Kathy Delaney-Smith wore basketball sneakers on Friday night at Penn’s Palestra to show her support for Coaches vs. Cancer.

The Harvard women’s basketball coach had a rare opportunity to parlay her gesture towards team success. At 30.8 percent from the field against Penn, the Crimson (11-6, 3-1 Ivy) needed all the offensive help that it could get.

So how did it manage a 54-51 defeat of the previously undefeated in the Ivies—and defending Ivy League champion—Quakers (10-7, 3-1) on its worst shooting night of the season?

“Really tough, hard ‘D,’” Harvard point guard Jessica Holsey said. “We came out attacking.”

With three seconds left in the highly-anticipated matchup—and after six lead changes and seven ties—Holsey sunk two free throws to cap a furious Harvard rally in the final eight minutes. Quaker senior Karen Habrukowich missed a three at the buzzer to end the game.

“I think we were playing pretty tough,” Holsey said, a typical expression of understatement. “We were going to do whatever it took.”

Indeed, the Crimson applied plenty of pressure to the 2003-04 champs—to superlative effect.

Penn shot 34.5 percent from the field and, thanks partly to four steals by Harvard captain Reka Cserny, turned the ball over 18 times. The Crimson converted the Penn miscues into 23 points. And they kept the fouls to a minimum—the Quakers only shot six free throws during the game.

Cserny registered two of her steals during a period of frenetic, stingy play—a 13-3 final run during which Harvard overcame a seven-point deficit.

Penn did not score a basket in the closing 4:20.

“We came together,” Cserny said. “I think we just focused even more.”

If Holsey’s two free throws sealed the game, then one of Cserny’s steals simply made victory likely.

Locked in a scoreless drought in the final 2:53, Penn gained possession of the ball in the final 10 seconds for a chance at a possible go-ahead possession.

Cserny stripped the ball and fell out of bounds.

“I was going for a board,” she said. “There was a loose ball. I just threw it at the player’s legs.”

As she fell, Cserny quickly pegged Penn forward Monica Naltner, causing Harvard to regain possession. Holsey was fouled on the inbound pass.

Appropriately, a defensive play won the game.

“We had a high level of energy the whole time,” Cserny said. “We put even more emphasis on [defense]. I think now everyone understands how important it is.”

At that, Harvard scored a big win on perhaps its ugliest offensive performance of the season. It was all the same to Holsey.

“A W is a W,” she said.

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