CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's basketball will appear in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years beginning this Saturday, March 22 in Raleigh, NC.  The Crimson earned its highest seed in program history at No. 10 and will face the seven-seed Michigan State Spartans in the round of 64.  Tip-off in the James T. Valvano Arena is set for 4:30 p.m. ET. 

How We've Fared at the Big Dance

• The Crimson has appeared in the NCAA Tournament six previous times in program history.
• Harvard made three consecutive appearances in the big dance beginning with its first ever appearance in program history in 1996.  The Crimson then returned to the tournament in 1997 and recorded its first ever win the next year in 1998.
• The Crimson victory in 1998 was the first and only win in NCAA Tournament history for a 16-seed over a 1-seed.  The team, led by Harvard legend Allison Feaster, knocked off the top-seeded Stanford Cardinal, 71-67, inside Maples Pavilion. 
• Harvard has made three other appearances since the 1998 win, returning to the dance in 2002, 2003, and 2007 but its historic win remains the only one in program history.
• Most recently, Harvard fell to Maryland, 89-67, on March 18, 2007, in the first round in Hartford, Conn.
• Harvard's 10-seed is the highest in program history.  Prior to this season its best seed was a 13 back in 2002.  The Crimson has also been a 14 (1996, 2003), 15 (2007), and a 16 seed (1997, 1998) in its NCAA Tournament history. 

Moore's Postseason Resume

• Despite this being the Crimson first appearance in the NCAA Tournament under Carrie Moore's direction, the Harvard coach is not lacing in playoff experience.
• Prior to landing in Cambridge, Moore was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Michigan Wolverines who earned a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament and made a run to the Elite Eight in 2002.
• Before returning to her home state of Michigan, Moore served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at UNC where she helped lead the Tar Heels to an NCAA berth in 2021.
• Moore had a four-year stint at Princeton and a five-year stint at Creighton to make up the majority of her career as an assistant coach.  While with the two teams she reached six NCAA tournaments and competed in the WNIT the three other seasons.
• In her first year with the Crimson, Moore led Harvard back to the WNIT where it would go on to make a historic run in 2023.
• The Michigan native's all-time postseason record with the Crimson is 3-1 after leading the '22-23 squad to the Great 8 of the WNIT.  The journey to the fourth round of action marked the furthest postseason run in program history. 

Relishing in the Madness

• The Crimson pulled off a pair of upsets in the Ivy League tournament to claim its first conference tournament crown in program history.  Harvard holds the only three upsets based on seed in the tournaments history as it registered the first ever one in 2023 by defeating the two-seed Columbia in the semifinals.
• First, Harvard defeated the defending champions [2] Princeton Tigers, 70-67, on Friday, March 14 inside Pizzitola Sports Center.
• Harmoni Turner broke her own program single game scoring record by 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 marked Turner's second 40-point performance of the season and second straight contest with at least 30 points.  The senior had previously rewritten the 27-year-old single game scoring record earlier this season with a 41-point performance against Boston College on November 14, 2024.
• Turner broke four other records as she lifted the Crimson past the Tigers including a Pizzitola Sports Center single-game scoring and three-pointers made record, and the Ivy Madness single-game scoring and three-pointers made record.
• With the victory, 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 versus Princeton. 
• The Crimson grabbed 17 offensive boards to help total 17 second chance points against the Tigers. 
• The following day, the Crimson battled through another 40-minute fight to down the top-seeded Columbia Lions, 74-71, to advance to its first NCAA Tournament in 18 years.
• Turner again led all scorers with 24 pints while also adding four assists and three steals.  The senior's pair of stellar performances over the weekend helped her earn the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.
• In the contest, Turner became the third player in program history to surpass 2,000 career points.
• Rodriguez flirted with a double-double by tallying 13 pints and dishing out a career-high nine assists.  Rodriguez joined Turner on the Ivy Madness All-Tournament team.  Karlee White had a career day as she provided a crucial all-around performance for the Crimson.  The sophomore guard recorded a career-best 12 points on a near perfect 6-of-7 shooting while also adding five boards, two steals, and a block.
• Wright and Alayna Rocco each added eight points as eight total Crimson contributed baskets to the box score.  Wright also grabbed seven boards to round out a stellar weekend.
• The Crimson received an impressive 31 points from its bench in the contest as players all down the lineup stepped up.
• Harvard dominated the paint, recording 40 points as opposed to Columbia's 24.
• As a team the Crimson shot nearly 50% from the field.  Harvard also shared the ball consistently, totaling its second highest assist total of the season with 18. 
• Harvard controlled the ball on the offensive end, turning it over just eight times to mark the 10^th game with single-digit miscues this season. 

All-Ivy

• Harmoni Turner and Elena Rodriguez received nods in the Ivy League end-of-year honors following impressive senior campaigns.
• Turner headlined the major awards by being named the Ivy League Player of the Year and receiving a unanimous First-Team All-Ivy selection.
• Rodriguez followed by being named Second-Team All-Ivy
• Katie Krupa was also named to the Academic All-Ivy team afternoon a strong season both on the court and in the classroom.

2024-25 Overview

• The Crimson 2024-25 season was comprised of a 12-game non-conference slate and its annual 14-game Ivy schedule.  Following its 26-game regular season, Harvard has tied a program record with a mark of 22-4, matched only by the 1997-98 team.
• In non-conference play, the Crimson went 11-1 and defeated three power conference opponents (No. 25 Indiana, Boston College, Northwestern) for the first time in program history.  Additionally, the Crimson's win over Indiana marked its second AP Top 25 win in the last 25 years.
• The Crimson has found a new defensive identity in the 2024-25 season.  By providing relentless pressure across 94 feet, Harvard ranks as the top defense in the league and in the nation.
• Harvard has a strong scoring differential of 17.0 in 2024-25 as opposed to 5.5 in 2023-24 by holding its opponents to an average of 11.2 fewer points per game.
• After 28 contests, the Crimson ranks fifth in turnover margin (8.1), 17^th in turnovers per game (12.1), 20^th in scoring margin (17.0), 26^th in turnovers forced per game (20.2), 27^th in three-point percentage defense (27.6%), 29^th in steals per game (10.7), and 39^th in field goal percentage defense (37.4%), nationally.  As a whole, the Crimson ranks as the sixth scoring defense in the country, holding opponents to an average of 52.5 points per game.
• In the first NET Rankings of the season Harvard checked in at No. 36.  The ranking marked the highest in the Ivy League and the highest in program history, topping its previous best of 58 from last season.  Since then, the Crimson has continued to move up, ranking as high as No. 32.  Harvard has not ranked outside the top 40 and has led the Ivy League in the NET for the entirety of the season.
• Following a historic victory over No. 25 Indiana, the Crimson received votes in week two of the AP Top 25 poll.  Throughout the season, the Crimson were receiving votes for 14 straight weeks and 16 times total. 
• Harvard currently ranks No. 3 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 to lead the Ivy League as Columbia follows at No. 6 and Princeton at No. 13. 

National Notice

• This past week, Turner was named the AP National Player of the Week before earning All-America status as an Honorable Mention AP All-American. 
• Turner has been recognized in each step of the 2025 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award process, being named to the preseason and midseason watch list, as a semifinalist and most recently as a finalist.
• Also earning recognition as one of the top mid-major players, Turner has been a semifinalist and finalist for the World Exposure Report Mid-Major Player of the Year award.
• Moore is also being recognized for her role in leading the Crimson to one of its best seasons in program history.  She has recently been named as a finalist for both the World Exposure Report Mid-Major Coach of the Year award and the 2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year award. 

For the Foes

• The Spartans enter the NCAA Tournament with a 21-9 overall record including going 11-7 in Big Ten action.
• Michigan State wrapped up its regular season with three losses in the final five games after facing a grueling stretch of three top 15 match ups against No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 USC, and No. 12 Ohio State.
• The Spartans got bounced in their first game of the Big Ten Tournament, falling to Iowa, 74-61, after having beaten the Hawkeyes earlier in the season.
• This will be the first ever meeting between the Crimson and the Spartans.
• A familiar face in Spartans head coach Robyn Fralick will stand at the opposing bench across from Moore as she takes the court this weekend in first NCAA Tournament as a head coach.  The Spartans leader and Moore go back to Moore's playing days at Western Michigan as Fralick served as a graduate assistant on the staff in Moore's senior season. 

Next Up

With a win, the Crimson would advance to the NCAA Round of 32 and face the winner of [2] NC State and [15] Vermont on Monday, March 24 in Raleigh, NC.