Freshman guard JESSICA HOLSEY (R), shown here in earlier action, has been sidelined by a shoulder injury for two weeks but may dress for this weekend’s Ivy matchups.

Despite twice nearly having a strong first-half performance negated by a late rally by the opposition, the Harvard women’s basketball team managed two more victories this weekend, beating Penn and Princeton.

The Crimson (18-4, 10-0 Ivy) narrowly escaped what would have been its first Ivy loss of the season with an 84-80 victory over the Quakers (11-11, 5-4) on Friday before defeating the Tigers (8-15, 3-6) 72-60 the following evening. The two victories extend Harvard’s winning streak to twelve and give the Crimson a three-game cushion at the top of the conference with only four regular-season contests remaining.

Harvard will host Cornell and Columbia on Friday and Saturday night, respectively, with the opportunity to clinch the Ivy League title and the accompanying berth in the NCAA tournament.

“To win out in the Ivies is a big goal of ours,” Moore said. “And knowing that we can clinch the Ivy League next weekend, we don’t really need any extra motivation.”

The Crimson’s chances at achieving perfection in league play will be bolstered by the likely return of freshman guard Jessica Holsey. Holsey has been out for two weeks with a shoulder injury, but there’s a good chance she will dress against Columbia and Cornell, according to captain Kate Ides.

In addition to maintaining its perfect conference record, the team also garnered academic accolades this week, as junior forward Hana Peljto and sophomore center Reka Cserny were named to the Verizon Academic All-District I Team. Peljto earned First-Team honors and advances to the national Academic All-America ballot, while Cserny was a Second-Team selection.

Harvard 72, Princeton 60

Harvard used a strong first-half effort to secure a victory over Princeton on Saturday night in Jadwin Gymnasium.

With the score tied at 17 with just under ten minutes to go in the opening frame, the Crimson went on a 20-7 run to take a 13-point lead going into the half.

“We had some defensive lapses in the beginning of the game,” Ides said. “But as we focused on playing better defense we were able to build a lead.”

Harvard maintained its double-digit advantage throughout most of the second half, but Princeton closed the gap to within seven in the final minute.

“Princeton is a team that never gives up,” Ides said. “We’re probably their biggest rivalry.”

Peljto recorded her tenth double-double of the year, scoring a team-high 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Cserny and junior point guard Bev Moore capped strong weekends with 15 and 13 points, respectively.

Harvard 84, Penn 80