WORCESTER--The outcome wasn't what the Harvard women's basketball team or Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith wanted, but it also wasn't unexpected.

After falling 89-61 to a gritty, veteran Holy Cross team on Friday, the Crimson (4-3) claimed third place in the ECAC Holiday Festival with a 74-71 victory over La Salle (4-2) Saturday at the Hart Center, showing flashes of brilliance and breaking down in both games.

"We have great basketball players and I think right now we are a good team, but we're not a great team yet," sophomore point guard Jen Monti said. "We don't quite have it. We have moments of it."

It was a weekend filled with excitement and tension as the Crimson gelled or fell apart, sometimes flip-flopping in a matter of minutes as Delaney-Smith tried out different player combinations and defensive schemes.

Harvard 74, La Salle 71

For Harvard, getting the lead was the easy part. Holding it was a little harder.

Harvard captain Laela Sturdy hit a three-pointer 57 seconds into the game to open the scoring, and soon the Crimson was off to the races.

Briefly down 9-8 with 15:13 left in the first half, Harvard started on a 26-9 run, sparked by treys from Sturdy, freshman Bree Kelley and sophomore Katie Gates along the way.