After shooting 56 percent at the line in a close matchup against Stony Brook on Monday, the Crimson knocked down its shots at the charity stripe, shooting 80 percent. That free-throw proficiency was especially timely as Harvard shot a below-average 33 percent from the field.

“That was it,” Delaney-Smith said. “We hadn’t even been a normal Division I team in foul shooting. We did a much better job at the foul line.”

Despite the double-digit deficit after 10 minutes, the Bulldogs made a run before the half to close the gap. After starting the second period on an 11-3 run to pull within three, Samford ran into a staunch Harvard defense, which allowed a single field goal in the last five minutes of the quarter.

Down the stretch, the Crimson responded to the Bulldog’s offense by launching runs of its own. After a three from Samford shrank the margin to two late in the third, Harvard responded with a 9-0 run to go up by 11.

Despite the Crimson’s runs, the Bulldogs kept it close with timely three’s. Samford freshman guard Kassidy Blevins closed the third with two long three’s to cut the lead to seven entering the fourth. She lead the Bulldogs’ comeback effort with 14 of her 19 points coming in the second half of the game.

“Each team is going to have a shift in momentum and instead of losing your confidence and rolling over and dying you just have to weather the storm with some grit and determination and understand that it’s okay,” Delaney-Smith said. “I think we did a much better job of that today than other games.”

–Staff writer Troy Boccelli can be reached at tboccelli@college.harvard.edu.