The layup left Harmoni Turner’s fingertips with the kind of force that only years of preparation, pain, and persistence can produce. After Turner was initially denied from receiving the inbound, she gained separation for an outlet pass and raced past the Boston College defenders. As the ball dropped through, the Harvard bench erupted, drowning Turner with cheers.

In that moment, Turner had broken the program’s single game scoring record.

And it wasn’t a blowout game against a bottom-tier team either. She did it against a battle-tested ACC opponent, on her home court, in front of teammates she calls sisters and fans who witnessed her ascension from freshman phenom to generational force.

Do You Trust Me?

Long before she was rewriting Harvard’s record books, Turner was just another five-year-old with a ball in her hands — and little sense of the legacy she’d one day build.

“I wasn’t the best at basketball,” Turner said.

It took years of grit and growth, but her father, Rocky Turner, saw something in her early on that she didn’t yet see in herself. After getting cut from her fifth grade basketball team — told she was too small, not strong, and not talented enough — Turner was crushed. One night, in the quiet of his home office, her dad asked her a simple question: Do you trust me?

“I wiped away my tears and said yes,” she recalled. “Then he said, ‘What’s to come is going to open up a lot of opportunities, and God is never going to steer you wrong.’”

The moment lit a fire in Turner, who spent countless hours honing her craft and developing a special affection for basketball. Soon, Turner landed on a better team than the one that rejected her. Then came three invitations for Team USA camps. By high school, she was torching opponents for back-to-back 40-point games, willing her team to the playoffs in a loaded district.

Her illustrious high school career netted her a five star rating and ESPN listed her as the No. 42 recruit in the class of 2020. Power-5 programs lined up for Turner, but in a twist that shocked everyone, she spurned them to carve her own path.

Trust in Harvard

Turner never expected to wear Crimson. The allure of a Power-5 program weighed heavy on Turner. When she told her father, who wanted her to go to Harvard, that she wanted to go to another school, he sat Turner down and asked her the same question: Do you trust me?

“I was like damn,” Turner said. “It’s probably one of those moments that I just have to leap with faith and trust him.”

After saying yes, her father told her that “Harvard is going to be the best decision you’ve ever made in your life.”

Once Turner got to Harvard, she still had some doubts about whether it was the right fit.

“I wasn’t in the top 10 or 15 academically in my class, so I really thought that I just wasn’t fit for Harvard. I thought that, honestly, I wasn’t going to make it,” she said.

Her inner circle helped her find confidence, and before long Harvard became a second home for Turner.

Building A Legacy

Turner wasted no time making her mark in Cambridge. She averaged a team-best 15.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Her electrifying gameplay revitalized a struggling program, and she took home Ivy League Rookie of the Year and All-Ivy Second Team.

Despite the success of her rookie campaign, the Crimson was knocked out by Princeton in the Ivy Madness semifinals. That offseason, the program was shaken to its core when the winningest coach in Ivy League history, Kathy Delaney-Smith, retired from the program.

Most observers expected the Mansfield, TX native to continue her basketball journey somewhere else.

“I personally thought I was going to transfer,” Turner admits. “There was a lot of uncertainty in the air, but something in my gut told me to stay.”

It wasn’t just coaching turnover that sparked the questions. The dawn of name, image and likeness deals brought many lucrative opportunities from Power-5 schools. For a player like Turner, the chance to cash in somewhere else was real.

“There were some numbers,” she said. “If it wasn’t Harvard, I probably would’ve gone.”

Despite the offers, Turner stayed.

“I love my teammates to death,” she said. “I wouldn’t leave them for a bag. I’m going to trust the people in my corner and stick it out through here.”

Sophomore year, Turner formed a formidable partnership with new coach Carrie Moore, leading the team to a 20-win season and a runner-up finish in the Ivy League Tournament.

While she improved her scoring average to 19.3 points per game, Turner’s junior season proved to be a struggle. A knee injury sustained in a contest against Michigan required surgery and sidelined Turner for a month.

Harvard held a 5-2 record up to that point, but Turner’s injury caused the Crimson to slide to 7-6 before she could lace up again. Coming after the loss of a talented senior class, Harvard declined to an overall 16-12 record and lost in the Ivy Madness semifinal. Despite the lack of team success, Turner remained determined to deliver a championship to Cambridge.

Cementing Her Legacy

Two months before her senior season, Turner led the United States to the gold medal in the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup.

Turner carried the momentum into her finest season in the Crimson uniform, averaging 22.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, along with 2.8 steals per game. By season’s end, Turner won the Ivy League Player of the Year, the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year, and received an honorable mention for AP All-American.

Turner was the driving force behind Harvard’s best season, notching a program record 24 wins that included the first win over a ranked opponent, No. 25 Indiana, of the Coach Moore era. Turner also served as the first line of a top-5 scoring defense nationally.

Despite the amazing regular season, Turner felt slighted that she didn’t get more recognition.

“We haven’t been receiving the eyes that I’ve wanted,” Turner said. “I’ve always been the underdog in my life. It motivates me to continue.”

Before the postseason, Turner acknowledged what she needed to do if she wanted to accomplish her dream of playing professionally.

“My part is to make sure we finish the season strong, which is winning a championship and making a run,” she said.

Turner delivered on her promise, using her triple threat scoring abilities to explode for 44 points in the 70-67 Ivy League Tournament semifinal victory over Princeton and breaking her own school scoring record. The next day she scored 24 points en route to a narrow 74-71 win over Columbia, earning Harvard its first Ivy Madness Championship and a return to March Madness for the first time since 2007.

The magical season came to an end in Raleigh, NC with a 64-50 defeat against the No. 7 seeded Michigan State Spartans. In spite of how it ended, she left no doubts in the minds of basketball fans: Turner deserved to be drafted to the WNBA.

On April 14th, her dream came true. Turner heard her name get called by the Las Vegas Aces with the 34th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft. It was a historic moment — not just for Turner, but for Harvard women’s basketball. While she was waived on May 7th and remains a free agent, Turner’s story is far from over. When she walks across the stage at Commencement, it won’t just mark the end of her college career — it will be a testament to resilience, to betting on yourself, and to knowing your story is still being written.

– Staff Writer Oscar E. Mercado can be reached at oscar.mercado@thecrimson.com.

– Staff Writer Sudhish M. Swain can be reached at sudhish.swain@thecrimson.com.