Postseason Potential? Women’s Basketball Wins Three in a Row to Continue Hot Start

Following a Nov. 9 defeat to Quinnipiac, Harvard women’s basketball (5-1, 0-0 Ivy League) has bounced back with a three game win streak over Boston College (4-1, 0-0 ACC), the University of Maine (2-2, 0-0 America East), and Northeastern (0-4, 0-0 CAA). Senior guard Harmoni Turner had her most dominant stretch of the season thus far, totaling 97 points over the three games, including a program record 41 points versus Boston College.

With the record-setting performance against BC, Turner continued to etch her name into the history books for Harvard. Her dominant play, along with the emergence of secondary scorers like junior guard Gabby Anderson and freshman guard Alayna Rocco, has fueled early hopes of a deep Ivy League tournament run.

Harvard’s strong start earned the team three votes in the AP Top 25 Week 2 poll, a first in program history. Memories of that 2016 run, which ended in the second round of the Women’s National Invitation tournament, as well as the historic 2022 season — Turner’s sophomore year, when the team made it to the WNIT Great Eight — are in the air, even this early in the season.

Harvard 78, Boston College 70

For the third straight year, Harvard defeated Boston College, gaining an 11-10 lead in the all-time series, 11-10, between the two programs. Senior guard Harmoni Turner had a record-setting performance for the Crimson, recording a program-record 41 points while adding 10 rebounds and shooting 7-for-11 from beyond the arc.

The Crimson started slow, quickly falling behind 8-2, but three triples from Turner ignited a 16-4 rally. Rocco added another triple and Turner capped off her stellar quarter with 15 points, pushing Harvard out to a commanding 27-14 lead.

“I’m really proud of our team for responding,” Head Coach Carrie Moore said. “Our backs were against the wall after Sunday. It was not pretty by any means, but great teams find a way to win.”

Harvard’s offense slowed in the second quarter, hitting only 4-of-13 field goals. The Eagles took advantage of the sluggish Harvard offense, cutting the deficit to 37-33 at halftime. The Eagles continued to chip away and finally took the lead halfway through the third. Turner delivered an eight point run to regain a 53-48 lead. But, the Eagles managed to tie the game 56-56 after drawing a foul on an inbound pass in the final seconds of the period.

“I allowed the game to come to me,” Turner said. “My teammates did a great job of finding me and my coaches did a great job of believing in me and never losing that belief.”

In the pivotal final period, Turner scored the first seven points for Harvard, but the Eagles stellar free throw shooting protected a slim 65-63 lead. Following an Eagles turnover, Rocco swished a triple in transition to regain the lead. Turner turned it up into playmaker mode, though, dishing two assists including another Rocco triple to extend Harvard’s lead to 71-67.

Rocco, the freshman from Pittsburgh, continued a hot streak from beyond the arc that began with the Quinnipiac game, notching 12 points against the Eagles after her 13 against the Bobcats. She is shooting 41% from deep on the season, the highest mark for any player on the roster with more than five shots.

“I already know where she’s going to be,” Turner detailed on her assist to Rocco. “I trust that she’s going to make the shot. I’m super proud of her because every time she shoots it, she’s super confident and she’s in the spots that we worked on.”

Harvard closed the final minute with free throws, putting the game out of reach. In the final seconds, Turner converted a layup to eclipse the 40-point mark, a first for Harvard women’s basketball.

Harvard 83, Maine 41

Harvard built on its momentum with a commanding 83-41 road win over the University of Maine. Turner once again showcased her offensive brilliance, pouring in 38 points—the third-highest single-game total in program history—further solidifying her place among the Crimson’s all-time greats.

Turner was the engine of Harvard’s offense from the opening tip, scoring the team’s first seven points and finishing the quarter with 12. Contributions from Anderson and sophomore guard Karlee White extended the Crimson’s lead to 25-10 after one.

Harvard’s dominance continued in the second quarter, with Harvard overwhelming Maine by a 27-7 margin, fueled by Turner’s relentless attack. By halftime, Turner tallied 25 points, surpassing Maine’s team total, and seemed poised to break her scoring record set only three days earlier.

While Maine edged Harvard 19-18 in the third quarter, the outcome was never in doubt. The fourth quarter slowed considerably as the blowout solidified, with the teams combining for just 18 points. Turner scored all of Harvard’s points in the final frame before exiting with 3:34 left, capping her remarkable night at 38 points. The teams traded baskets at the end, sealing Harvard’s dominant 83-41 win.

Harvard 89, Northeastern 37

The Crimson extended its win streak to three games with an 89-37 thrashing of Northeastern on Tuesday. The victory improved Harvard to 5-1 on the season, its best start since the 2016-17 season. Harvard’s bench were massive contributors to the winning effort, chipping in over half of the Crimson’s points.

“That’s got to be a record of some kind,” Moore joked. “We have a lot of guys that can score. It’s one person’s night, one game, that means another night it's going to be someone else’s night. That’s the makeup of great teams… if teams want to spend time game planning for one or two [players] then that opens up a lot for some of our other guys.”

Moore was quite nearly right: the Crimson tied its record for its second-largest margin of victory in program history with the 52-point win, a margin it hasn’t recorded in more than 33 years, since Harvard dismantled Merrimack 101-49 on Jan. 2, 1991.

Harvard’s defense set the tone early, forcing Northeastern to a dismal one-for-seven shooting start alongside four turnovers. Anderson’s stingy defense forced the final turnover leading to a fast-break layup, prompting Northeastern to call timeout. Senior forward Elena Rodriguez paced the Crimson with eight points, while Anderson’s relentless rebounding created valuable second-chance opportunities, fueling Harvard’s 24-8 lead after one period.

The Crimson’s versatile offense continued to take flight in the second quarter, shooting an efficient 8-for-14. The defense continued to stifle the Huskies offense as well, conceding only six points in the period, helping the team sport an impressive 44-14 halftime lead.

Turner spearheaded the Crimson offense in the third quarter, having direct involvement in the team’s first 14 points. With the game out of reach, Coach Moore relied on her squad’s depth to finish the game. Sophomore forwards Mary Hollensteiner and Abigail Wright made the most out of their minutes, scoring eight and 15 points, respectively.

“When you get put in the game, you want to bring what you know you can bring,” Wright said. “I know there are certain aspects of the game that I can bring really well, so I focus on those things.”

As of last year, the Crimson is no longer permitted to play in the WNIT tournament per Ivy League policy, leaving the NCAA tournament and the newly founded Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament as the only paths to postseason play outside for the Ancient Eight. With the strong start though, the postseason could be well within reach. If it peaks at the right time and pushes toward the automatic spot in March Madness given to the Ivy League champion, it could land its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007.

The team travels to Illinois this weekend to try to continue to burnish its resume with matchups against Northwestern and Illinois State. Catch the action beginning Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1:00 PM EST on ESPN+.

—Staff writer Oscar E. Mercado can be reached at oscar.mercado@thecrimson.com.