Harvard Women’s Basketball Powers Past Princeton With Record 44 Points From Harmoni Turner

Updated March 15, 2025 at 12:01 a.m.

In a thrilling Ivy Madness semifinal showdown, with the postseason hopes of both teams hanging in the balance, senior superstar guard Harmoni Turner scored a record-breaking 44 points to push Harvard past Princeton 70-67.

With the win, the Crimson — who entered the game teetering on the tournament bubble — all but secured its spot in top 64.

Despite facing a 13-point deficit in the 3rd quarter, the team's relentless defensive effort, coupled with Turner's historic shooting performance, gave Harvard the lead in the waning minutes of the contest.

“I just felt like our girls just never let up. And we've been in this position before, where it's a back and forth game,” said head coach Carrie Moore. “We've been down more than we were tonight, and we fought and came together and made huge plays down the stretch and came out on top.”

In addition to breaking the Ivy Madness men’s and women’s single-game scoring records, Turner broke past her own career-high and school record of 41 points, set earlier this season. Her 39-minute remarkable display of offensive production included seven three pointers, two assists, and nine free throws.

“It means a lot. I mean this is what March is about,” Turner said. “I’m incredibly proud of my teammates as well, and super grateful for my coaches. The preparation was A1, and I think we followed it to a T.”

Turner’s explosion was no surprise to her teammates.

“She continuously shows up for us, especially this being her last chance at an Ivy championship,” sophomore Abigail Wright said. “She deserves it, and again, the proof is in the pudding. And I think that that's just a testament to her hard work.”

The Crimson denied the Tigers their sixth consecutive Ivy League tournament title and snapped a six-game losing streak to its rival in the process. Coming into Friday’s contest, Harvard only had four losses on the season, two of them coming at the hands of the Tigers — including a heartbreaking buzzer-beater.

From the opening tip, Turner looked unfazed, as if she had revenge on her mind. Under three minutes into the contest, she quickly drilled two attempts from the perimeter to give Harvard an early 6-2 lead.

Intense defensive pressure slowed the Crimson down, as it was unable to score for five minutes. The Tigers capitalized on several turnovers to take a 15-8 lead with just 44 seconds remaining in the first frame.

Needing momentum, Turner lined up and drilled another three pointer — her third of the period — to keep the team within four points as the quarter came to a close.

After its sixth turnover of the night, Harvard put the ball in the shifty Turner’s hands, who hit her fourth shot from beyond the arc a minute into the second quarter.

Princeton’s Ashley Chea found repeated open pull-up jumpshots, quickly scoring 10 points by the 6:03 mark in the second quarter to give the Tigers an early 26-16 lead.

Turner showcased her distribution skills on the ensuing possession, kicking the ball out to junior guard Gabby Anderson, who banked in a three off the glass to narrow the deficit to just seven points.

With 3:50 left in the half, Princeton made an easy two-point basket to retake a double-digit lead with the score standing at 30-20. After trading baskets back-and-forth, the Tigers led 33-24 with just over two and a half minutes remaining.

Turner wouldn’t let the team enter the locker room without momentum. The team’s offensive engine dialed up her fifth three of the half to cut the advantage to just six. Then, freshman Lydia Chatira came up with a takeaway on the defensive side of the floor and converted it into an easy layup, narrowing the gap to four points.

The teams exchanged buckets and free throws once again as Princeton headed into the locker room up 36-31.

Opening the second half, Princeton quickly took advantage of two errant passes from Harvard, scoring a driving layup and a pull-up jumper to take a 40-31 lead.

Still, the mounting deficit never shook Turner, who drew contact repeatedly as she drove to the basket. Throughout the night, she was met with a smattering of jeers from the free throw line. Those provocations only brought more out of the senior star.

“I feel like people need to understand that the more you taunt me, the more it gets you going,” Turner said. “So I know the work that I've put in, like, I'm not gonna be fearful or be scared about somebody heckling at me that can't pick up a ball.”

As Turner drew more double teams and designed coverages, Harvard’s offense began to sputter. Princeton’s Fadima Tall made a layup with 5:43 left in the third frame to take a 48-35 lead — the Tigers’ largest of the night.

Refusing to bow down without a fight, Turner led an offensive charge that featured points from Wright, senior forward Elena Rodriguez, and junior guard Saniyah Glenn-Bellow to bring the lead down to six with under three minutes remaining in the period.

Turner, too elusive for the defense to trap then banked in a driving layup and connected on a long-range three to bring the Crimson within one point as the quarter came to a close.

Entering the fourth, Turner had 33 of the team’s 53 points, with under a minute of rest. Her determination overpowered any thought of fatigue as the final frame began.

Despite two early baskets from the Tigers, Turner hit another step-back three over a defender, followed by a Karlee White assisted layup, making the score 59-58 in Princeton’s favor.

In the next two minutes, the teams scored two points apiece. After collecting a defensive rebound, Turner sprinted down the court and drew a foul with 5:24 left in the game. She nailed both of them, giving Harvard a 62-61 lead — its first since the start of the game.

From that point, the team never looked back.

Turner cashed in two more jumpers, matching Princeton’s pace. With just 2:17 left in the game, Glenn-Bellow collected a hard-fought board and was sent to the line. The junior connected on both, giving Harvard a four point lead. However, the Tigers responded with a quick three of their own.

In a shock to almost everyone in the stadium, Turner missed two consecutive jumpshots. This time, it was Rodriguez who secured a crucial offensive rebound with 44 seconds left in regulation.

The senior kicked it out to Turner, who drove past her defender. Instead of attempting a contested shot, she keenly found a wide open Wright right below the basket, who put the ball off the glass and into the hoop with just 38 seconds left to put the Crimson up 70-67.

On the final possession of the game with the crowd on its feet, despite allowing an offensive rebound, Harvard forced two missed threes to seal the deal.

The Crimson now looks to earn an automatic bid in the tournament and secure the Ivy Madness championship when it takes on Columbia tomorrow afternoon with just one thing in mind: victory.

“Job’s not done, job’s not finished,” Turner said. “We have to get back to the drawing board and get this done tomorrow.”

– Staff writer Sudhish M. Swain can be reached at sudhish.swain@thecrimson.com.

– Staff writer Praveen Kumar can be reached at praveen.kumar@thecrimson.com.