Women Cagers Fall to Dartmouth, 65-62

In sports, deception lurks in the strangest places. Scores, for example, can exaggeragte a team's domination, or they can mask a team's flaws.

But sometimes, a score can tell everything.

The Harvard women's basketball team (15-11 overall, 9-5 Ivy) fell to Ivy champion Dartmouth, 65-62, last night at Leede Arena in Hanover, New Hampshire.

It was the Crimson's final game, and it told the story of the team and its season.

Last night, the Crimson jumped out to an early lead, but the Big Green (12-2 Ivy) battled back, taking the lead at halftime, 30-28.

In the Ivy race, the Crimson cruised to a 6-0 Ivy record. The Big Green was the first and most fearsome victim, but Dartmouth regrouped and put together it own winning streak.

After Harvard's loss to Brown in Providence February 11, the Crimson and the Big Green were tied for first.

Last night, Harvard suffered through a six-minute stretch where it could not score.

In the Ivy race, Harvard succumbed to Brown and Yale in the second-to-last weekend.

The streaks of ineffective play caused last night's game to slip away and caused the season to collapse as well.

Last night, with the final seconds running out, the Crimson fired up a three-pointer but missed.

In the Ivy race, the Crimson dominated Penn but stumbled to Princeton last weekend.

Last night's game was lost. The race for first place was finished last Saturday against Princeton.

If the ball would have gone in, if one defeat could have gone the other way...

"It didn't work and we lost," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said.

Harvard challenged Dartmouth the entire game. In the preseason, most observers dismissed the Crimson. Last night wasn't supposed to mean anything.

Last night's game and the season were both decided in the closing moments, and, for the Crimson, they were a testament of character.

"I am very proud of what they did [yesterday]," Delaney Smith said. "Sports are all about the highs and the lows, and it's how you handle the lows."

Co-Captains Sarah Duncan's 16 points and Beth Chandler's 15 rebounds led Harvard. For Duncan, Chandler and guard Hanya Bluestone, it was the last game of their Crimson careers.

"All three of them were outstanding athletes in the program," Delaney Smith said. "They were so important to everybody, from the coaching staff right down to each player."

Sophmore Nicole Hager paced Dartmouth with 18 points, and Jennifer Lowry tipped in 14 points.

And the Big Green captured the last night's game to add to the title it already had.

THE NOTEBOOK: Since the Ivy League began to sanction women's basketball competition in 1975, Dartmouth has captured eight Ivy titles...Harvard has won two...Princeton is second behind the Big Green with five...The Crimson is expected to return 10 letterwinners next season.