Trailing 76-65, the Crimson reeled off a 7-2 run to pull within six with 6:30 remaining. But Harvard would get no closer, as Florida St. slammed the door, pushing the margin back to double-digits within a minute.

The Crimson could not match the Seminoles’ athleticism inside and Florida St. took advantage, netting 46 points in the paint to Harvard’s 28. The Seminoles also dominated the boards, outrebounding the Crimson 33-18. Part of Harvard’s interior woes came from the fact that Cserny—the Crimson’s primary inside presence—spent the weekend battling the flu.

“Rebounding was our nemesis today,” Delaney-Smith said. “We have to be a better rebounding team and fundamentally today we were pretty inconsistent with our boxouts.”

Harvard 75, Liberty 73 (2 OT)

The game that wouldn’t end finally ended.

With five seconds remaining in the second overtime and the score tied at 73, Peljto drove to her right and hit a jumper. Liberty was unable to bring the ball up the floor and get a shot off in the time remaining as Harvard sealed a 75-73, double-overtime win and a spot in the championship game of the Seminole Classic.

“The shot clock and the [game] clock were winding down and I just took a couple of dribbles and took a shot,” Peljto said. “It seemed to take five bounces before luckily going in.”

After a layup by Mannering tied the game at 71, Moore drove into the lane and hit a jump shot to give the Crimson a two-point lead. The Lady Flames’ Rima Margeviciute knotted the game with a layup, setting the stage for Peljto’s game-winner.

Harvard trailed 66-63 in the first overtime with just 37 seconds remaining. The Crimson brought the ball down the floor, but could not find an open shooter. Sophomore guard Laura Robinson drove the lane trying to create an opportunity, but lost the ball. The referees ruled that a timeout had been called before she lost possession, allowing Harvard to maintain control.

Coming out of the timeout, the Crimson worked the ball around the perimeter to co-captain forward Tricia Tubridy. Tubridy drove to her right and launched an off-target three, but drew a foul from Liberty’s Aundrea Dawson. Tubridy hit all three free throws to knot the game and force a second overtime.

Trailing 59-57 with 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation, the Lady Flames had a final, desperation attempt to tie. Liberty set a back screen for Margeviciute as she rolled toward the hoop. She caught a baseball pass in the paint from Daina Staugaitiene, turned to the basket and cashed in an easy layup at the horn, sending the game into overtime.

“The goal was to clog the lane,” Delaney-Smith said. “I told them not to go for the steal unless they were sure they could get it. We went for the steal and they scored.”

It hadn’t always seemed that close. Cserny and Peljto carried Harvard to an early seven-point lead as the duo combined for 11 of the Crimson’s first 13 points.

Harvard began to pull away as the first half drew to a close on the strength of three-pointers by Tubridy, Holsey and Peljto. The Crimson stretched the lead to 12 before Lady Flames guard Michelle Parker connected on a jumper with 11 seconds left in the half to close the Harvard lead to 10, 30-20.

Liberty opened the second half with a 14-5 run, pulling to within one of Harvard, 35-34. However, the Crimson didn’t yield to the surging Lady Flames. Three-pointers by Robinson and Holsey helped Harvard push its lead back to seven with 8:24 remaining.