Harvard 54, Yale 40

In the first minute alone, Monti and Kowal each turned a steal into an easy lay-up to propel the Crimson to a 5-0 lead. The night would not get any easier for the Elis.

Through the first eight minutes, Harvard stymied the Yale offense and built a 16-2 lead. By halftime, Harvard led 28-15, Yale was shooting 5-of-26 from the floor, and leading Bulldog scorer Maria Smear had just one point.

"That was the strong overwhelming situation--great team defense, help-the-helper--we took away the paint," Delaney-Smith said. "We held their top two scorers to single digits."

The only player who had success against the Harvard defense was freshman Bonnie Smith, who tallied five points on a 9-0 Yale run that cut Harvard's lead to 16-11 with eight minutes left in the first half. She would have a career and team-high 15 points, including the last five points of an Eli run that cut Harvard's lead to 35-30 with 10 minutes left.

But that would be the last time Yale would pull that close. The Crimson heated up from three-point range, as Monti, Peljto, and sophomore guard Bree Kelley drained three-pointers in rapid succession, while Smith added another for Yale in between, leaving the score at 44-33 with eight minutes left.

No longer the unexpected threat made strong by Harvard's keying on other players, Smith was held scoreless for the rest of the night, and the Crimson lead was never threatened again.