It was a long time in the making, and at times this season didn’t look possible, but the Harvard women’s lacrosse team secured its first wining record since 1994 with an 11-10 overtime win over Brown last night at Jordan Field.

In the process, the Crimson (8-7, 2-5 Ivy) made itself eligible for the ECAC Tournament and edged out the Bears (5-9, 1-6 Ivy) for sixth place in the Ancient Eight.

With 32.4 seconds left in the first half of the extra session, sophomore midfielder Jen Brooks took over, making a great move on her defender and scoring on an off-speed shot to the top right corner of the net.

In scoring, Brooks still appeared strong, although the frenetic pace of the game must have taken its toll on her as it did on the other players.

“At that point, it’s a totally mental game, but it’s what the entire season’s about,” Brooks said.

As the second half of overtime began, Brown’s Christine Anneberg had a chance to score, but couldn’t finish. Only 36 seconds in, though, Rebekah Rottenberg completed a hat trick to knot the score at 10.

But Brooks would not be denied. The sophomore converted a feed from junior midfielder Leslie Moroz with 1:11 to play that, after some difficulties with the game clock, stood up, giving the Crimson the win and keeping its season alive.

“[Brook’s heroics were] just characteristic of our attackers all season,” senior attacker Melissa Christino said. “People step up at different moments and it makes all the difference in the world.”

Both teams enjoyed early scoring chances, with Brooks finding Christino behind the Brown net under a minute into the game. Christino laid the ball off to junior midfielder Katie Shaughnessy, who beat her defender to free herself for a shot. Brown goaltender Niki Caggiano, the reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week, was up to the challenge, however, stopping the shot off the bounce.

Fewer than two minutes later, the Bears had a golden opportunity of their own, but sophomore goaltender Laura Mancini made the save on a free position shot after a hard foul by sophomore defender Vanessa Lavely.

Mancini couldn’t keep Brown at bay for long, though, as Courtney Johnson scored on a quickstick off a pass from Laurel Pierpont. Less than a minute later, Anneberg carried the ball from behind the net, spun hard and slotted it behind Mancini for a 2-0 lead barely five minutes into the game.

A few minutes later, Mancini made the save on a tough, low shot from Johnson, swinging the momentum Harvard’s way.

In what had the potential to be their last game in a Crimson uniform, Harvard’s seniors took over. Christino scored off of a pass from co-captain defender Heather Hussey. Then, the two executed a textbook give-and-go, with Hussey recording the equalizer.

“I hope she was as psyched as I was,” Christino said.

Finally, Christino notched an unassisted tally to give the Crimson its first lead of the game.