Neither team led by more than 10 points the entire game, as the back-and-forth affair remained tight until the final minute when the Eagles finally pulled away. Harvard’s late fourth quarter 8-0 run, its second of the game, gave them the lead, but a flurry of lead changes led to a tug-of-war that ended in FGCU’s favor.

Although the Eagles led by double digits twice, the Crimson continued to chip away at the lead each time to keep the contest close. Despite Rooks’s third double-double performance of the year in which she scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Harvard was unable to cut the deficit a final time at the end of the game.

Led by Rooks, the Crimson outrebounded FGCU by a margin of 56-33, its highest rebound total on the season before topping it the next day against Akron. However, the difference ultimately came in the turnover department, as Harvard gave the ball away 20 times, resulting in 15 points off of those turnovers for the Eagles.

“Twenty turnovers against Florida Gulf Coast, they’re a really good team.” Delaney-Smith said. “You can’t have twenty turnovers and think you’re going to do anything, and we still almost won the game.”

In the second quarter, FGCU pulled ahead 27-17, but the Crimson stormed back with an 8-0 run to keep the game close at the break with the Eagles leading 29-25 at the half.

Earlier in the first quarter, FGCU had an 8-0 run of their own to take an early 18-10 lead, but the Eagles’ streak was snapped on a three-pointer on the right wing from Raster.

With just over a minute and a half left in the game, junior guard Sydney Skinner made a layup to give Harvard a 56-55 lead, but these would be the Crimson’s final points of the contest. FGCU would take the lead just seven seconds later and would hold onto this lead, securing its 65-56 win.

—Staff writer Joseph W. Minatel can be reached at joseph.minatel@thecrimson.com.