{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.”

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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.

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.

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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.”

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