“She’s a great post player,” Delaney-Smith said. “But we just denied her the ball.”

The Crimson succeeded not only in shutting down Morrison, but clogging the passing lanes as well to generate a large number of turnovers.

Co-captain Tricia Tubridy and sophomore Jess Holsey proved particularly effective at infiltrating the Big Green’s set plays before they were carried out, snatching two and three steals beyond the three-point arc, respectively.

That aggressive play rejuvenated Harvard in the second half, supplanting the first half’s offensive explosion as the driving force behind the Crimson’s success.

“[We were] supposed to play like that all year,” Delaney-Smith said.

HOT SHOTS

Despite the unfamiliar rims, Harvard burst from the gate, scoring 30 points in the first 10:46.

After missing its first two shots, the Crimson rattled off 20 points, hitting seven consecutive shots to build an early seven-point lead.

Spearheaded by Peljto’s flawless 17-point half—she sank all seven of her buckets, including two treys while adding a free throw—Harvard put home 48.6 percent of its shots. Inside the arc, the Crimson enjoyed even greater success, knocking down 57.1 percent of its attempts.

“We just started to shoot and everything went in,” Cserny said. “I could hardly believe it.”

Though the Big Green enjoyed similar stats, hitting 47.4 percent of its shots, Harvard ripped down seven more offensive boards and generated five more takeaways, leading to the 16-point half-time margin.

BENCH PRESSED

Delaney-Smith took advantage of the early blowout to rotate 13 different players into the game. Each player recorded at least four minutes on the court with none spending more than 29 off the pine.

The second and third strings did not disappoint, tallying 22 points, easily out-scoring Dartmouth’s bench, which added just seven.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.