“[Rutzen] spends so much extra time working on her game that there’s no doubt that she’ll be one of the greats,” Delaney-Smith said. “I’m trying to [make rebounding an asset]. Miriam is the kind of player who hears the call.”

The game marked a stark contrast to the Crimson’s Ivy opener, in which Hagedorn and Rutzen combined for four points and four rebounds. On Thursday in Tallahassee, Hagedorn filled out her stat line with three rebounds, two assists, and a steal, while Rutzen bolstered her six rebounds with two points and three steals—the most of any player on the night.

The efforts of the pair were far from enough to keep the game competitive, as five Seminoles scored in double figures with red-shirt freshman Chasity Clayton carrying the day with 17 points. But the continued emergence of relatively anonymous freshmen would provide a boost in conference play as stars Emma Markley and Brogan Berry have both earned targets on their backs throughout the Ivy League.

“[Rutzen and Hagedorn] are going to be big parts of our future success,” Matera said. “If we’re going to win the Ivy title, our freshmen are going to be a big part of that.”

Meanwhile, Harvard showed that it still has a ways to go before it can compete with top contenders such as Florida State. But the challenge provided an opportunity for the Crimson to recover from its heartbreaking loss to Dartmouth before launching into more Ivy play.

“We obviously had nothing to lose,” Matera said. “They’re the ranked team. It was a great experience. Unfortunately, we didn’t have our best showing.”

While the blowout loss provided little respite, it allowed Harvard to discover two new weapons, both of whom could prove important in future Ivy battles.

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.ed