Two free throws by Tania Gilbert with 27 seconds remaining in the half set the score going into the locker rooms at 51-30.

Minnesota came out of the break with the same torrid shooting that had typified the first half. The Gophers shot 60 percent from the floor in the frame.

With Minnesota scoring at will, the lead pushed to 89-53 before the Crimson tried to pull the game back in. The Crimson did outscore Minnesota 18-10 over the last nine minutes.

Sophomore Reka Cserny finished the game with 13 points, nine on threes. Moore added nine off the bench, while junior Tricia Tubridy and Kate Ides added eight apiece.

Also for Harvard, freshman Jessica Holsey had five points, all in the second half, and four assists.

The Crimson will be back in action this Wednesday at Lavietes Pavilion when it hosts Central Connecticut State at 7 p.m.

Harvard plays No. 22 Boston College on Sunday. The Eagles were in attendance at Lavietes for the Crimson’s loss yesterday.

“I know we’re better than this,” Delaney-Smith said. “[The players] know we’re better than this. BC was here en masse watching the game. I would say that they probably have enormous confidence. ... We can handle pressure better, we can play BC. I don’t know that BC is better than Minnesota or Vanderbilt.”

—Staff writer Tyson E. Hubbard can be reached at thubbard@fas.harvard.edu.