Harvard 84, Yale 60

The previous night, the Crimson enjoyed a dominating victory against the Bulldogs and a rare milestone for one of the program’s greatest players. Peljto scored her 2,000th point with 18:37 left in the first half on a layup, assisted by Katie Murphy. The game stopped as her teammates rushed the court to give Peljto hugs and a bouquet of flowers.

“I was a little bit nervous before the game especially because it was just two, so I knew the first shot, everyone would be looking at me,” said Peljto, who finished with team highs of 23 points and nine rebounds. “I’m glad it was a breakaway layup so there was less chance of missing it. Once it was over, it was definitely a relief.”

Yale managed to keep the game close throughout the first half and closed Harvard’s lead to three, 37-34, with 1:17 left. But two steals by freshman center Christiana Lackner led to two fast break layups and gave the Crimson the momentum going into halftime. In the first two minutes of the second half, Harvard extended its lead to 10 points, forcing the Bulldogs to call a timeout. Yale narrowed the Crimson advantage to seven, but could get no closer as Harvard scored 10 unanswered points to push its lead to 17, 62-45.

The Crimson’s most difficult task was containing 6’3 freshman sensation Erica Davis. Davis had 17 points on 7-8 shooting, but Harvard managed to limit her touches and challenge her on defense.

Junior center Reka Cserny used her long reach and active feet to continually harass Davis, while Cserny’s offensive ability frustrated and exhausted the less conditioned Davis. Cserny drove to the basket, shot from outside and used the pick-and-roll on Davis as most NBA teams do to Shaquille O’Neal. Cserny finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.

When Cserny had to sit because of foul trouble, Lackner assumed defensive duties on Davis with the same intensity. Delaney-Smith used Lackner early and often to help stop Davis on Friday, though the freshman had previously averaged only 5.2 minutes over nine games.

“The reason I put her in a little more tonight is that she’s a very athletic, active, smart post defender and we needed to get around Erica Davis,” said Delaney-Smith.

The Crimson also played great team defense, forcing 22 turnovers while committing only 12.