“I didn’t really trust it in the moment,” Moore said, “and was just hopeful that the basketball gods would be on my side.”

There wasn’t much question about where the ball was going. Columbia shooter Riley Weiss had already made four threes and even though she had gone cold in the second half, the Lions were going to find a way to get her open.

Weiss wheeled from the block to the top of the key, to the wing, to take a handoff from center Susie Rafiu. Harvard wing Saniya Glenn hounded Weiss’s every footstep and was there to get a hand up once the shot was taken.

At that point all eyes were on the rim. Weiss missed — barely. Karlee White secured the rebound, and the Crimson immediately raced to the middle of the floor to celebrate.

With streamers showering them, the Crimson celebrated their first Ivy League tournament title. The win earned them an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Harvard will learn its seeding and opening opponent during Sunday’s selection show.

“This was earned by every minute, every possession and every day that we were here,” Moore said. “And we were knocking on the door every year that I’ve been here and it’s just such an incredible feeling to finally get to the top of the hill and be champions.”

After pouring in an Ivy tournament record 44 points Friday against Princeton, Harmoni Turner gave the Crimson another 24 points and earned Most Outstanding Player honors.

When the buzzer sounded, Turner immediately ran to find Moore.

“I told myself I wasn’t going to cry, but I ended up crying like a baby,” she said. “When you put in so much work and you work for something for so many years and it finally happens, the least you can do is cry. Because you’re so grateful for that opportunity and you gave it your all and it finally ended the way it should have ended.”

The Crimson will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.

“Today means everything,” Moore said. “This is everything that I’ve worked for. There’s a lot that goes into this. A lot of sacrifice. I don’t see my family. I’m far away from them, but I love showing up to work every day and trying to get the most out of them and helping them reach their potential and really wanting to get them to this point. … So it just really feels incredible to finally get over that hump.”

Turner was going into her sophomore season when Moore was hired three years ago. Turner said she knew then that Moore would eventually get their team to this point.

“I knew we were going to a championship the first day she came in and worked us out,” Turner said. “We did not touch a ball. I was like, ‘Oh, period.’ We did not touch a ball. It was all defense.”

The Crimson finished the regular season with one of the best defenses in Ivy history and leaned on it against Columbia, holding the Lions to 23-of-60 shooting largely by roping off the paint (24 paint points allowed) and making them rely on long-distance shooting (10 of 26 on 3-pointers).

Elena Rodriguez anchored the defense while also scoring 13 points, grabbing four rebounds, and making a career-high nine assists. The win, she said, confirmed what Moore told them from Day 1.

“She always says the best defensive team and the best rebounding team wins the championship, and this was the proof of it,” Rodriguez said.

Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com.

“I didn’t really trust it in the moment,” Moore said, “and was just hopeful that the basketball gods would be on my side.”

There wasn’t much question about where the ball was going. Columbia shooter Riley Weiss had already made four threes and even though she had gone cold in the second half, the Lions were going to find a way to get her open.

Weiss wheeled from the block to the top of the key, to the wing, to take a handoff from center Susie Rafiu. Harvard wing Saniya Glenn hounded Weiss’s every footstep and was there to get a hand up once the shot was taken.

At that point all eyes were on the rim. Weiss missed — barely. Karlee White secured the rebound, and the Crimson immediately raced to the middle of the floor to celebrate.

With streamers showering them, the Crimson celebrated their first Ivy League tournament title. The win earned them an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Harvard will learn its seeding and opening opponent during Sunday’s selection show.

“This was earned by every minute, every possession and every day that we were here,” Moore said. “And we were knocking on the door every year that I’ve been here and it’s just such an incredible feeling to finally get to the top of the hill and be champions.”

After pouring in an Ivy tournament record 44 points Friday against Princeton, Harmoni Turner gave the Crimson another 24 points and earned Most Outstanding Player honors.

When the buzzer sounded, Turner immediately ran to find Moore.

“I told myself I wasn’t going to cry, but I ended up crying like a baby,” she said. “When you put in so much work and you work for something for so many years and it finally happens, the least you can do is cry. Because you’re so grateful for that opportunity and you gave it your all and it finally ended the way it should have ended.”

The Crimson will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.

“Today means everything,” Moore said. “This is everything that I’ve worked for. There’s a lot that goes into this. A lot of sacrifice. I don’t see my family. I’m far away from them, but I love showing up to work every day and trying to get the most out of them and helping them reach their potential and really wanting to get them to this point. … So it just really feels incredible to finally get over that hump.”

Turner was going into her sophomore season when Moore was hired three years ago. Turner said she knew then that Moore would eventually get their team to this point.

“I knew we were going to a championship the first day she came in and worked us out,” Turner said. “We did not touch a ball. I was like, ‘Oh, period.’ We did not touch a ball. It was all defense.”

The Crimson finished the regular season with one of the best defenses in Ivy history and leaned on it against Columbia, holding the Lions to 23-of-60 shooting largely by roping off the paint (24 paint points allowed) and making them rely on long-distance shooting (10 of 26 on 3-pointers).

Elena Rodriguez anchored the defense while also scoring 13 points, grabbing four rebounds, and making a career-high nine assists. The win, she said, confirmed what Moore told them from Day 1.

“She always says the best defensive team and the best rebounding team wins the championship, and this was the proof of it,” Rodriguez said.

Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com.

“I didn’t really trust it in the moment,” Moore said, “and was just hopeful that the basketball gods would be on my side.”

There wasn’t much question about where the ball was going. Columbia shooter Riley Weiss had already made four threes and even though she had gone cold in the second half, the Lions were going to find a way to get her open.

Weiss wheeled from the block to the top of the key, to the wing, to take a handoff from center Susie Rafiu. Harvard wing Saniya Glenn hounded Weiss’s every footstep and was there to get a hand up once the shot was taken.

At that point all eyes were on the rim. Weiss missed — barely. Karlee White secured the rebound, and the Crimson immediately raced to the middle of the floor to celebrate.

With streamers showering them, the Crimson celebrated their first Ivy League tournament title. The win earned them an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Harvard will learn its seeding and opening opponent during Sunday’s selection show.

“This was earned by every minute, every possession and every day that we were here,” Moore said. “And we were knocking on the door every year that I’ve been here and it’s just such an incredible feeling to finally get to the top of the hill and be champions.”

After pouring in an Ivy tournament record 44 points Friday against Princeton, Harmoni Turner gave the Crimson another 24 points and earned Most Outstanding Player honors.

When the buzzer sounded, Turner immediately ran to find Moore.

“I told myself I wasn’t going to cry, but I ended up crying like a baby,” she said. “When you put in so much work and you work for something for so many years and it finally happens, the least you can do is cry. Because you’re so grateful for that opportunity and you gave it your all and it finally ended the way it should have ended.”

The Crimson will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.

“Today means everything,” Moore said. “This is everything that I’ve worked for. There’s a lot that goes into this. A lot of sacrifice. I don’t see my family. I’m far away from them, but I love showing up to work every day and trying to get the most out of them and helping them reach their potential and really wanting to get them to this point. … So it just really feels incredible to finally get over that hump.”

Turner was going into her sophomore season when Moore was hired three years ago. Turner said she knew then that Moore would eventually get their team to this point.

“I knew we were going to a championship the first day she came in and worked us out,” Turner said. “We did not touch a ball. I was like, ‘Oh, period.’ We did not touch a ball. It was all defense.”

The Crimson finished the regular season with one of the best defenses in Ivy history and leaned on it against Columbia, holding the Lions to 23-of-60 shooting largely by roping off the paint (24 paint points allowed) and making them rely on long-distance shooting (10 of 26 on 3-pointers).

Elena Rodriguez anchored the defense while also scoring 13 points, grabbing four rebounds, and making a career-high nine assists. The win, she said, confirmed what Moore told them from Day 1.

“She always says the best defensive team and the best rebounding team wins the championship, and this was the proof of it,” Rodriguez said.

Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com.

“I didn’t really trust it in the moment,” Moore said, “and was just hopeful that the basketball gods would be on my side.”

There wasn’t much question about where the ball was going. Columbia shooter Riley Weiss had already made four threes and even though she had gone cold in the second half, the Lions were going to find a way to get her open.

Weiss wheeled from the block to the top of the key, to the wing, to take a handoff from center Susie Rafiu. Harvard wing Saniya Glenn hounded Weiss’s every footstep and was there to get a hand up once the shot was taken.

At that point all eyes were on the rim. Weiss missed — barely. Karlee White secured the rebound, and the Crimson immediately raced to the middle of the floor to celebrate.

With streamers showering them, the Crimson celebrated their first Ivy League tournament title. The win earned them an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Harvard will learn its seeding and opening opponent during Sunday’s selection show.

“This was earned by every minute, every possession and every day that we were here,” Moore said. “And we were knocking on the door every year that I’ve been here and it’s just such an incredible feeling to finally get to the top of the hill and be champions.”

After pouring in an Ivy tournament record 44 points Friday against Princeton, Harmoni Turner gave the Crimson another 24 points and earned Most Outstanding Player honors.

When the buzzer sounded, Turner immediately ran to find Moore.

“I told myself I wasn’t going to cry, but I ended up crying like a baby,” she said. “When you put in so much work and you work for something for so many years and it finally happens, the least you can do is cry. Because you’re so grateful for that opportunity and you gave it your all and it finally ended the way it should have ended.”

The Crimson will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.

“Today means everything,” Moore said. “This is everything that I’ve worked for. There’s a lot that goes into this. A lot of sacrifice. I don’t see my family. I’m far away from them, but I love showing up to work every day and trying to get the most out of them and helping them reach their potential and really wanting to get them to this point. … So it just really feels incredible to finally get over that hump.”

Turner was going into her sophomore season when Moore was hired three years ago. Turner said she knew then that Moore would eventually get their team to this point.

“I knew we were going to a championship the first day she came in and worked us out,” Turner said. “We did not touch a ball. I was like, ‘Oh, period.’ We did not touch a ball. It was all defense.”

The Crimson finished the regular season with one of the best defenses in Ivy history and leaned on it against Columbia, holding the Lions to 23-of-60 shooting largely by roping off the paint (24 paint points allowed) and making them rely on long-distance shooting (10 of 26 on 3-pointers).

Elena Rodriguez anchored the defense while also scoring 13 points, grabbing four rebounds, and making a career-high nine assists. The win, she said, confirmed what Moore told them from Day 1.

“She always says the best defensive team and the best rebounding team wins the championship, and this was the proof of it,” Rodriguez said.

Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com.