"We started really well, then we kind of slowed down," sophomore forward Katie Gates said.

Although Harvard's shooting went from 38.5 percent before halftime to 29 percent after, the Crimson did improve its offensive output, scoring 34 points before the final buzzer.

"Toward the end, it was a really good effort by the whole team to salvage what we could," Gates said. "They were very fast, very athletic. I think our whole team and our coach thinks we could have given them a better game than they did."

Monti had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists in the losing effort. Senior guard Courtney Egelhoff added 11 points and four boards.

Freshman guard Breehan Kelley had 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Junior Melissa Johnson, playing her first game in a Crimson jersey, scored eight points while grabbing 9 rebounds, four of which were off the offensive glass.

"I'm just so excited to be in the competitive atmosphere directly again," said Johnson, who transferred from North Carolina.

Stephanie Whitmore and Shawnta Johnson, two players the Ladyjacks are hyping as potential All-America candidates, scored 21 and 19 points, respectively. Whitmore, a guard, also had 11 rebounds.

The Crimson shot 33.3 percent from the field, 18.5 percent from beyond the arc and 58 percent at the line. The Ladyjacks fared much better, shooting 46.6 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from the three-point line and 61 percent from the line.