In a game that featured 30 lead changes, 15 for each team, it was Maine that grabbed the final bucket at the buzzer to beat Harvard 59-57 at Lavietes Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.
The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Crimson and evened its season record to 6-6, while the Black Bears earned its second straight victory and improved to 5-8 on the year.
The two teams kept each other close throughout the contest, with Harvard’s biggest lead at 6-0 and Maine’s largest advantage at 17-13 early in the second quarter.
As the clock went under the minute-mark in regulation and the score knotted at 56, forward Adrianna Smith drove the left side of the lane and was fouled by Harvard junior Abigail Wright. The redshirt senior, who was the America East Player of the Year during her sophomore season, went 1-for-2 from the line to put the Black Bears up one.
On the next possession, Wright grabbed a bounce pass from junior guard Karlee White, but her layup over Smith just missed the mark and went out of bounds off Maine.
Wright was fouled on her next attempt over Smith and made one free throw to make it 57 apiece.
With seven seconds left in regulation, Saniyah Glenn-Bello deflected a ball meant for Smith. As the senior guard went to corral the loose ball along the right sideline, the Black Bears’ star beat her to it and tipped the rock to Olivia Alvarez.
The first-year guard tossed the ball to senior point guard Asta Blauenfeldt, who drove along the lane and put up a floater over Wright, senior forward Katie Krupa and sophomore guard Alayna Rocco. The shot completely missed the net, but an unguarded Smith went up for the offensive rebound and immediately put up the game winning bank shot as time expired.
Smith finished the day with a dominant 21-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist and three-steal performance, while Blauenfeldt added 13 points.
In the losing effort, Wright led the way with 22 points and nine rebounds (seven offensive), and Glenn-Bello had 12 points, seven boards and four blocks.
Some Crimson thoughts as the team returned to action after a two-week break:
White’s return
No matter the result on the scoreboard, Harvard came away with a huge win getting White back on the court.
When the junior guard went down with a non-contact knee injury during the Boston College game on Nov. 19, it looked as if her season might be over. Fortunately, there was no ligament damage, and she was able to come back before the start of Ivy League play.
White’s minutes were limited by design, as well as her two first-quarter fouls and her third early in the third quarter, but she was able to play the entire fourth quarter. By the end of the afternoon, she finished with six points, four rebounds and two steals in 19 minutes of action.
With a season-ending left knee injury to senior guard Gabby Anderson, arguably the team’s strongest defender, at Arkansas during Thanksgiving weekend, it is even more important to have White’s production and leadership back on the court.
Offensive challenges
Between not playing an official game for 16 days and dealing with last week’s shootings at Brown and MIT, as well as facing a typically stingy Maine defense, it’s not a surprise that Harvard found it difficult to put the ball in the hoop.
On the afternoon, the Crimson only managed 41% (22-for-54) from two, 10% (1-for-11) from three and 67% (10-for-15) from the free throw line.
With solid season-long numbers from downtown (31%; No. 181, nationally) and the charity stripe (77%; No. 25), it’s understandable to think that the team will be able to get back towards the mean as the calendar switches to 2026. However, the year-long two-point rate of 41% (No. 300) makes it harder to think that Sunday’s results were simply due to rust and a good opponent that has played consistently throughout the month of December.
In addition, the Crimson had trouble controlling the tempo on Sunday.
Averaging 69 possessions per contest, which is No. 304 in the land, coach Carrie Moore has continued to emphasize a faster pace on both sides of the ball to force more turnovers and create a more productive offense, but the team finished with only 62 possessions and 15 turnovers on the day.
Defensive ups and downs
A huge positive for the Crimson was its effort on the glass, finishing with a 43-30 advantage with 21 boards and a 50% success rate on the offensive side and a 71% success rate on the defensive side.
With Sunday’s results in the book, Harvard’s offensive rebounding rate is now No. 30, nationally, at 40% and its 69% defensive rate improved to No. 189.
The field goal defense, however, wasn’t as positive.
Maine ended up connecting on 50% (16-for-32) of its interior attempts with Smith leading the way on a 60% (9-for-15) effort from two and 33% (7-for-21) from beyond the arc, including a 67% (2-for-3) result in the final frame.
While the 5-foot-11 Anderson is listed as a guard, she often battled down low against taller competition. With the senior out of commission for the rest of the year, Wright, Krupa and Glenn-Bello will need more help in the frontcourt. While some of that will come from 5-foot-10 first-year guard Olivia Jones and the 5-foot-9 White, improved development from 6-foot-2 first-year guard Aubrey Shaw and consistency from 6-foot-1 junior guard Mary Hollensteiner would be huge plusses for league play.
Next up
After a short break for Christmas, Harvard will welcome Delaware on Dec. 29 for its last nonconference game of the year and get ready for the Ivy opener on Jan. 3 at Dartmouth.