Women’s Basketball Falters in the Second Half, Falls to Alabama

Harvard women’s basketball (3-4, 0-0 Ivy) opened the 2025 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship with an 80-60 loss to an undefeated Alabama (6-0, 0-0 SEC) on Monday night at the Baha Mar Convention Center in the Bahamas.

After a competitive first half that ended with Harvard holding a 30-26 lead, Alabama seized control in the third quarter and dominated the fourth, outscoring the Crimson 28-12 in the final quarter to pull away toward a 20-point victory.

Alabama head coach Kristy Curry credited her team’s “intensity and grit down the stretch” for the decisive win.

Alabama’s junior guard Jessica Timmons led all scorers with a game-high 25 points, including a pair of transition threes in the third quarter that helped flip momentum permanently in Alabama’s favor. The Crimson Tide’s forward Essence Cody added 16 points and six rebounds, while guard Ace Austin chipped in 17 points of her own.

Senior forward Katie Krupa paced Harvard’s offense with 16 points and four rebounds before fouling out. Alabama did damage during the fourth quarter when foul trouble limited her playing time. Coach Carrie Moore was forced to sub Krupa out with four fouls early in the fourth while the Crimson only trailed by seven. Harvard was minus ten with Krupa on the bench during the decisive fourth quarter.

Junior forward Abigail Wright continued her hot play and matched Krupa’s 16 points and also grabbed three rebounds off the bench. Sophomore guard Alayna Rocco contributed 11 points on an efficient three for five from three, and senior guard Saniyah Glenn-Bello posted a double-double with 11 points, a game-high ten rebounds, and seven assists.

Despite Harvard’s valiant effort, the team was ultimately undone by its 20 turnovers, which Alabama utilized, converting them into 26 points. Harvard also created turnovers defensively but could only convert the Crimson Tide’s 17 turnovers into 12 points. This also played into a 15-2 points in transition advantage for Alabama.

The Crimson Tide shot 55% from the field and dominated the paint 44-28. Harvard, meanwhile, shot 37% overall and 28% from three.

The Crimson briefly led by seven early in the third quarter (37–30) after a Krupa corner three, but Alabama responded with a 22-8 run over the next six minutes to take a 52–45 advantage into the final period of play. The Crimson Tide opened the fourth on a 9-2 spurt and extended the margin to as many as 20 in the closing minutes.

Harvard will face Minnesota in a consolation-bracket semifinal on Wednesday. A win would advance the Crimson to the fifth-place game, but a loss would drop the team into the seventh-place contest.

Looking ahead, the women’s basketball team has a tough stretch with games against Arkansas, Holy Cross, Stony Brook, Maine, and Delaware before opening Ivy League play on Jan. 3rd against Dartmouth.