CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's basketball (19-11, 10-4 Ivy) cruised to a first-round Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) victory over Navy (22-9, 15-2 Ivy), 73-52.
The Crimson had three scorers in double figures, paced by
Karlee White with a game-high 19 points and followed by
Abigail Wright and
Katie Krupa with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
How it Happened
Harvard exploded out of the gate, leading 11-0 at the media timeout. The Crimson's defense was suffocating as it forced four turnovers and did not give up a field goal until the 5:30 mark. The Midshipmen found more offense in the latter portion of the frame but with Harvard shooting 55.0% from the field it led 25-11 after one.
Harvard's hot shooting continued as
Nina Emnace and
Karlee White connected from distance in the first minute of the quarter, extending Harvard's lead to 31-13. The Crimson offense struggled to find its groove in the rest of the quarter but maintained a double-digit lead at the half.
The Crimson's offensive struggles continued into the second half as it was held scoreless for the first four minutes, allowing the Midshipmen to cut their deficit to five. Harvard settled back in, however, outscoring Navy 19-7 over the remainder of the frame. Five different players scored in the stretch to help Harvard regain a dominant lead at 59-40.
Harvard left no doubt in the final frame, outscoring the Midshipmen 14-12 to secure the win and its spot in the second round of the WBIT.
Harvard Highlights
- Karlee White paced the Crimson's offense with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. The junior also added three boards, two steals, and an assist.
- Abigail Wright followed closely behind with an equally as efficient night with 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The Massachusetts native added five boards and two assists.
- Katie Krupa was the third of Harvard's double-figure scorers with her 12 points on 3-of-4 field goals, 2-of-3 from three, and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
- Saniyah Glenn-Bello and Nina Emnace each added nine points for the Crimson. Glenn-Bello also tallied a team- and career-high of five steals.
- Harvard forced 20 Navy turnovers and capitalized for 16 points off the takeaways. In total, the Crimson recorded 12 steals. It is the 12th time that Harvard has tallied double-digit steals in a game this season.
- The Crimson won the rebounding battle, 40-36. Olivia Jones led Harvard on the glass with six boards.
Next Up
The Crimson will continue its run in the WBIT this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET as it hosts Eastern Kentucky at Lavietes Pavilion.
