The hosts' early 6-0 lead was the largest by either team in the half, as the opponents stayed close. A 7-0 Harvard run in the closing minutes of the first half catapulted it to a 25-21 lead at intermission.

Yale kept itself in the game in the first half despite shooting a horrendous 21.2 percent from the field. The Crimson wasn't much better, at 38.7 percent.

The rivals traded baskets for most of the second half.

The only disruption to this pattern occured midway through the half, when Joseph sank to the floor with a sprained ankle and had to be helped off the court. She returned to action four minutes later.

A Bulldog jumper with six minutes remaining put the visitors on top for good, at 49-47. But hanging on to that lead proved no easy feat.

Harvard remained close, cutting the deficit to one with less than two minutes remaining when Sharon Hayes (high scorer with 15) sank a bomb from 24-ft.

Yale spent the rest of the contest on the foul line, scoring its last eight points from the charity stripe. For the game, the Elis held a 17-4 edge in scoring from the line.

The visitors' accuracy from the line was too much for the bottling Crimson, which managed only two free throws and a Nancy Cibotti jumper at 0:01 after Hayes' bomb.

"They did so as what every team should do to a young team," Delaney Smith said. "They pressed us."

The Bulldogs also started connecting from the floor, shooting a scorching 68 percent in the second half.

The Cantabs were hurt by the absence of point guard Anne Kelly, who was absent because of an illness in her family. "We missed her," Delaney Smith said.

Joseph finished her career with an excellent all-around performance, scoring six points, grabbing eight rebounds, handing out a team-high three assists, and blocking a team-high three shots.

"I thought Wendy played an outstanding game," Delaney Smith said. "She certainly ended her career nicely. We will miss her presence, both on and off the court."

THE NOTEBOOK: Collins fouled out of the game for the ninth time this year. Hayes also fouled out, her fourth disqualification of the season...Hayes' final scoring average of 11.0 points per game is the ninth highest in Crimson history.