Then the Lions woke up and realized that they had nothing to lose but a game, and freshman center Shaunte Edmonds hit a turnaround jumper at 11:38 to get things roaring offensively. By 2:49, the Lions had a 21-17 lead, following a 21-8 run.

The Crimson was lucky to leave the half with a 21-21 tie after freshman guard Bree Kelley made two layups.

At halftime, Harvard still had more than a decent chance to win, and both teams had a clean slate. They went into the locker rooms at half shooting around 30 percent from the floor, and the Crimson's 13 turnovers were just two more than the Lions' halftime total.

But, for the last 20 minutes of the game, Columbia played like anything but an also-ran, and the Crimson played like anything but a contender.

Freshman center Kate Ides hit a layup on the Crimson's first second-half possession to give Harvard a two-point lead. After the Lions scored three points, freshman center Sarah Johnson got her own rebound for a put-back that would give the Crimson its last lead of the game at 17:40.

The difference simply became that the Lions were loose, playing to win, while the Crimson was tight, playing not to lose.

After pulling to within one at 15:26 on a jump shot from captain Laela Sturdy, the Crimson fell apart until a run at the end of the game.