. Despite the Crusaders finding more life in the fourth quarter Harvard had already seized control of the game's momentum and closed out the victory, 61-46.
Harvard Highlights
- Saniyah Glenn-Bello reached double figures for the sixth straight game with her team-leading 14 points. The senior shot 50.0% from the field and also recorded three steals on the defensive end.
- Katie Krupa again contributed to nearly half of the made Harvard buckets with four field goals and six assists.
- With her 12 points, Alayna Rocco surpassed double-digit scoring for the third time in four games.
- Abigail Wright, who entered the game as the 18th-best offensive rebounder in the country, grabbed seven of her eight boards on the offensive end tonight. The junior also added 10 points and two assists.
- The Crimson recorded double-digit steals for the second consecutive games, recording 10 takeaways. Overall, Harvard's defense forced 28 turnovers. Off the Crusaders' miscues the Crimson capitalized for 35 points.
- Harvard held the Crusaders scoreless in the third quarter, forcing 11 Holy Cross turnovers in the 10-minute span.
- The Crimson assisted on 15 of its 21 made field goals against Holy Cross.
- With the win, Harvard overtook control of the series, now leading 8-7 all-time.
Next Up
Harvard will face Stony Brook in approximately 36 hours as it hosts Education Day at Lavietes Pavilion on Friday, November 5 at 11:00 a.m. ET.
