{shortcode-ca7e790eb777afc2e68531a6b86b31663e0c0ca2}PHILADELPHIA—In a nail-biting defensive battle that came down to the final seconds, Harvard women’s basketball fell to Penn in the Palestra on the Quakers (22-7, 12-3 Ivy) home court. The Crimson (18-10, 10-5) shot only 25.8 percent to Penn’s 33.3 percent from the field in a night where shots seemed not to fall for either side.

“It’s very uncharacteristic for all of my scorers to have such an off shooting night,” Delaney-Smith said. “Although, I thought we got the shots we wanted.”

The tight game would come down to the end, as neither team led by more than seven points at any point throughout the game.

With just under three minutes to go in the contest, sophomore guard Sydney Skinner knocked down a three from the corner to cut the Quakers’ lead at 51-48. On the ensuing possession, Skinner’s attempt at a game-tying triple was off the mark, however sophomore guard Katie Benzan snagged the rebound and dribbled out for a step-back three of her own. Benzan drilled the shot to tie the game.

Less than 20 seconds later, however, Penn would answer with its own three-pointer to take the lead back, 54-51. The Quakers would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.

“I’m very proud of my team for how hard they played,” coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “They put themselves in a position to win it at the end, and shots did not fall.”

{shortcode-cb037d7b1b8bd5c036c0c20824e82193c8e91374}

Benzan would get two contested looks from beyond the arc with a chance to tie the game, but neither fell. Following a Harvard foul, Skinner poked the ball away and ended up on the hardwood with a Penn player to give the Crimson possession again. Skinner took a contested step-back three on Harvard’s next possession, but it was unable to fall. The Quakers then iced the game with their subsequent free-throws.

Although the Crimson struggled to find its rhythm from the field, its success from behind the arc kept it in the game offensively. Benzan took control of the game coming out of halftime with her shot from downtown. Benzan started off the third quarter with a deep three-pointer from the left wing, then immediately knocked down another triple from even farther behind the three-point line. Benzan stayed on fire on the next possession, drilling a three-pointer from another zip code.

She continued to ignite Harvard, tying up Penn for a jump ball on the defensive end for her fourth tie-up of the game.

“I was just hungry, and I had a mindset that we weren’t going to lose that game,” Benzan said.

For the remainder of the game, the Quakers focused on taking Benzan out of the game. Penn transitioned to face-up defense on Benzan, zoning in on taking her three-point shot out of the game.

“Katie’s one of the best shooters in the country,” Delaney-Smith said. “What we have to do to get her her shot, she has to run through hoops, so I think with that goes no legs.”

Benzan was unable to free herself from the Quakers’ smothering defense, being held scoreless until she knocked down two free-throws to tie the game at 34. Penn would retake the lead 37-35 heading into the final period.

The offensive explosion of the third quarter was a stark contrast from the first half of play.