The Tigers pulled within 44-43 with 17:26 left, but even when the Crimson bent Saturday, it didn’t break.

One day after Tubridy was Harvard’s top three-point threat against Penn, junior guard Jenn Monti had the hot hand early in the second half on Saturday, hitting twice in the first four minutes.

When the Tigers cut the score to 53-52 with 11:55 left, the Crimson finally started to pull away. Freshman Rochelle Bell came off the bench to set up sophomore Kate Ides for a conventional three-point play, and co-captain Laura Barnard followed up with a three-pointer on Harvard’s next possession that made the score 59-52. The Tigers never came within striking distance again.

Though Princeton had the superior three-point shooting, it couldn’t match Harvard’s height. The Crimson dominated the boards by a 46-30 margin. Peljto and Cserny each had seven offensive rebounds.

Five of Cserny’s came in the first half, when she scored 10 of Harvard’s first 16 points. Cornell sent her to the line four times, and she did not miss any of her eight free throws.

Cserny showed her prowess on defense as well. Her seven steals were one short of the single-game record set by Allison Feaster ’98.

Co-captain Katie Gates started and played 30 minutes—two things she hadn’t done in months due to injury.

“She’s our emotional leader, and we need her out there,” Peljto said. “It’s so great to have her back.”

Harvard 59, Penn 55

The Quakers were starving for a win on Friday night to keep their dwindling title hopes alive. Clutch Harvard baskets in the final minutes prevented them from pulling it off.

On a night when eight Harvard players combined to make just 2-of-19 three-point attempts, the Crimson relied heavily on Tubridy’s 3-of-4 shooting from behind in the arc. Her first three opened the game, the second came when Penn had its largest lead of the evening at 46-41, and the last—and most important—put Harvard ahead for good, 56-53, with 1:31 left.

Penn sophomore Jewel Clark, who led the Quakers with 16 points, cut the Crimson lead to one with an inside shot through traffic at the one-minute mark. But Cserny answered with a leaner over two Penn defenders to push the lead back to 58-55 with 33 seconds left.

Penn had one last chance to tie the game, but the Harvard defense surrendered nothing inside. Quaker junior guard Tara Twomey, who had rallied Penn all game with her aggressive defense, was forced to fire a desperation three with the shot clock winding down. The shot, well beyond her range, fell into Cserny’s hands.

Cserny then hit one of two free throws to ice the 59-55 Harvard victory.

But the Crimson felt the game should never have been that close.