The Bison answered with a 14-4 run of their own to end the half, giving Bucknell a 39-26 lead at the break. Bucknell sophomore guard Molly Creamer scored 12 first-half points, six in the last four minutes before the break.

Bison freshman guards Desire Almind and Heidi Helsing pushed Bucknell's lead to 54-36 with 10 minutes remaining in the game with back-to-back three-pointers.

Helsing's three, however, seemed to awaken the Crimson, which furiously charged back with a 12-0 run to cut the lead to six with under four minutes to play. Harvard sophomore center Sarah Johnson was dominant inside, leading the team with 23 points. Freshman Hana Peljto, last week's Ivy League Rookie of the Week, added 12 points and nine rebounds.

"I thought we showed a lot of progress, even though we lost the game," Peljto said. "It was definitely a step forward for us."

Bucknell held off the Crimson down the stretch. Up 71-66 with 52 seconds left, Bucknell tossed in eight unanswered free throws to put the nail in the Crimson's coffin.

"Although the Bucknell game was a loss, it was a good game for our team. It was one of our better games so far," Tubridy said.

Almind led all scorers with a career-high 26 points. Creamer added 25 for the Bison, as the duo combined for 51 of the Bison's 79 total points. Bucknell is now off until a Dec. 29 game at Villanova. Harvard plays Tuesday at 7 p.m. on the road at Rhode Island in what should be another non-league challenge. The squad's Ivy League season does not begin until Jan. 6, when the Crimson takes on Dartmouth.