PROVIDENCE, RI – Harvard women's basketball powered past Princeton in the Ivy Madness semifinal this evening in the Pizzitola Sports Center on the campus of Brown University. The Crimson own the only two Ivy Madness upsets in the tournament's history after its 70-67 victory over the Tigers tonight. Harvard previously captured the first upset by seed two years ago when it defeated Columbia in overtime.
Harvard was led by a historic performance from its senior guard,
Harmoni Turner, as she dropped 44 points on 14-of-27 shooting, seven rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal. The Mansfield, Texas native broke a slew of records including Harvard women's basketball single game scoring, Pizzitola Sports Center single game scoring and three-pointers made, Ivy Madness single game scoring and three-pointers made.
How it Happened
Turner got her start early as she knocked down back-to-back triples to give the Crimson a 6-2 lead three minutes into the contest. Harvard's offense would enter a stand still however, being held scoreless for five minutes.
Abigail Wright broke the scoreless drought with a putback to pull within one at 9-8. The Tigers would continue to hold the lead throughout the remainder of the frame, ending the quarter with a 15-11 advantage.
Despite a Turner triple to open the second frame, the Tigers continued to control the momentum and grew its lead to as many as 10. Another deep bucket from Turner and an immediate steal and score following helped a seven-point swing for the Crimson, pulling within two with one minute remaining in the half. Connecting on an and one, the Tigers headed into the locker room with a 36-31 lead.
Princeton continued to hold off the Crimson throughout the opening minutes of the second half, including leading by as many as 13. Harvard, however, flipped a switch and used a 7-1 run to end the quarter to trail by one as it entered the final ten minutes of play.
Determined to hold its lead, Princeton hit two baskets to build its advantage back to 59-53 at the 9:09 mark in the fourth quarter. Harvard took the lead for the first time since the opening quarter at 62-61. The Tigers continued to battle, but when a Turner jumper gave Harvard a 66-64 advantage at 2:45, it never relinquished its lead again. A connection between Turner and Wright with 0:38 left on the clock put Harvard up 70-67 and proved to be the exclamation point in the contest.
Harvard Highlights
- Harmoni Turner set the program single game scoring record for the second time this season, dropping 44 points on 14-of-27 shooting from the field, 7-of-11 from distance, and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. The performance marks Turner's second 40-point performance of the season and second straight contest with at least 30 points.
- Turner broke a host records including Harvard women's basketball single game scoring, Pizzitola Sports Center single game scoring and three-pointers made, Ivy Madness single game scoring and three-pointers made. The senior had previously broken Harvard's single game scoring record with a 41-point performance against Boston College on November 14, 2024.
- With the win, the Crimson ties a program record for single season wins, matching the history 1997-98 team at 23 victories.
- Harvard continues to hold the only two upsets based on seeds in Ivy League tournament history, with its victory tonight and having defeated Columbia two years ago, also as the three seed.
- The Crimson improves to 2-5 all-time in Ivy Madness semifinals contests and advances to its second Ivy tournament championship in the last two years.
- With the win, the Crimson snapped a six-game skid against the Tigers.
- Abigail Wright provided a crucial performance in the contest, adding eight points on 3-of-5 shooting while also adding seven boards.
- Elena Rodriguez posted a season-best 11 rebounds to lead the Crimson on the glass.
- The Crimson grabbed 17 offensive boards to help total 17 second chance points against the Tigers.
Next Up
Harvard will face the top-seeded Columbia Lions tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. ET at Pizzitola Sports Center and on ESPNU as it battles for its first NCAA berth since the 2006-07 season.
