Barbarann Keffer's steal and two free throws with less than 20 seconds remaining last night enabled Harvard to hold off a determined Cornell squad and preserve an opening round win in the post-season Ivy League Women's Basketball Tournament.

With the 61-57 victory before 150 fans at Briggs Athletic Center, the cagers advanced to the tourney's "Final Four" where they will take on Yale--a 66-56 winner over Penn last night--Saturday afternoon at Briggs.

Brown, which also triumphed by the count of 66-56 in its opening round match against Princeton last night, will next face Dartmouth (which received a first round bye) in the other Saturday semi-final contest.

Hosting the Big Red for the second time in five nights, the Crimson (now 18-8) was never really able to get anything going on offense, surviving a sluggish first half and staying on top largely on the strength of Beth Chandler's 6-of-6 free throw shooting down the stretch.

"It was the classic textbook game," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said afterwards. "One team pumped up sky high with nothing to lose and the other team with everything to lose. We were definitely ready and pumped up too, but we were nervous.

"This was the best preparation for us for Saturday's game," the fourth-year coach continued. "We are good enough to win this tournament but not without a lot of very, very hard work."

Harvard's 12-and 20-point wins over Cornell earlier in the year were but faint memories last night, as the Crimson was tentative on offense ("nobody seemed to want to shoot," Delaney Smith said), beaten off the boards (39-31), and generally flat.

The hoopsters fell behind by six points in the early-going, but unlike Saturday night, there was no 14-0 Crimson run to put the game away.

Sarah Duncan (five blocks, four rebounds) scored all four of her points in a 12-4 Harvard spurt just before the half, but an 18-ft. bomb by Cornell's Mary Browne (21 points) at the buzzer swung the momentum back the other way as both sides headed into the locker-room.

Consecutive lay-ups enabled the Crimson (43 percent from the floor, 77 percent from the line) to extend its lead to seven points as the game headed into the final eight minutes, but the Big Red's 50 percent second-half field goal shooting kept the contest close.

After a 12-ft. jumper by sophomore forward Sharon Hayes (Harvard's leading scorer with 13 points) gave the Crimson a 59-55 lead with 2:31 remaining, Cornell's Kathleen Geils (10 points, five rebounds, four steals) answered right back with a 12-footer of her own with 2:10 to go.

It would be the Big Red's final two points of the evening.

Following a time-out with 35 seconds left and Harvard still ahead, 59-57, the Big Red worked the shot clock down to six seconds when Keffer stepped in and--in the words of her coach--"showed what she is made of."

The sophomore guard from Broomall, Penn., who registered 12 points, five assists, and three rebounds on the evening, jumped in front of a Cornell pass, slapped the ball ahead to herself, and raced down the floor. Keffer was tackled as she attempted to go up for the lay-up but calmly stepped up to the line and sank the two free throws.

Crimson, 61-57 at Briggs Athletic Center

CORNELL (57): Karin Dwyer 4-3--11; Heidi Johnson 3-0--6; Tracy Sullivan 1-1--3; Mary Browne 10-1--21; Patty Mills 1-0--2; Patti Frochlich 2-0--4; Kathleen Geils 5-0--10; Tricia Cochran 0-0--0; Jonelle Mullen 0-0--0. Totals 26-5--57.

HARVARD (61): Sharon Hayes 6-1--13; Nancy Cibotti 3-0--6; Anna Collins 1-0--2; Trisha Brown 6-0--12; Barbarann Keffer 5-2--12; Anne Kelly 0-0--0; Beth Chandler 1-6--8; Hanya Bluestone 0-2--2; Sarah Duncan 1-2--4; Mary Baldauf 1-0--2. Totals 24-13--61.

Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Harvard 31 (Cibotti 6), Cornell 39 (Johnson 7). Assists: Harvard 10 (Keffer 5), Cornell 11 (Mills, Geils 3). Cornell  24-33--57 Harvard  28-33--61

A:150