SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Harvard women’s basketball reentered the win column this afternoon by defeating North Dakota State, 69-64, in the opening game of the Coast 2 Coast Women’s Basketball San Diego Classic.  The Crimson were led by Harmoni Turner with 22 points and Elena Rodriguez who put up team highs in rebounding, assists, and blocks. 

How it Happened

The Bison got on the board first, notching the first five points of the contest.  Elena Rodriguez helped the Crimson respond by getting started early and scoring the first two buckets of the game.  The rest of the quarter was back and forth, and the contest was deadlocked at 17 at the conclusion of the first frame. 
 
California native, Karlee White connected from deep with 7:36 remaining in the second quarter to put the Crimson up 22-19.  Following the White triple, Harvard would remaining ahead for a majority of the remainder of the contest.  A slew of buckets from four different Crimson players ultimately put the Crimson up 36-21 headed into the locker room. 
 
Out of halftime the Crimson and the Bison continued to trade baskets, keeping the contest tight.  In the final 2:05 of the third quarter the Crimson scored seven of the final eight points to pull ahead by ten headed into the fourth quarter.  A layup by Turner and a triple from Katie Krupa grew the Harvard lead to eight before a last second layup from Turner ended the quarter strong for the squad. 
 
The Bison continued to fight into the fourth quarter but the Crimson responded each time including another Krupa three to bring the lead back to double digits.  Harvard was able to hold off North Dakota State and a trio of made free throws from Turner and Saniyah Glenn-Bello in the final seconds ultimately sealed the 69-64 win for the Crimson. 

Harvard Highlights

• Turner led all scorers with 22 points.  The junior has reached double figures in each of the Crimson six contests and has led all scorers in all but one game. 
• Rodriguez posted a season-best 19 points on 7-10 shooting.  The junior had an all-around game, adding a team-high in rebounds (6), assists (4) and blocks (4).  With help from her 70% shooting from the field, Rodriguez continues to lead the Ivy League in field goal percentage this season, a title which she also held at the conclusion of last year.  
• Rodriguez’s four blocks are a career-best, topping her previous high of three that she had reached twice last season. 
• Turner and Rodriguez both reached double figures by halftime with 14 and 12, respectively from either junior.
• While the Crimson had made double digit three’s in the past three contest, against the Bison its offense came from closer to the rim as the team put up 40 of their total points in the paint. 
• As a team, the Crimson shot 50% from the field making 26 of their 52 attempted field goals. 
• Abigail Wright collected five boards on the day, all of which came on the offensive end of the ball. 
• Including hitting a pair of clutch threes in the second half, Krupa had a strong defensive day with two blocks and three steals. 

Next Up

The Crimson will conclude their time in San Diego with another contest against SMU tomorrow, November 25.  Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. ET at San Diego City College and on FloHoops.