If you’ve followed Harvard women’s basketball throughout the Carrie Moore era, you know the team is a reflection of the coach and her Detroit grit. That style was on full display on Friday evening, as the Crimson battled through injuries and rough shooting from the field to come away with a 61-56 win over visiting St. John’s at Lavietes Pavilion.
The season-opening victory, which put an exclamation point on a night that started with Harvard (1-0) raising its 2025 Ivy League Tournament championship banner, was the second straight over the Johnnies (1-1) and fifth in a row against a Big East opponent.
Like last Thanksgiving’s game in Queens, the Crimson opened up an 11-point advantage late in the third quarter before St. John’s stormed back. The visitors methodically chipped away at the deficit until graduate guard Shaulana Wagner, herself a proud citizen of the Motor City, hit one of two free throws to make it 57-56 in favor of Harvard late in the final frame.
With 24 seconds left in regulation, the Johnnies forced a turnover and had the ball with the shot clock turned off.
Instead of working the clock until the final seconds, St. John’s junior guard Brooke Moore drove down the left side of the lane with 14 seconds left, but her layup bounced off the rim and into the hands of Daniela Abies. The Red Storm’s junior forward’s attempted put back was blocked by Harvard’s junior post player Abigail Wright, and Abies fouled Crimson first-year guard Olivia Jones, who grabbed the defensive rebound.
Jones, who appeared shaken up after the collision with Abies, calmly sank both free throws to put Harvard up 59-56 with only 10 seconds left.
“That’s just what she does, that’s why we recruited her,” Moore told ESPN+ immediately following the game. “She’s just a utility game-player. Whatever you need her to do, she’ll do to win basketball games.”
After inbounding the ball at midcourt, junior guard Karlee White almost stole the ball for the Crimson, but it went out of bounds.
When given a second chance at the pick, following another St. John’s inbounds moments later, White came up with her fourth steal of the game and subsequently hit both free throws to put the contest out of reach.
Looking back at the celebratory evening, there were lots of positives and a couple of expected offensive areas of concern.
Positive: defensive intensity
Harvard’s identity is defined by its defense, and Friday’s game was no exception.
On the glass, the Crimson held a plus-11/plus-23% advantage, and its 19 offensive rebounds contributed to 17 more field goal attempts. Senior guard Gabby Anderson led the way with nine rebounds (four offensive), while Wright had seven boards (five offensive) and White and Jones each grabbed five.
Meanwhile, the hosts pressured the Johnnies all night long, forcing 14 steals and 24 turnovers, which led to 18 points. Anderson joined White with a game-high four thefts.
Positive: roster depth
While Harvard lost three key players from last year’s NCAA Tournament team, it returned three starters and seven players who averaged 14 minutes or more. In addition, the program welcomed five first-years, with Jones and guard Aubrey Shaw expected to get significant playing time.
The team needed that depth on Friday, with White battling leg issues throughout the contest and starting three-guard Saniyah Glenn-Bello leaving the game at the seven-minute mark of the second quarter with an apparent right leg injury. While the senior rode the stationary bike during the second half, she did not return to action.
Starting senior forward Katie Krupa played 18 minutes on the evening, but the coach told reporters at her weekly media session that she was held out of several practices during the week due to catching an inadvertent elbow in the back of the head the previous Friday.
In all, 10 Crimson athletes played meaningful minutes with nine logging double digits. Shaw was one minute away from making that a clean sweep.
The biggest recipients of the newfound playing time were Jones, who was on the floor for 24 minutes, including the crucial last four minutes, and sophomore guard Nina Emnace, whose 15 minutes doubled last year’s average.
Mixed Bag: Shooting
On the positive side, White finished with a career-high 16 points, while Wright totaled 11 and Emnace added her own career best of eight points with a 2-for-2 effort from beyond the arc. Another big offensive number for the victors was the 82% (18-for-22) success rate from the free throw line, which dwarfed the 53% (9-for-17) from the Johnnies.
With the graduation of Harmoni Turner and Elena Rodriguez, last year’s two leading scorers, the team knew it would be a work-in-progress to replace their combined 53% two-point and 34% three-point shooting. Friday’s top two scorers came close from inside the arc with 47%, but the outside production was 0% (0-for-2). When looking at the entire roster, the team shot just 37% (17-for-46) from two and 19% (3-for-16) from three, with that deep-ball number dropping to 7% (1-for-14) without Emnace’s production.
Improved offensive production, especially with the three-ball, as well as finding two or three players who consistently lead the way, look to be key for the Crimson as the team works through the nonconference schedule over the next two months.
The Crimson succeeded in starting off the year on the right foot and now look to build upon Friday’s effort with two more games over the next four days. First is a noon Sunday matchup at No. 13 Michigan, a double homecoming for Moore, who was also a Wolverines assistant in 2021-22. Then Harvard drives 90 miles to the west for a 6 p.m. Tuesday contest against Massachusetts, the No. 3 pick in the Mid-American Conference.
Asked how the team will handle the challenging opening of the season, White showed the confidence that has developed in this program, telling ESPN+, “The standard is the standard. We work hard every day … We’re built for this.”