Crimson Crush Dartmouth, Clinches Best Regular Season in Program History

Harvard women’s basketball (22-4, 11-3 Ivy League) dominated Dartmouth Big Green (8-19, 2-12) with a decisive 74-40 road victory, clinching the best regular season win percentage (84.6%) in program history.

Harvard seniors Harmoni Turner and Elena Rodriguez dominated in their final regular season game for the Crimson, tallying 33 and 15 points, respectively.

Rodriguez set the tone early, scoring seven points as Harvard opened the game with a commanding 9-0 run. Big Green struggled to find its rhythm, committing five turnovers in its first six possessions.

After clearing the Crimson’s ferocious press, Dartmouth finally found its first points of the game off a putback basket. The Crimson answered with an 11-0 surge, powered by Turner’s nine points, which came off transition layups and deep mid-range jumpers. After trading baskets for the final minute, Harvard led 23-7 after one period of action.

Dartmouth opened the second quarter knocking down a triple, but six turnovers in the period stalled any momentum in closing the gap. Turner remained unstoppable, adding nine points in the quarter, capped by a buzzer-beating three-pointer to close the half. By halftime, she had single-handedly outscored Big Green 20-18, as Harvard led 39-18.

For the first half of the third quarter, the Crimson made a concerted effort to attack the paint, scoring exclusively inside to extend its advantage to 49-20. Sophomore Abigail Wright and junior captain Katie Krupa connected on triples, adding balance to the Harvard offense.

The Crimson defense put the clamps on Big Green, forcing a dismal 3-for-15 shooting performance in the period. Meanwhile, Turner led the charge with eight points, helping Harvard balloon its lead to 61-27 heading into the fourth quarter.

With full command in the fourth quarter, Turner kicked off scoring with a free throw and layup. All three seniors found the scoreboard in the final period, with Mona Zaric’s jumper pushing the Crimson to its largest lead of 40 points. Zaric closed the game contributing the second most in the fourth for Harvard, helping the Crimson cruise to a 74-40 victory.

Off the heels of this dominant conference win, the Crimson sets its eyes on the postseason in search of its first conference title since 2008. No. 3 Harvard is set for a highly anticipated third matchup against No. 2 Princeton (21-6, 12-2), hoping that the third time proves to be the charm for the Crimson.

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