But then the Rams started to run. URI guard Donna Strike hit a running jumper to put the Rams on the board. Two baskets and a free throw later, URI had a 7-5 lead.

It was back and forth for the rest of the half, as both teams played ugly basketball, committing turnover after turnover. The Rams scored 14 points off turnovers in the first half.

The Crimson put together a brief run with 6:58 left in the half. Up 19-17, Johnson put a rebound back for a bucket to spark a 9-0 spurt. In that streak, however, both Gates and Monti had the ball stolen under their watch, indicative of the half Harvard was having.

Harvard shot 52 percent from the floor during the first stanza, keeping it in the game with URI, who also shot 52 percent.

The Rams whittled the lead down to two with 55 seconds left in the first half on a three-pointer from junior guard Shannon Boor.

After the teams traded free throws to make it 33-31, the clock wound down to 1.6 seconds, stopping on a URI traveling violation. Monti in-bounded the ball to freshman guard Bree Kelley, who spotted up, shot from the hip and swished home a three-pointer as time expired.

At halftime, Delaney-Smith said she made sure her players understood how poorly they had been playing.