CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – For the first time in Cornell women's basketball history, the Big Red is leaving Cambridge, Mass. with a win, beating Harvard on the road, 55-47, on Saturday evening for the first time in the 46-year series between the two schools.

It took Cornell 41 tries to beat Harvard on its home court dating back to the 1974-75 season, making Saturday's victory that much sweeter. This wasn't the only thing that gave the Big Red something to cheer about, as the win snapped an eight-game losing streak for Cornell, as well as a five-game losing streak to the Crimson spanning the last three seasons.

The Big Red received career-days from junior Kate Sramac and sophomore Theresa Grace Mbanefo, who both recorded their first-career double-doubles in the process of fueling Cornell to victory. Sramac notched 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while Mbanefo tallied 11 points and 12 boards. The pair was a vital reason why Cornell out-rebounded Harvard 48-33 for the contest, including 22-9 on the offensive glass. The amount of second-chances that Cornell created off of its offensive boards completely crippled Harvard's defense and took time off the clock that the Crimson desperately needed if they had any chance of making a comeback. But with the tone that the Big Red set straight out of the gates on Saturday, a comeback for the Crimson was not in its cards.

The confidence that the Big Red showed in the first quarter left a completely-stunned Harvard squad trailing 24-5 after the first 10 minutes of play. With the score at 4-4 after both teams traded baskets in the early going, Sramac sank a 3-pointer with 7:24 remaining in the first to give the Big Red a 7-4 lead. This sparked a massive 20-1 run for the Big Red spanning the rest of the quarter, and Sramac was the catalyst. She shot a perfect 3-of-3 from long range over the course of the run, helping Cornell shoot 10-of-15 (66.7%) from the floor and 3-of-4 (75.0%) from deep in the first 10 minutes.

Harvard on the other hand was ice cold, and that was due to the solid defense that the Big Red played. Cornell forced the Crimson into six turnovers in the first quarter, executing its full court press and taking multiple charges in the half court. The Crimson's game was completely disrupted, and Cornell notched seven first quarter points off of Harvard's turnovers. Harvard shot only 2-of-12 (16.7%) in the first quarter and was 0-of-5 from behind the arc.

The first half of the second quarter continued to be smooth sailing for the Big Red, who led by as many as 23 with 3:45 remaining in the half. That's when Harvard freshman Lola Mullaney took matters into her own hands, helping the Crimson go on a 12-0 run to end the quarter and head into the locker room trailing Cornell by 11, 33-22. Mullaney scored 11 of the 12 points of the run, including three 3-pointers in a span of 3:26.

Coming out of the locker room, Harvard scored the first points of the third quarter, but Laura Bagwell-Katalinich quickly put her foot down, sinking a pretty step-back jumper to preserve the Big Red's 11-point lead at 35-24. The basket marked Bagwell-Katalinich's 13th point of the game, as she would go on to finish with a team-high 14 points.

Harvard would get as close as eight in the third quarter, but big baskets down the stretch from Danielle Jorgenson and Stephanie Umeh kept Cornell's lead at 11, 44-33, at the end of the third. Jorgenson knocked down a clutch 3-pointer from the corner as the shot clock was expiring, while Stephanie Umeh made a transition layup at the third quarter buzzer on a nice feed from Bagwell-Katalinich.

The Crimson attempted to make a fourth-quarter comeback several times, but Cornell wasn't going to let that happen. Umeh was an integral part of limiting Harvard's offensive chances, securing two huge offensive rebounds for the Big Red in the fourth quarter when the Crimson was knocking on the door.

Harvard posted its biggest threat with 1:39 remaining in the contest and Cornell on top, 51-39. It was Harvard freshman Annie Stritzel who gave the Crimson a fighting chance, making back-to-back 3-pointers and helping Harvard go on an 8-0 run to cut the Big Red lead to four, 51-47, with 44 seconds left in the game.

Harvard was ultimately forced to foul to try and get the ball back, sending Shannon Mulroy to the free throw line with 17 seconds left. Mulroy made the high-pressure situation look easy, converting both attempts. Seven seconds later, Mulroy found herself on the line once again for two more, and she once again delivered, going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the closing seconds of the game. This secured the 55-47 victory the Big Red.

The unselfishness that Cornell had in terms of sharing the basketball against the Crimson cannot be overlooked, as the Big Red notched 17 assists as compared to Harvard's nine. Samantha Widmann notched a game-high five assists.

Harvard was led in the loss by a pair of freshmen, as Stritzel (18) and Mullaney (17) combined for 35 of Harvard's 47 points.

The Big Red women's basketball team will play its final two games of the 2019-20 season when it returns to Newman Arena to host Penn on Friday, March 6 at 6 p.m. and No. 23 Princeton on Saturday, March 7 at 5 p.m. in Ithaca, N.Y.
 
Friday's game will serve as National Girls and Women in Sports Day, while Saturday will be the Big Red's Senior Day.