PROVIDENCE, R.I. — No. 1 Columbia and No. 3 Harvard advanced to Saturday night’s championship game with a pair of close semifinal wins today in the Ivy Madness Tournament.
 
Top-seeded Columbia survived a fourth-quarter surge from Penn to advance to the championship game, while Harvard topped No. 2 Princeton with a three-point victory in the nightcap.
 
Tomorrow’s championship final is set for 5:30 p.m. (EST) on ESPNU with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
 
Columbia 60, Penn 54
The Lions, the Ivy League’s top offensive unit during the regular season, struggled to score through the contest, shooting just 36 percent in the opening half of play. Despite the tough shooting night, Columbia held a six-point lead at intermission that stretched to an advantage as large as 17 points, 42-25, with 4:54 to play in the third quarter.
 
However, Penn’s defense turned the tide late in the second half, forcing key missed shots and turnovers to close the gap to single digits in the early part of the fourth quarter. The Lions held on for the six-point victory by knocking down seven-of-nine free throw attempts over the final two minutes of play.
 
Columbia junior Susie Rafiu was the offensive star, finishing with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, while seniors Cecelia Collins and Kitty Henderson each scored 10 points of their own.
 
As a team, the Lions forced 18 Penn turnovers and won the rebounding battle, 36-29, including 12 boards on the offensive glass.
 
Harvard 70, Princeton 67
In the final game of the evening, Ivy League Player of the Year Harmoni Turner of Harvard scored an Ivy League Basketball Tournament record 44 points to lead the third-seeded Crimson past No. 2 seed Princeton.
 
Turner, a senior, was 14-for-27 on the night, including knocking down 7-of-11 shots from deep, to go along with seven rebounds in the win as the only Harvard player to score in double figures.
 
Princeton held a slim 36-31 lead at the half before Harvard rallied to cut the deficit to just one point with a quarter to play.
 
In the fourth period, the Tigers opened with five unanswered points on a layup from Katie Thiers and a three-pointer from Ashley Chea to stretch the lead to six points, 59-53, with 9:09 to play. However, Turner took over down the stretch, scoring 10 points, including a jumper with 2:54 to play that put her team ahead for good.
 
Princeton sophomore Skye Belker led three Tigers in double figures with 20 points of her own across 38 minutes of action.
 
Harvard held a 41-27 rebounding edge in the victory, leading to 17 second chance points, while contributing six blocks on the defensive end of the floor.