“I definitely thought down the stretch that this was our game we were in control of it, we were going to win it,” Peljto said. “And then we had a tough break at the end, but that’s how basketball goes. It’s a game of runs and the run we wanted couldn’t come at the end for us.”

The loss came despite 23 points from Cserny and 22 from Peljto and Harvard’s 50 percent field-goal percentage.

“I felt like our team chemistry was great in the second half, we were connecting really well,” Moore said. “Even down the stretch at the end I think we felt like we were clicking, but things just weren’t falling for us.”

With three Ivy losses, the Crimson likely must win every remaining game to have a chance at an Ivy League title and invitation to the NCAA tournament.

“We felt a lot of pressure winning games, and every game we said ‘Well this is it’ but really all we need to do is play,” Peljto said. “We just need to have a good time and play. There’s no pressure on us anymore obviously with so many losses.”

Harvard 96, Princeton 62

The Crimson (9-9, 2-3) stormed back Saturday night over the Tigers (5-13, 2-3), winning by 36 points.

“It was awesome,” said junior guard Rochelle Bell. “It was the best game of the season.”

Knowing that it must win out to have a shot at an Ivy title, Harvard came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. Junior guard Katie Murphy swished the game’s first shot, a three from the right wing and Cserny picked up Saturday night where she left off against Penn, scoring 14 points in the game’s first 12 minutes.

A reinvigorated Crimson squad played tough defense, dove for loose balls and drew offensive charges.

“We want to fight the fight, and that’s what we’re doing,” Delaney-Smith said.

Toying with Princeton, Harvard abused the 2-3 zone defense that the Tigers threw at the Crimson, driving the lane and picking it apart with sharpshooting from behind the arc.

During a stretch midway through the first half, Harvard made eight consecutive shots from the field, including four three-pointers. This came in the midst of a 26-6 run that pushed the Crimson lead to 23 and the game out of Princeton’s reach.

“I think we took some pressure off ourselves,” Bell said. “We decided ‘Okay, we’re going to go out, we’re going to have fun.’ We’re the underdog now as opposed to being on top. We kind of have to work our way up there again.”

Harvard exploded for 48 first-half points on 55 percent shooting, including eight of 12 from three-point distance.