“We played more intensely in the fourth quarter, when Hartwick had an insurmountable lead, then at any other time in the game,” co-captain Teresa Codini said.

Codini also mentioned that the Crimson will be better prepared to thwart Hartwick’s strongest offensive player, Bronwen Knox, who netted seven goals.

Though Harvard was unable to topple the Hawks this time, it will see Hartwick again in the Northern Division Championships.

Getting a chance to see the Hawks in play can only help the Crimson’s chances of improving, so Sunday’s loss is of little consequence.

“I think you need to see a team that has worked on the intricate aspects of offenses in order to fully understand how those aspects should materialize in your own playing,” Mehaffey said.

“I definitely learned a lot this weekend, and I think it will show in our future games,” she said.

In both of its games on Saturday, the Crimson was able to use its huge lead to experiment with different plays.

“We were able to work on some specific game-time defenses and offenses that we don’t usually get to focus on,” Mehaffey said. “But due to the score, we had the ability to focus on certain aspects, such as man-down defense and running picks on offense.”

The less experienced players on the team were also given more playing time, giving Harvard an opportunity to test the depth and skill of its bench.

“Since both Queens and Utica are fairly new programs, all 17 players had an opportunity to take on an important role in the games,” Codini said. “Several players scored their first goal of the season.”

The Crimson has a three week hiatus until the ECACs.

It will use that opportunity to fine-tune its game.

Before the end-of-the-season tournaments begin, the team will compete in the water polo Mecca that is the state of California over spring break. That’s where it will play No. 2 USC.

—Staff writer Megha Parekh can be reached at parekh@fas.harvard.edu..