Harmoni Turner sets Harvard women’s basketball single-game scoring record in win over Boston College

 

The most points in a game for a Harvard women’s basketball player .#GoCrimson x #BelieveIt pic.twitter.com/WUjawiCO4b

— Harvard Women’s Basketball (@HarvardWBB) November 15, 2024

Harmoni Turner had a game for the ages on Wednesday night as the Harvard women’s basketball team defeated Boston College, 78-70, at Lavietes Pavilion.  

Turner scored 41 points, an all-time program record for points in a game. The senior guard also grabbed 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.  

The Mansfield, Texas native was scorching hot from the field all night long, shooting 14-for-23, including 7-for-11 from beyond the arc. But it wasn’t until the final second of the game that she broke the program’s single-game scoring record of 39 points, a mark previously set by two players – Allison Feaster in 1997 and Hana Peljto in 2004.

Turner reached 39 points on a jump shot with just over five minutes to play. She appeared sure to break the record at that point, and even had a decent chance of breaking the all-time record for points in a game in Ivy League history. That mark is held by Bella Alarie of Princeton, who exploded for 45 points in a 2019 clash against Columbia. 

But Turner played incredibly unselfishly down the stretch, giving up open looks for even better scoring opportunities with pinpoint passes to her teammates.  It was clear that Turner valued winning the game more than breaking a scoring record.

With Harvard trailing by one, 66-65, Turner dribbled into the paint and had an open jumper, which would have given her the record.  Instead of shooting, Turner threaded a pass to Katie Krupa, who hit the bunny to put the Crimson on top, 67-66, with 2:35 to play.

Less than a minute later, Turner passed up another open jumper by dishing to an even more open Alayna Rocco, who calmly canned a three to boost Harvard’s lead to 71-67.  Rocco was clutch for the Crimson, tallying 12 points off the bench, including a 4-for-6 performance from behind the arc.

With Harvard coach Carrie Moore subbing Turner out on defense in the final two minutes, her opportunities to score and break the record dwindled, in part because a desperate BC squad was forced to foul immediately after a missed shot, and they couldn’t foul Turner while she was on the bench.

With only a handful of seconds left on the clock, Moore subbed Turner back into the game even though the Crimson were on defense again and the game was seemingly in hand.

With seven seconds to go, Turner’s teammates looked frantically to get her the ball.  She finally received a pass and dribbled the distance for a layup as the clock expired. The buzzer-beater gave Turner the record with 41 points.  

After the game, Moore was asked whether the final play was designed to give Turner a chance to break the scoring record, but the fourth-year head coach claimed she didn’t know about the scoring record.

“She’s a really good player,” Moore told the ESPN+ broadcast crew after the game in an obvious understatement. “I love her to death, OK, but we need other guys to help us win games. She can’t do everything, and you saw that there, especially at the end, offense, defense and guys helping us get stopped making big free throws. You know, obviously, she stepped up immensely for us, and we needed it. But we need other guys to help us too.”

With the win, Harvard moved to 3-1 on the season after a topsy-turvy opening week of the season.

A week ago, the Crimson upset No. 25 Indiana 72-68 in an overtime thriller. Then, three days later, Harvard was steamrolled by Quinnipiac in a classic letdown performance.  

With Thursday night’s win, Harvard has now beaten Boston College three consecutive seasons. 

Harvard will continue its magic carpet ride with a matchup on Sunday at Maine, while Boston College (3-1) will go back into action on Nov. 17 against Providence.