y the middle of the basketball season, freshman guard Olivia Jones was doing a little of everything on the court for Harvard. The Harrisburg, Pa., native led the Crimson in rebounds per game during conference play. She finished second on the team in assists, second among players with more than two attempts in three-point percentage, and third in steals. When injuries forced head coach Carrie Moore to reshuffle her team’s lineup early in the season, Jones stepped into larger ball-handling responsibilities and started in 12 of the Crimson’s 14 Ivy League games while appearing in 29 of the 32 games on the season.

“Olivia meant everything to our team,” Moore said. “She is just a great representation of a Harvard women’s basketball player.”

Jones demonstrated her prowess immediately, recording 11 points and six rebounds against then-No. 13 Michigan in just her second collegiate game. The Harrisburg native was unanimously named the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Year after establishing herself as one of the conference’s most impactful and versatile young players. Jones also earned Ivy League Rookie or Co-Rookie of the Week honors nine times throughout the season. Usually, recognition at this level comes only to players who carry the offensive scoring load. However, when asked what part of her game she was most proud of, Jones did not mention scoring.

“I typically focus on my ability to rebound,” she explained. “Giving my team extra possessions.”

Throughout her first season at Harvard, Jones’ impact on the court rarely stemmed from a single skill. Instead, her presence was notable due to an accumulation of small winning plays, many of which do not always appear in the statistics. Her gameplay was defined by solid defensive rotations, constant hustle, and gritty moments.

Jones’ rebounding became especially important during conference games. Despite standing at 5-foot-10, she fearlessly battled against opposing post players for defensive boards and extra possessions. In Ivy League games, she led her team in rebounds and assists, and her ability to go coast-to-coast helped accelerate Harvard’s transition offense.

Offensively, her constant movement and willingness to work through Moore’s system forced her defenders to stay wary, slowing down opponents’ ability to execute effective help defense.

“Basketball is a team sport,” Jones said. “Our team just does a really good job of moving the ball.”

Jones arrived in Cambridge as a member of a highly regarded freshman class, but she was not initially seen as the headliner of the group. That distinction belonged to guard Aubrey Shaw, who entered Harvard as the No. 43 recruit in the nation according to 247Sports. By the middle of conference play, though, Jones had carved out a central role in Harvard’s rotation, emerging as one of the Crimson’s most dependable players on both ends of the floor.

Despite the lack of national acclaim, Jones entered the collegiate level having mastered one of the most important basketball skills: ball-handling. Years of experience protecting the ball enabled her to adapt quickly when it became apparent that Harvard needed help with additional ball-handling responsibilities and orchestrating its offense.

“The pace of the game is a lot different,” she said. “You have to pick up things and put them into action right away.”

The transition to the pace of collegiate play is especially abrupt in the Ivy League. Unlike many other Division I programs, Ancient Eight teams cannot hold formal summer workouts with players before they arrive on campus. Regardless, by the time freshmen step into preseason practices, they are expected to learn systems immediately.

“When we get here in August, we’re hitting the ground,” Jones said.

The adjustment was made easier because of the welcoming environment around her, which Jones attributes to the team’s familial locker room culture. The upperclassmen, who fostered this inclusive community, helped Harvard’s five-player freshman class become comfortable members of the team.

“I always say they’re like my older sisters,” Jones said. “It’s not like we’re being together because we have to, it’s because we want to.”

The trust between Jones and her teammates developed quickly, as did the trust from the coaching staff.

“My goal was just to make an impact however I could,” Jones said.

“You would never know she’s a first-year if you’ve had any interaction with her,” explained Moore.

Jones’ breakout performance came Jan. 24 against Cornell, when she recorded the first double-double of her collegiate career with 17 points and 10 assists, all while shooting six-for-eight from the field. The 10 assists were the most by a Crimson player all season and showcased her playmaking potential.

“I was willing to do whatever they needed me to do for us to be a better team,” she said.

When asked why teammates and coaches trusted her so early in her career, Jones pointed to her dependability. Her steadiness showed throughout the season, especially during Harvard’s Ivy Madness semifinal against Columbia. With the Crimson trying to protect a late lead in the fourth quarter, Jones repeatedly extended possessions on the offensive glass and helped calm her team during several chaotic sequences. She finished with nine rebounds, including six offensive boards, repeatedly creating second-chance opportunities in a game Harvard won by one possession.

“You can’t teach winning,” Moore said. “You either do, or you don’t.”

“She just wanted to do anything that was going to help our team win basketball games, and she did exactly that,” the coach added.

A willingness to buy in on the defensive end helped solidify Jones as a winning player. Defense became one of the biggest shifts in how Jones viewed basketball after arriving in college. Rather than focusing primarily on scoring, she began operating through defensive positioning.

“Our program has really centered around defense,” Jones said. “We work on it all the time.”

“Good basketball now to me, I’m looking at defensive players,” she added. “What they’re doing. How they’re affecting the game.”

Jones grew up around basketball. Both of her parents coached at the youth and high school levels, and she credits them with shaping the way she sees the game. The rookie attributes her high basketball IQ to her mother.

She still speaks with her parents every day, even though they live six hours away from Cambridge. Jones’ younger brother, who plays high school basketball, often had games at the same time she did. Still, her parents managed to attend nearly every Harvard game this season.

Her support system extends beyond her family. The rookie described the Crimson’s basketball community as one where it is difficult to feel isolated, even during stressful stretches of the season.

“There are so many people around you that love and care about you,” she explained.

The team’s camaraderie helped Jones excel on the court, enabling the whole team to succeed and earning Jones respect throughout the league. Winning the unanimous Rookie of the Year title only reinforced the trust she had already built inside Harvard’s locker room.

“We have a lot of talent in our league,” Jones said regarding the award. “It means a lot.”

According to Jones, the celebration did not last long. Her focus has already shifted to the next season and her new goals.

“The goal next year is just to win outright the Ivy season, win the Ivy League tournament, and then win games in March,” Jones asserted.

The rookie expects her own role on the team to evolve as well. The Crimson’s three graduating seniors started every game they appeared in this season, but guard Gabby Anderson’s season was halted at nine games due to a devastating season-ending injury. Anderson’s absence ultimately led the team to turn to Jones for the fifth starting spot. There will still be a large void to be filled in for Harvard, as forward Katie Krupa and guard Saniyah Glenn-Bello combined to average 18.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 4.5 combined steals and blocks per game on the season.

“This summer is going to be a big transition into a new role on the team,” Jones said. “I have a lot of work to do.”

Jones was quick to point out the work that the whole team has put in to improve.

“The amount of work that we put in is insane,” she noted.

This dedication helped Jones evolve from a freshman adjusting to the pace of collegiate basketball into one of the Ivy League’s most effective players. It also reflects the expectations surrounding a Harvard program that has consistently competed near the top of the Ivy League.

Jones is no longer a freshman adjusting to the collegiate level. She is now one of the players expected to help define the team’s trajectory.

If her rookie season proved anything, it is that Jones has already built the kind of game that winning programs rely on. Her impact might not always be evident in the box score or the flashiest moment on the floor, but Jones is the kind of player who does whatever the team requires, possession after possession, until the results become impossible to ignore.

—Staff writer Tamar H. Scheinfeld can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Natalia Howard Pagán can be reached at [email protected].