"We felt like we had won."

That's what Harvard women's basketball Coach Kathy Delaney Smith had to say after Brown edged out the Crimson, 69-67 Saturday night before 1.622 fans at Marvel Gym in Providence.

Was Delaney Smith suffering from a case of over enthusiasm. Not after this game.

Playing against the Ivy League leading Bruins (who had won their previous league contests by an average of 20 points). Harvard performed superbly, outplaying the hosts for most of the way before finally succumbing by two points.

"It was one of the best ballgames that I have seen or been part of for a number of years," said Delaney Smith, whose squad dropped to 7.11 (1.5 Ivies) the weekend.

It was also a sparking team effort by the cages who had struggled Friday in a 27-point loss tom then last-place Yale.

Delancy Smith wouldn't point to any particular Crimson players as keys to the fine performance. "I shouldn't pick out players because I think all 12 players were involved in the level of play we had," she said.

But the cager who shined the brightest was Barb Keffer.

The freshman point guard led the Crimson in scoring for the second consecutive night, pouring in a career high 18-points.

Additionally, she handed out seven assists to give her 95 on the year, shattering the old Harvard team record of 93 (last year's Crimson assist leader only had 55).

But Keffer's heroics were not limited to the offensive end. Keffer held Brown's point guard Kerry Kelley, who leads the Ivies in assists and is among the leaders in points, to only four points and five assists.

"Barb set herself a goal of shutting [Kelley] down." Delaney Smith said. She added that Keffer's overall effort was "absolutely great."

Harvard held the lead for most of this battle. Shooting 57 percent from the floor, the Crimson led for the entire first half and went into halftime with a 36-32 edge.

Early second half action was similar, with Harvard staying ahead but unable to stretch its lead to more.

With eight minutes left in the contest. Brown made its move. Despite shooting only 25 percent from the floor in the second half, the hosts forged ahead due to great free throw shooting.