After cutting 12-point Penn lead to two, the Crimson literally threw the game away in the final minute of the second half, as Harvard over-utilized a bench that was unprepared to handle a sudden aggression by the Quaker press. The Crimson turned over the ball three consecutive times on the inbound, and by the end of the half, the Penn lead was at 12 again. Harvard could not overcome that sequence for the rest of the game, or really the rest of the season.
But this time around, the Crimson will expect a more favorable result than last year's 79-66 defeat at Penn. This year's edition is far better prepared to utilize 10 players on the floor than any other team of recent memory. Even more encouraging is that Melissa Johnson is finally showing signs of regaining the dominance she showcased in the first half of the Harvard-Penn game immediately before sustaining her knee injury. Into the newly renovated Palestra, the Crimson will bring a revitalized team.