The two squads employed a similar style of play throughout the contest, as the number of field goals, three-pointers, and free throws attempted by each team differed by only one in each category.

“We played Michigan really close the whole time, and we can learn what it takes to win basically in a close game,” Clark said.

Clark has been Harvard’s leading scorer in every contest this season. Through six games the junior is averaging 19.0 points per game, nearly four points higher than her average last year when she was named to the All-Ivy First Team.

Friday marked the first time the Crimson and Wolverine women’s basketball programs had ever faced off.

Although the loss ended Harvard’s three-game winning streak, the game provided the team with a chance to gauge where it stands against a much larger, power-conference school at the onset of a long season.

“[This game] validates that we can achieve the goals we’ve set for ourselves,” Delaney-Smith said. “Everyone’s coming out of this game knowing we could have won it. We have the tools to be able to win it, and I think we have a good sense of what we have to do to make it happen, and that’s a good thing.”