Historic Season for Harvard Women’s Basketball Ends in First Round Loss to Michigan State

Updated March 22, 2025 at 8:56 p.m.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Harvard women’s basketball team crashed out of the NCAA tournament with a 64-50 loss to the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday at the James T. Valvano Arena.

Though star senior guard Harmoni Turner scored 24 points, No. 10 seed Harvard fell short of upsetting the seventh-seeded Spartans. The Crimson has now failed to advance out of the first round of the tournament in its last four appearances.

Harvard ultimately lost the game at the foul line, allowing the Spartans to score 22 out of 27 free throws while the Crimson shot just 10-for-12 from the charity stripe. Michigan State also maintained consistent pressure on Turner throughout the game, which prevented Harvard from finding enough of an offensive response to offset the free throw discrepancy.

“We fouled way too much,” Moore said. “You put a team on the free throw line 27 times, it’s hard to kind of overcome that, especially the later in the game that it gets.”

As the clock expired at the end of the fourth quarter, Harvard’s players were visibly emotional while leaving the floor. Senior guard Elena Rodriguez, tears streaming down her face, was comforted by a teammate as the Crimson’s players walked toward the family section for a final goodbye. Turner said she spent time after the game sobbing and embracing her teammates.

The two seniors were still fighting back tears when they took their seats at the postgame press conference.

“At the end of the day, it was tears of joy and gratitude,” Turner said. “I’m incredibly grateful for the game, I’m grateful for my teammates, I’m grateful for my coaches.”

The loss ends a historic season for Harvard in head coach Carrie Moore’s third year leading the program. After Moore’s squad finished a stellar regular season with a 22-4 record, the Crimson pulled off two upset victories in the Ivy League’s postseason tournament to capture its first-ever championship and return to March Madness for the first time since 2007.

The Spartans will remain in Raleigh to battle No. 2 North Carolina State Wolfpack on Monday for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen, but Moore was adamant that the Crimson’s players would return to Cambridge with their heads held high.

“This game does not define our season. This game does not define who we are,” Moore said. “We are a much better basketball team than we showed for 40 minutes today.”

Harvard struggled out of the gate, committing three turnovers that fueled a 9-0 Spartan run in the first three minutes of action. The rough start forced Moore to call a timeout, seeking to help her team shake off the first quarter jitters.

The timeout cooled some of the Crimson’s nerves, as Turner found her way to the charity stripe for the team’s first points. But Michigan State’s defense continued to cause problems for Harvard’s players who were repeatedly forced into taking bad shots that were rejected by the lower corner of the backboard.

Harvard’s typically elite defense improved more quickly than its offense. The team forced Michigan State to commit a shot clock violation and an offensive foul on consecutive possessions.

The string of defensive stops fueled the Crimson on the other end, closing the quarter on a 9-2 run that cut the deficit to 15-11 heading into the second quarter. Harvard converted only two-of-16 field goal attempts in the opening period — a sign of shooting troubles that would plague the Crimson all day.

Michigan State shoots against the Crimson in the first round of March Madness Saturday. By Kacy Bao

Harvard’s strong offensive and defensive performance at the end of the first quarter appeared to boost the team’s confidence. When the Crimson returned to the floor, a smile had returned to Turner’s face and she walked over to Harvard’s parent section and shouted: “Let’s have some fun.”

But nothing came easy for the Crimson, as the team responded to increased defensive pressure from Michigan State by constantly moving the ball, generating contested looks at best. The few open shots that Harvard created, the team failed to take knock down, falling behind 22-15 just past the halfway point of the period.

Turner uncharacteristically struggled to knock down shots in the first half but she remained an impact star on the defensive end, drawing back-to-back charges to stifle the Spartans’ offense.

After another Michigan State turnover, Turner split multiple defenders on her way to a bank shot jumper, cutting the deficit to 24-19 heading into halftime. Harvard’s defense kept the Spartans well below its season scoring average, but the team needed to address its offensive deficiencies if it wanted any hope of securing the upset.

Senior guard Harmoni Turner fights through Michigan State’s defense. By Kacy Bao

The Crimson opened the second half with a renewed hunger, crashing the glass for several offensive rebounds. Rodriguez dominated in the post, using her footwork to gain separation for a jump hook and combining with Turner for cutting layups.

Former University President Claudine Gay, a Harvard women’s basketball superfan, University Marshal Katherine G. O’Dair, and Harvard Athletic Director Erin McDermott — who were seated in the first row behind the media section — were lifted out of their seats by the offensive outburst, cheering and raising their hands in the air.

After cutting Michigan State’s lead to one, the Crimson was tantalizingly close to taking the lead for the first time in the game. Instead, the Spartans drew a pair of shooting fouls to turn the tide and bring the Crimson’s offense to a screeching halt. A pair of back-to-back triples capped an 11-0 Michigan State response midway through the third period.

“We were unhinged,” Moore said, plainly. “We just started to unravel in a way that I didn’t love.”

Harvard sophomores Abigail Wright and Karlee White offered a temporary reprieve, scoring a layup and corner three, respectively, to trim the deficit down to 37-30. But the offensive momentum could not be sustained as Michigan State continued to draw fouls, which allowed the Spartans to preserve a 45-35 until the end of the period.

“We just needed to get more stops,” said Moore. “We were over helping in moments that we didn’t need to.”

Harvard’s loud and passionate family section voiced their displeasure with the officiating calls that went against the Crimson. Even Gay threw her hands up in disgust after one particularly controversial call by the referees.

Michigan State’s relentless drives to the baskets drew more free throws and easy inside baskets to start the quarter. By contrast, a desperate Crimson offense was forced to exclusively shoot three-pointers in an attempt to stay in the game.

Sophomore Karlee White shoots a corner three. Harvard was forced to take desperation three-pointers in an attempt to stay alive against Michigan State. By Kacy Bao

The Spartans capitalized on several Crimson turnovers for simple transition layups, taking the largest lead of the night, 60-39, at the 4:31 mark of the fourth quarter. The once fierce chants of “defense, defense,” from the Harvard family section had become noticeably more subdued as some of the Crimson faithful began to wear grim looks of despair on their faces.

Harvard valiantly fought to the end, but an 11-4 surge in the final minutes of the fourth quarter was only enough to bring the Crimson to within 14 points, as the buzzer sounded with a final score of 64-50.

Former University President Claudine Gay holds her head in her hands as Michigan State increases its lead over the Harvard women’s basketball team. By Kacy Bao

After the game, Moore acknowledged that her team did not appear to be ready for a deep run in the NCAA tournament, contrasting the team’s performance against Michigan State with its success last weekend in Ivy Madness.

“At times during this game, I felt like the moment was a little too big for our team because we hadn’t been there before,” Moore said.

“You saw our team a weekend ago show up at our very best because we had been in that position before and we knew how we needed to show up and play in order to get it done,” she added. “And now we know.”

But Moore was clear that another 18 years won’t pass until Harvard returns to March Madness.

“It is my job to do everything that I can to make sure that we get an opportunity to get back to this place,” she said. “I feel like that is something that we can do.”

As the final emotions poured over, Turner, who will go down in history as one of the best players to ever wear the Crimson’s uniform, focused on the big picture.

“I don’t think we’re gonna take this as a loss,” she said. “I think we’re taking this as a learning experience.”

“At the end of the day,” Turner added, “we still are champions.”

—Staff writer Miles J. Herszenhorn reported from Raleigh. He can be reached at miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @mherszenhorn.

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