Elena Rodriguez

Career night from Abigail Wright leads Harvard women’s basketball at Boston College in overtime

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Harvard women’s basketball rode the hot hands of junior forward Abigail Wright, who notched a career-best 23 points and 13 rebounds in her first-ever double-double, to a 72-65 overtime victory over Boston College at the Conte Center on Wednesday night.

While the Crimson got back into the win column and evened its record at 3-3 on the season, the triumph was tempered by the loss of Karlee White, who had been the team’s leading scorer, midway through the third quarter. The junior guard, who is arguably the on and off court leader for Carrie Moore’s team, went down with a non-contact left knee injury and did not return for the rest of the evening.

Harvard Athletics did not respond to a request for comment on White’s status.

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Harvard women’s basketball takes down St. John’s on Banner Reveal Night

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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.

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2025-26 Ivy League women’s basketball preview

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The release of the Ivy League preseason media poll and 2025-26 Media Day revealed Princeton as the favorite heading into the 2025-26 season, followed by three-time defending champion Columbia, 2025 Ivy Madness title-holder Harvard in third and Penn rounding out the upper half of the conference.

Brown, which has tied the Quakers for fourth place the last two years, is the clear choice for the fifth slot. Dartmouth, Cornell and Yale are pegged for the last three spots, with the Big Green one point ahead of the Big Red and seven points in front of the Bulldogs.

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No. 10 Harvard women’s basketball loses 64-50 slugfest to No. 7 Michigan State in NCAA Tournament

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The Harvard women’s basketball team celebrates after winning the women’s Ivy League Tournament championship game over Columbia at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I. on March 15. Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)

In a NCAA Tournament Round of 64 matchup pitting No. 10 Harvard, one of the nation’s stingiest defenses, against No. 7 Michigan State, one of the country’s most prolific offenses, it was the higher seed coming away with a 64-50 victory Saturday. But the Spartans did it by effectively shutting down the Crimson for 40 minutes.

While Robyn Fralick’s squad, which won its first tournament game since 2019, moves on to a second-round game at Reynolds Coliseum Monday against host No. 2 North Carolina State, Carrie Moore’s team will use the experiences of this week, as well as the memories of its first Ivy League Tournament title, to make another run next season after ending an 18-year NCAA Tournament drought Saturday.

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Ivy women’s final: No. 3 Harvard outlasts No. 1 Columbia, 74-71, to win Ivy League Tournament

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The Harvard women’s basketball team celebrates after winning the women’s Ivy League Tournament championship game over top seed Columbia at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I. Saturday. (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)

The question entering Saturday’s Ivy League Tournament championship game between No. 3 Harvard and No. 1 Columbia was, “What can Harmoni Turner do for an encore?”

The answer: Win a championship.

The senior guard who exploded for a record-setting 44 points against Princeton in Friday night’s semifinal delivered a game-high 24 points, two rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead Harvard past Columbia, 74-71, for the Crimson’s first Ivy League Tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It’s Harvard’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2007.

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Ivy women’s semifinal: Harmoni Turner explodes for 44 points to lead No. 3 Harvard over No. 2 Princeton

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Harvard senior guard Harmoni Turner rises up for a jump shot over Princeton sophomore guard/forward Fadima Tall in semifinal action at the Ivy League Tournament at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I. Friday. (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It was Turner Time at the Pizz.

With an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament likely on the line, Ivy League Player of the Year Harmoni Turner erupted for 44-points and led No. 3-seeded Harvard to a 70-67 win over No. 2 Princeton in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament. The win advances Harvard to Saturday’s championship game against No. 1 Columbia, which defeated No. 4 Penn in Friday’s first semifinal matchup, 60-54.

Turner’s 44 points broke her own record for most points in a game by a Harvard player, set earlier in the season against Boston College, and shattered the record for an individual performance by a player, men’s or women’s, at the Ivy League Tournament.

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Ivy Madness: Women’s Basketball Media Day

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The Madness on display at "The Pizz" (Photo: Rob Browne for Ivy Hoops Online)
The Madness on display at “The Pizz” (Photo: Rob Browne | Ivy Hoops Online)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Welcome to Ivy Madness VII (and Chag Sameach to those celebrating Purim)

This year, Ivy Hoops Online is coming to you from the heights of the Pizzitola Sports Center on the campus of Brown University.

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2024-25 IHO Women’s All-Ivy Awards

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The Ivy League announced its major women’s awards Tuesday, but we know this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Ivy Hoops Online’s 2024-25 All-Ivy Awards, as determined by IHO’s contributors prior to the release of the Ivy League’s awards:

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Harvard women’s basketball downs Dartmouth, 74-40

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Harvard and Dartmouth women’s basketball tip off at Leede Arena Saturday for what became a 74-40 win for the Crimson over the Big Green. (Ray Curren / Ivy Hoops Online)

HANOVER, N.H. – The Harvard women’s basketball team knew its Ivy League Tournament place was secure heading into Saturday’s regular season finale Saturday afternoon against Dartmouth.

But as much as they probably didn’t want to look too closely at it, the Crimson also knew their hopes of an NCAA Tournament at-large berth was in a very precarious spot, listed as one of the Last Four In or dreaded Last Four Out on most bracketologies in the last two weeks.

So, even though Dartmouth was banged up and coming in on an 11-game losing streak, Harvard left nothing to chance on Dartmouth’s Senior Day, using their pressure to dominate from the opening tip, eventually posting a 74-40 victory at Leede Arena.

“We just really wanted to finish the regular season on a high note,” Harvard coach Carrie Moore said. “We didn’t feel great about how we played last weekend, so we wanted to get back to how we know we can play, and I felt we did that, especially the upperclassmen who set the tone early.”

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Solid second half lifts Harvard women’s basketball past Penn

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On Senior Night at Harvard, the seniors came through in a dominant second half Saturday to sail past the Penn women’s basketball team, 62-44.

Of course, it helps when your seniors include league-leading scorer Harmoni Turner and forward Elena Rodriguez. With two points from reserve forward Mona Zaric, the senior class came up just one point short of Penn’s total. Turner let loose for a double-double: 24 points from all over the court and 11 rebounds; Rodriguez had 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting.

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