Holsey had the ball in her hands with 9.4 seconds left when she drew a foul from Mojidi. She made only one of two free throws to tie the game at 71, but after she managed to stop Rams point guard Justine Boisvert on the ensuing possession, the game went into overtime.

And with Kneen on the bench after fouling out with 1:30 left, the Crimson finally turned the tables in overtime.

Harvard was pushed by a superb overtime effort from captain Reka Cserny, who scored 8 of her 21 points and pulled down 6 rebounds during that period.

But there was Holsey again, whose thundering three-pointer from four feet behind the arc at 2:05 in OT gave the Crimson a 79-77 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.

The 5’8 point guard hazarded a guess as to what enabled the prodigious offensive production.

“I don’t have a huge brace anymore on my shoulder,” she laughed, “so that helps.”

Garrick was more overt in his praise.

“She played with a lot of heart, a lot of intensity, and a lot of confidence,” he said. “Harvard’s lucky to have her.”

Cserny was equally impressive in overtime, but disappeared for stretches during regulation. Her 21 points came against a team with only two healthy regulars over six feet.

“Reka does it all: rebound and defense,” Delaney-Smith. “She’s been struggling with her offense.”

Cserny’s performed well in overtime, but her problems shooting from outside—she has not made a three-pointer this year after finishing third on the team from long-range last season—have hindered her ability to truly become dominant.

“We’re going to sit down and talk about it and rethink a few things, maybe,” Delaney-Smith said.

Helping with the down-low scoring was McCaffery, whose defensive stop near the end of regulation overshadowed her career night in the paint.

She scored 15 points and pulled down 9 rebounds, both career highs.

But the night, in the end, belonged to Holsey.

—Staff writer Alex McPhillips can be reached at rmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.