The two teams started the defensive slugfest with a slow first quarter. Benzan kicked the game off with a quick three-pointer off the dribble from the left wing, but the offenses stalled from here. At the first media timeout with 4:12 to play in the first period, the score was 5-2. The Crimson was shooting only 20 percent from the field, while the Quakers’ only points were thanks to free-throws.
“The first quarter I thought we were not getting into our system at all, I thought we were a little frenetic, hence the turnovers,” Delaney-Smith said.
{shortcode-2588ed0749e14101a0a1181f6916899ef948517b}
Following a Boehm block, senior guard Taylor Rooks raced off into transition. After missing her original layup, Rooks grabbed her own rebound and put it back up, converting on the layup and the ensuing free-throw for an old-fashioned three-point play.
Penn’s first field goal did not come until over seven minutes into the game, but the Quakers would turn on the heat defensively to supply their offense at the end of the period. Penn forced two Harvard turnovers that led to four points, tying the game 8-8 before the end of the quarter. The offenses struggled in the opening frame, with the Crimson shooting 15.8 percent and the Quakers shooting only 13.3 percent from the field.
“We kept believing that the shots were going to fall,” Benzan said. “They did and they didn’t.”
After a back-and-forth second quarter that saw Penn edge Harvard to take the lead 23-18 at the half, the Quakers’ offense would come alive later on in the game when it mattered most. Junior co-captain Madeline Raster drilled a floater from the free-throw line to make the game 41-39, causing Penn to call a timeout. The Quakers used the timeout to swing the momentum back in their favor. Penn went go on a quick 7-0 run, but would call a timeout, effectively halting its momentum and leading to the Crimson’s comeback attempt at the end of the game.
“We talk a lot about that in practice, being able to play with the ebbs and flows of the game,” Skinner said. “That’s basketball, there’s ups and downs you’ve got to be able to play through it. That’s one thing Kathy has always told us, we have to be able to play regardless if we’re up or if we’re down.”
Although the Quaker “twin towers” of senior forward Michelle Nwokedi and freshman center Eleah Parker have dominated the paint in the Ivy League this season, Harvard was able to outrebound Penn 48-45. Rooks recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and sophomore forward Jeannie Boehm matched Nwokedi, with each big scoring eight points and grabbing 14 rebounds.
“Penn did a great job inside, they made an adjustment from when we played up in Boston,” Delaney-Smith said. “Those bigs are the best in the league in my opinion… I’m proud of Jeannie, I think Jeannie has grown enormously for us this year, and I thought Jeannie had a tremendous game.”
The close battle between the stifling defenses kept the contest close throughout. The game was tied nine separate times, and there were seven lead changes. Ultimately, the Quakers’ burst of offensive energy on its home court was enough to propel Penn past Harvard and move on to play in the Ivy League championship Sunday, ending the Crimson’s season.
“I thought my kids played really hard,” Delaney-Smith said. “They took the shots I wanted them to take, and they didn’t fall.”
{shortcode-a42a8210940775170d643f3cb0d2dc68a1f47735}
—Staff writer Joey Minatel can be reached at joseph.minatel@thecrimson.com.