Harvard women’s basketball holds on for 72-62 win over Illinois State

At her weekly press conferences, Harvard women’s basketball coach Carrie Moore often discusses her Detroit roots, the grittiness that comes with being a part of the Motor City and her desire for her players to play with that level of toughness.

On Sunday afternoon, her Crimson didn’t always have their best stuff, but they pushed back against a physical Illinois State (2-2) team to come away with a hard-fought 72-62 victory. 

The win gave Harvard (7-1) a sweep of its first of two consecutive back-to-back games and a five-game winning streak.

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Harvard women’s basketball cruises to 75-50 victory over Northwestern

If there’s any more conference realignment on the horizon, the Harvard women may want to consider heading over to the Big Ten. For the second time this year, the Crimson traveled to the Midwest and came away with a victory.

While Harvard (6-1) needed overtime to defeat then-No. 25 Indiana, 72-68, on Nov. 7, it easily handled Northwestern (1-3), 70-65, on Saturday afternoon.

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

 

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.

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Harvard women’s basketball wipes out at Quinnipiac, 76-53

Harvard followed-up an inspirational win over No. 25 Indiana Thursday by laying an egg Sunday in Hamden, Conn. against Quinnipiac. The Bobcats mauled Harvard, 76-53.

“This is a tough after a win on Thursday over a good team. The maturity didn’t carry over. Disappointing lack of intensity,” Harvard coach Carrie Moore said.

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How Harvard women’s basketball took down No. 25 Indiana

For the first time in the Carrie Moore era, the Harvard women defeated a Top 25 team, beating No. 25 Indiana, 72-68, in overtime on Thursday night.

“I’m just so happy for them,” the head coach told the BIG+ Network immediately after the buzzer ended and she was mobbed by her jubilant team. “When I got here, there was a lot of work that needed to be done, and these guys bought in and invested.”

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Harvard men’s and women’s basketball victorious in doubleheader sweep

After more than four hours of opening night basketball at Lavietes Pavilion, the Harvard faithful were in a great mood following wins by their men’s and women’s programs.

The men (1-0) started off the festivities with a convincing 79-66 victory over Marist (0-1), while the women (1-0) pulled away late from in-state rival UMass (0-1) on its way to a 71-55 triumph.

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Ivy women’s basketball Media Day highlights

As the 2024-25 season quickly approaches, the Ivy League hosted its annual women’s basketball Media Day on Thursday. The three-hour event, hosted by Lance Medow, can be viewed on the conference’s YouTube channel.

Prior to the event, the league announced the results of its preseason poll.

Princeton, which has claimed the Ancient Eight title for the last six years, was picked first with 122 out of a possible 128 points and 10 first-place votes.  Columbia, which has tied for the top spot in each of the last two seasons, came in second with 110 points and five first-place votes.

Harvard, which has finished the last two years in third placed, was tabbed for third in 2025, earning 101 points and one first-place spot. 

Penn, the final participant in last year’s Ivy tournament, was picked fourth with 75 votes, while Brown, which finished last year tied with Penn for fourth, was four points back in fifth place.

Sixth place went to Yale, which was as high as third place in 2022, with 48 votes. 

While Cornell and Dartmouth ended last season tied for seventh place, the Big Red got the nod for seventh in this year’s poll with 30 points and the Big Green were eighth with 19 points.  

Below are highlights from this year’s virtual Media Day:

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No. 2 Columbia women’s basketball survives No. 3 Harvard, 63-61, to advance to Ivy League Tournament final

For the third time in the last two postseasons, the Lions and Crimson tipped off to do battle Friday at Levien Gym. (Photo: Rob Browne)

NEW YORK – In front of a partisan, sold-out crowd at Levien Gymnasium Friday, Ivy League Player of the Year Abbey Hsu used a 20-point, 14 rebound performance to lead her No. 2 Columbia Lions over No. 3 Harvard, 63-61, to set up a long-awaited final showdown with Princeton on Saturday night.

If Hsu, head coach Megan Griffith and the rest of the Lions can slay the Tigers, the program will earn its first-ever Ivy League Tournament title, as well as its inaugural berth in the NCAA Tournament.

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Reporter’s Notebook: Ivy Madness day one

A great eight greets fans at the 120th Street entrance (photo: Rob Browne)

NEW YORK – Welcome to Ivy Madness VI!

For the first time, the Ivy League Tournament visits New York City, home to the largest collection of Ancient Eight alumni and Levien Gymnasium. The 2,700-seat arena, situated on the heart of the Columbia campus, is the fourth smallest venue in the conference and fans are right on top of the action.

When packed, which it often has been for the 2023 and 2024 regular season championship women’s team, it can get incredibly loud and cause problems for opposing players. Fortunately for league, fans and ESPN, Levien will be packed. As of Thursday evening, the Saturday women’s final is sold out, as well as the Saturday men’s semifinals and Sunday men’s final.

There are a small number of tickets remaining for the second women’s semifinal, featuring No. 2 Columbia and No. 3 Harvard, as well as a larger number of tickets for the opening game, which pits No. 1 Princeton against long-time rival No. 4 Penn.

Over the next several days, Ivy Hoops Online will be in Morningside Heights (and watching the world-wide leader) to bring you all the action. With lots of great coverage from George Clark, Steve Silverman, Palestra Pete and Richard Kent, I’ll be around to fill in the spaces and scarf down as many snacks as possible.

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Ivy League Tournament: Women’s press conference highlights

If it’s not on the MTA map, it should be (Photo: Rob Browne)

NEW YORK – The opening day of the Ivy League Tournament brought the four women’s teams to Levien Gymnasium on the campus of Columbia University.

Below are highlights of the press conferences and links to the videos. (Check out the game previews from Steve Silverman)

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