No. 25 Indiana Falls In Overtime Shocker To Harvard 72-68

Hoosiers turned it over 27 times as the 18-game home winning streak Indiana women's basketball had came to an end.

Indiana guard Yarden Garzon handles the ball during the Hoosiers' game against Harvard on Nov. 7, 2024. Indiana lost 72-68 in overtime at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Indiana athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In its opening victory of the season against Massachusetts on Monday, Harvard forced 33 turnovers and scored 33 points off of those turnovers.

Surely, the Crimson couldn’t do that to No. 25 Indiana? Not with the Hoosiers having so much experience in the backcourt.

Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, the Crimson did just that.

Harvard set the tone early with a dominant first quarter and the Crimson weathered the runs the Hoosiers made to take control of the game.

Forced into overtime when Harvard rallied late, Indiana could not piece together a bucket or defensive stop in the extra period as the Crimson earned an 72-68 upset victory before 10,287 stunned fans.

It was the first time Indiana has lost on its home floor in 18 games, dating to its 2023 NCAA Tournament loss against Miami (Fla). It was the first time Indiana lost at home to a nonconference opponent since it fell to North Carolina State in 2021. It was the first time the Hoosiers lost to a non-Power Five team at home since Chattanooga earned a victory at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in 2017.

Indiana had 27 turnovers in the contest, the most for an Indiana team since the Hoosiers committed 28 in a 2016 game against North Texas.

Harvard’s press defense forced the Hoosiers into one mistake after another, especially early in the contest. Even experienced guards like Chloe Moore-McNeil threw the ball away or were rushed into mistakes.

Indiana would briefly gather its wits, but the resilient Crimson never surrendered control of the game.

“I think the hardest part about that is that that was no surprise. The pressure was no surprise,” Moore-McNeil said.

“We knew they were going to press us off misses, off of makes, even in the half court,” she continued. “I think that's just the hardest part, knowing we were supposed to be prepared for that and we didn't show up for it.”

Indiana coach Teri Moren, who criticized her team after an 82-60 win over Brown on Monday, was more restrained, but the nature of some of the turnovers were a surprise to her.

“We probably started working on our press attack far earlier than we ever have. Because we always, you know, we have felt like that's been a little bit of Achilles heel for us,” Moren said.

“Some of those were just threw it right to them,” Moren continued. “It’s disappointing that we didn't handle that piece of it better, because (the press) wasn't a surprise. We worked on it, we talked about it. We knew they were going to press.”

It wasn’t just turnovers. Indiana never got into a rhythm on the offensive end as they made just 34.7% of their shots, including just three 3-point makes. Given that Indiana only took 49 shots to Harvard’s 66 – thanks to the turnovers – the Hoosiers were fighting uphill all game long.

Yarden Garzon and Lilly Meister led Indiana (1-1) with 20 points. When Indiana did take a shot, it sometimes resorted to one-on-one drives to the rim into the teeth of Harvard defenders. Garzon was cited as one player who tried to force the issue.

“Yarden got a little overzealous at times, and she's going to have to do a better job of reading what the defense gives her,” Moren said.

“She draws so much attention, and she's such a smart player for her willingness to kick that thing out and not either take a bad shot and or charge is something that we got to continue to show her,” Moren added.

Harvard (2-0) was able to persevere despite major foul trouble – the Crimson were called for 32 fouls and had two starters foul out. Harmoni Turner led the Crimson with 24 points. The relentless guard also had six steals.

Late in the contest, it seemed Indiana was going to escape the Crimson. With 4:03 left, Shay Ciezki made a pair of free throws to put Indiana in front 58-57. The Hoosiers’ lead would reach 62-58 with 2:10 left.

Turner made a pullup jumper with 1:15 left to cut Harvard’s deficit to two. Meister made one of two at the line afterwards (Ciezki, Indiana’s best foul shooter, had fouled out) and Harvard had a chance to tie it.

Despite Indiana’s extended defense, Turner found Alayna Rocco on the left wing and she buried a 3-pointer to tie the game.

“They ran a high double stagger into a ghost (screen), which is really a great call. That can cause some confusion – ghost screens or fake screens,” Moren explained.

Moore-McNeil missed a layup in the final seconds and the game went to overtime.

Indiana never led in the overtime period. A pair of Turner layups put Harvard up four. The Hoosiers only managed to take four shots in overtime and two possessions were ended by offensive fouls.

Indiana’s final chance came when Julianna LaMendola left a layup attempt short with 4 seconds left. Lilly Meiser rebounded, but lost the ball and Harvard celebrated the victory.

Made for the moment.#GoCrimson x #BelieveIt pic.twitter.com/aSfOZQluwW

— Harvard Women's Basketball (@HarvardWBB) November 8, 2024

It was a shocking finish, but it was prefaced by an equally surprising start.

The Ivy Leaguers forced Indiana into 11 first quarter turnovers and surged to a 16-point lead. Harvard scored 14 points off Indiana turnovers in the first quarter. Every Hoosier who played in the first quarter had at least one giveaway.

Indiana compounded its woes with ineffective defense in the opening period, thus allowing Harvard to continue to reset its press. The Crimson converted 50% from the field in the opening quarter.

Harvard led 21-7 at the end of the period and the Crimson lead would peak at 16 early in the second quarter.

Indiana made a stand at this point. Indiana employed a 2-3 zone to force the Crimson off their dribble-drive game. Harvard missed all five of its 3-point attempts in the quarter.

In addition, Harvard’s 13 first half fouls allowed Indiana to march to the free throw line and the Hoosiers mixed in some buckets to get back into the contest.

The Hoosiers closed the first half with a 13-2 run and cut its deficit to 32-30 at halftime.

Indiana briefly led at the start and at the end of the third quarter, but in-between Harvard was able to regain control. The Crimson led 43-34 before the Hoosiers reeled them in again. Neither team led by more than four in the final period as Indiana couldn’t save itself.

Indiana’s next game is at Butler next Wednesday. Between now and then, the Hoosiers have some soul-searching to do.

Moren is not worried about the Hoosiers. She chose a different word to describe what her own feelings are.

“It's perplexing to me how we are a veteran team and how we can have those moments,” Moren said.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• LIVE BLOG: Read about Indiana's women's basketball game against Harvard as it happened. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT MOREN SAID: Teri Moren's words after Indiana's overtime loss to Harvard on Thursday. CLICK HERE.

• INDIANA WOMEN WIN OPENER, BUT MOREN NOT PLEASED: Indiana coach Teri Moren lit into the Hoosiers after an 82-60 win over Brown on Monday in the regular season opener. CLICK HERE.