With Matera’s strong defense, the Crimson battled to gain its lead back once more. Except for a brief five-point gap, Harvard stayed within two or three points of Princeton in the first 10 minutes of the second frame. Halfway through, the Crimson trailed by three, 57-54, and the shot at the Ivy League title was still a definite possibility.

But the late minutes of the game brought with them a powerful surge from the Tigers. With just under four minutes left, Princeton sprang into the lead by eight points, 66-58.

“We knew that Princeton was going to have their runs, and we can’t stop that,” noted junior co-captain and forward Claire Wheeler.

Ultimately, the game’s final minutes saw Princeton pulling further ahead against a fading Harvard offense. Freshman and Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Week—alongside Lippert—Niveen Rashid led the way, as she added easy baskets to her total of 20 points on the night.

But some in the crowd would insist that the refs played a large role in the Crimson’s lack of success late in the game. After the clock ran out, speculation buzzed, hinting that if a few controversial calls had gone Harvard’s way, perhaps the game would have turned out differently.

Wheeler indicated that the team thinks otherwise.

“Our motto is to not put the game into the ref’s hands,” the co-captain said. “We need to be able to do what we have to do to win, whether or not the refs call everything against us.”

But despite the disappointing loss, the Crimson is positive about the end of its season.

“We’re going to beat Dartmouth, and then we’re going to try to do some damage in the WNITs,” Delaney-Smith said.