Harvard women’s basketball overcame a 32-point outing by Yale sophomore guard Ciniya Moore and held the Bulldogs at bay, 70-62, at John J. Lee Amphitheater Friday night, powered by a winning performance from Crimson junior guard Karlee White.
The win vaulted the Crimson into a three-way tie with Princeton and Columbia, atop the Ivy League at 7-2 in conference play after a Columbia win over Princeton Friday night. Yale fell to 1-8 in Ivy action.
Yale has had to overcome prolonged slumps all season, and Friday night was no different. Harvard went on a first quarter 14-0 run and led 22-11 after the first stanza, largely as a result of a pressing defense.
“We’ve been working a lot in practice on our response to spurts,” Yale coach Dalila Eshe said. “They did an excellent job as a group.”
Yale never led.
White posted a career-high 35 points on 16-for-26 shooting. Junior forward Abigail Wright delivered 12 points and six rebounds.
Switching defensive adjustments helped Yale cut the deficit to 33-25, and the Crimson led 39-27 at the half on 55% shooting.
A Moore free throw brought the Bulldogs within five at 46-41.
Harvard led 53-43 entering the last stanza.
Moore was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to bring Yale within 58-55. Yale would get no closer than five points away on two ocasions.
Yale junior forward Mary Meng notched five blocks and eight rebounds.
Yale hosts Dartmouth and Harvard plays at Brown Saturday, both at 5 p.m.