Harvard went ahead 16-6 in the first 6:19, and appeared to be headed to a repeat of its 76-56 blowout of Penn on Jan. 12, but 14 first-half turnovers let to Harvard’s unraveling. Penn came back to tie the game 31-31 at the half.
“We did a lot with our turnovers in the first half to make [Penn] believers of themselves,” Delaney-Smith said. “It could have been a very different ball game.”
Many of those turnovers came as Harvard misfired on long outlet passes. Penn tempted the Crimson with an aggressive press that occasionally left Harvard players open on the opposite end.
“Early on, we did a good job with [the press] but then we started to be a little too fancy,” Monti said.
Another factor in Harvard’s struggles was the nine minutes Peljto spent on the bench after picking up two fouls. After netting ten of her 21 points came during the 16-6 run, Peljto didn’t score again in the first half.
Harvard’s defense held Penn without an open shot for most of the first six minutes, but the Quakers found better looks as the game went on, especially with Clark pulling up in transition.
“A couple of times we laid back [trying] to take a charge and [Clark] pulled up right at the middle of the key,” Monti said. “She’s a legitimate player, but we didn’t do a good job in that.”
Penn players were most successful creating their own shots against Harvard’s zone. The Quakers assisted on just two baskets all evening.
Harvard switched from a two-three zone to a three-two in the second half. The switch slowed down Penn, but the Quakers made defensive adjustments that disoriented Harvard as well.
“Our offense was never outstanding,” Monti said “They were playing some switching [man-to-man] at the top that caused us some problems. We got back to our best when we played in transition.”
The game’s most harrowing transition basket came with six minutes left as Gates chased down a misfired outlet pass in the far left corner and—to keep the ball in play—heaved the ball in desperation to Peljto underneath the basket. Peljto tamed the wild ball and put it in for two points.
“Most players would not have caught [the pass from Gates], never mind put it in the basket,” Delaney-Smith said.
Gates also earned the easiest transition basket of the game with 2:09 left when she picked off a pass between two Penn guards at halfcourt for an easy layup that put Harvard ahead 53-51.
Gates’ contributions were crucial with Dunham missing the last 13 minutes of the game after turning her ankle. Dunham also collided with a wall after chasing down a Monti pass in the first half.
Dunham missed all of Saturday’s Princeton game as well, but she is expected back in time for next weekend.
Poor free-throw shooting doomed the Quakers, who shot just 3-for-7 from the line in the second half, while the Crimson hit 6-of-7.
Delaney-Smith felt that Peljto, in particular, deserved to be at the line more often. She praised Peljto’s maturity in dealing with the situation.
“She was fouled the whole game and didn’t get any calls,” Delaney-Smith said. “She’s tough. You’re not going to see her react to that. You’re not going to see her whine. And that’s why I feel she’s a great player.”
As a whole, the Penn game proved to Harvard that nothing will come easy for the rest of the season.
“I think every game is going to be like this from now on, because everyone thinks they should be on top,” Monti said.