Late Krupa Three in Overtime Sends Harvard to Ivy Tournament Championship

On June 27, 2026, Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ will be released. Its script won’t be better than the one for the semifinal battle that just happened between Harvard and Columbia in Ithaca, N.Y.

The third-seeded Harvard women’s basketball team will look to defend its Ivy League Tournament Championship after its 67-65 overtime victory over the second-seeded Columbia Lions.

The Crimson (17-10, 10-4 Ivy) survived a first half with nearly no minutes from its two junior co-captains, Karlee White and Abigail Wright, and two late surges from the Lions (20-7, 11-3) to hold onto its lead.

“We’ve prepped all year long to learn how to finish basketball games,” coach Carrie Moore said. “We weren’t great at it all year long, but we are finishing basketball games at the right time and I couldn’t be more proud to be their coach.”

The two Ancient Eight rivals met for the third time this season and the second time this week. Columbia won the first matchup in dramatic fashion at Lavietes Pavilion with senior utility and Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, Perri Page, hitting a game-winning and-one push shot in the final seconds.

Harvard got its revenge in the Lions’ den in the final game of the regular season. Coming off an injury scare in a loss against Princeton, White went off for 24 points and nine rebounds, spurring her team to a 68-64 win.

Now at a neutral site, the Crimson looked to establish Wright in the post early in the game. The Newton, Mass. native delivered with an array of drop steps and hooks in isolation.

Wright was the tip of the spear, but all of Harvard’s players started hot. White and senior forward Katie Krupa each contributed baskets as the Crimson started with five straight makes to establish a 10-2 lead.

Just when Harvard seemed to have all of the momentum, disaster struck. With 6:06 left in the first quarter, White picked up her second foul. Shortly after, Wright joined her on the bench with her second foul at the three-minute mark.

While the Crimson’s stars were racking up fouls, Columbia’s star was racking up points. The Ivy League Player of the Year, junior guard Riley Weiss, contributed all but one of the Lions’ 12 first-quarter points, including a huge three-pointer plus the foul to cut Harvard’s early advantage to 10-9. Despite the foul trouble, the Crimson was able to maintain a 15-12 lead after one.

Harvard struggled offensively in the second quarter as Columbia took advantage of the Crimson’s lack of scoring threats. The Lions employed smart man pressure and forced Harvard to operate from the volleyball line for most of the shot clock.

Stepping up to fill the offensive gap for the three seed was senior guard Saniyah Glenn-Bello. The athletic senior used her speed and quick first step to attack the basket, tallying a crucial eight points in the half.

Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, Columbia senior utility Perri Page drilled a big three right before the half to give the Lions a 28-25 lead at the break. Although the scoreboard showed the Lions leading, the Crimson won the first half. Anytime a team plays barely 10 combined minutes between its two best players — including zero minutes in the second quarter — and only trails by three, it was a good half.

“I’m extremely proud of our bench,” coach Carrie Moore said. “To only be down three at the half, with Karlee and Abigail sitting on the bench. I mean, I don’t think I could have called that, right?”

Wright made a roaring return to start the second. The junior scored four quick points and took a charge in the first four possessions to give her 10 points in nine minutes played.

White’s attacking capabilities put immense pressure on Columbia’s defense and drew the fourth foul on junior guard Fliss Henderson with 6:09 left in the third.

A clear halftime plan of the Lions’ head coach, Meghan Griffith, was to attack White and Wright as they looked to put them in pick-and-roll actions throughout the third quarter. Smart defense by the Crimson’s leaders kept them out of further foul trouble, and focusing too much on chasing fouls stagnated Columbia’s offense.

After a loud first quarter, Weiss was once again held quiet in the third.

Ivy League Newcomer of the Year, Olivia Jones, came alive for Harvard in the quarter, contributing in every aspect of the game.

The Crimson had a dream start to the fourth. An early steal and transition layup by White got things going. Wright continued the party with a right-handed hook. The only blip in the early success of Harvard was a fourth foul on Glenn-Bello.

A deep three by breakout Lion sophomore guard Mia Broom, who scored 12 after not scoring in the foes’ last matchup, cut the Crimson’s lead to 49-45.

With 4:48 left in the game, Wright went two-for-two from the line to give Harvard a 53-45 lead, its largest since the first quarter. The lead grew in large part due to a two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought by Columbia.

Weiss removed the lid from the basket, and a Broom steal turned into a Page transition layup to swiftly cut the lead back down to four, forcing a Crimson timeout.

When in doubt, Harvard turned to Wright, and she delivered again in a post-isolation off a post-on-post screen. Two possessions later, Weiss showed her prowess with an impressive transition three to cut the lead to three and give her 20 points for the 14th time this season.

Another Weiss layup with just over a minute left forced Moore to burn another timeout as the lead shrank to 55-54.

The Crimson got the matchup it wanted out of the timeout: another Wright isolation on the post. But this time, Wright was unable to finish. Glenn-Bello corralled the miss before heaving up a shot as the shot clock ran out. Glenn-Bello couldn’t finish either, but Jones gained position and forced a foul on the rebound before splitting her trip to the line.

A clever set with a fake handoff to Weiss gave junior forward Susie Rafiu two free throws, which she buried to tie the game at 56 with 37.9 left.

After a broken possession due to Columbia’s pressure, Glenn-Bello forced a drive with seven seconds on the shot clock and drew the fifth foul on Page, and was sent to the line by the bonus.

Unfortunately for Harvard, she was unable to find the bottom of the net on either. Fortunately, Jones was able to grab the rebound and get the ball to White. A strong drive along the left baseline couldn’t find paydirt, and the Lions possessed the ball and called a timeout with 3.3 seconds left.

Columbia attempted to pass the ball almost the length of the court on the inbound, but neither team could gain possession until time had practically run out.

White opened the period of bonus basketball with a triple on a kickout from Glenn-Bello.

Both sides exchanged baskets throughout the middle of the abbreviated five-minute quarter, but offense proved scarce as the Crimson entered the final minute up 61-60.

Krupa, after struggling from distance all game, hit the biggest shot of the game, and likely of her career, with 43.6 seconds left to give Harvard a crucial 64-60 advantage.

“I have shot that shot so many times in practice, and I felt very comfortable shooting it because of my prep,” Krupa said.

After a Weiss miss and Rafiu putback, the Crimson entered a stall game that sent Krupa to the line with 6.9 seconds left. The senior nailed both to give Harvard a 66-62 lead.

Somehow, Weiss found herself wide open on the inbound and drilled a three with only 4.9 seconds left.

White secured the inbound, but only made one of the two resulting free throws.

As time expired, a foul was called on the Crimson on a Weiss drive. After a lengthy review, it was determined that the foul occurred after the clock hit zero.

The Harvard sideline erupted in pure elation at the call as the Crimson pulled off its second consecutive first-round upset in Ivy Madness.

“I think that this team steps up to the plate,” senior forward Katie Krupa said. “And regardless of who the opponent is, that reigns true in these types of moments.”

“We have always taken third place as disrespect,” she added. “It’s always been our mentality in this tournament. We know who we are and what we’re capable of.”

Wright led Harvard’s scoring efforts with 18 points. White and Glenn-Bello both joined her in double figures at 15 and 12, respectively.

Jones finished the game with nine rebounds and six offensive rebounds. Time after time, the freshman, who did not claim her spot in the starting lineup until mid-January, cleaned up messes for Harvard and led to second-chance efforts. Despite the success on the glass, the freshman’s inexperience in postseason basketball was apparent, as she turned the ball over five times, a few of which occurred in the final few moments of play.

After 45 minutes of high-intensity basketball, the Crimson will need to rest up and be prepared for a quick turnaround. Harvard has less than 20 hours to rest before it tips off against No. 23 Princeton in the Ivy League championship at 5:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday.

Nonetheless, one bright side of the early foul trouble for Harvard’s Wright and White is that the two stars played fewer minutes than expected in an overtime game. Wright played 33 minutes, while White logged just 29.

Princeton enters the final game on a roll, having dominated Brown 61-47 earlier today. The Tigers never trailed, led 23-6 after the first quarter, and extended their advantage to as many as 27.

“Any level of confidence, especially this time of year, is necessary,” Moore said. “We need Abigail, and we need our main guys to be playing well.”

The Tigers swept the Crimson in the regular season, but have appeared beatable in both matchups. First, in January, Princeton needed a buzzer-beating three at the end of regulation to tie Harvard and stay alive, before winning 82-79 in overtime. In the second meeting, when Princeton came to Cambridge, the Crimson led after the first quarter but eventually lost 62-49. White did not finish the game with an injury.

Fans who cannot make the odyssey up to Ithaca for the Ivy Madness Championship can tune in on ESPNU for the 5:30 p.m. EDT tipoff.

– Staff writer Reed M. Trimble can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ReedTrimble1. Follow @THCSports for all of The Crimson’s sports coverage.