W. Basketball Wins Thriller Versus Big Green, 85-78 in OT

It's time for the dance. In a nail-biting overtime thriller, the Harvard women's basketball team defeated Dartmouth 85-78, capping a spectacular 20-win season, in which Harvard had already captured the Ivy title and its first ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

After an embarrassing 72-48 loss against the Big Green last year, the Crimson basked in a sweet moment of redemption when the final buzzer sounded.

"It is always tough to play Dartmouth at home and I think it is a credit to us how we fought through the adversity," junior Jessica Gelman said. "Winning the game and cutting down their nets really put a closure on last season for me."

Unfortunately, it wasn't the easiest finish in the world.

Tied 73-73 at the end of regulation, the Crimson found itself engaged in a closer struggle than its earlier 92-70 blow-out of the Big Green at Lavietes Pavilion.

With just over one minute gone in overtime, sophomore standout Allison Feaster (26 points 21 rebounds), off of an inbounds pass, drained a three-point field goal from the left elbow to give Harvard the lead for good at 76-74.

Dartmouth gave its all throughout the final four minutes, spurred on by a foul line jumper from Gyvonne Pinkston and then a driving layup by freshman guard Nicci Rinaldi (team high 17 points) with only 27 seconds remaining, but it was in vain.

Like it has done all season, Harvard asserted its dominance in overtime and scored the game's last four points.

The Crimson sank 9-of-11 free throws in the extra frame, including six straight by Gelman--all in one-and-one situations--to ice the game.

"We thought that we really outplayed them in the second half," co-captain Elizabeth Proudfit said. "It was sort of a fluke being tied at the end of regulation so I think everyone felt very confident going into overtime."

But the Crimson had exuded that confidence even earlier in the game. After coming out of the locker room down 37-34, the team immediately regained the lead. Spurred on by two consecutive treys by senior forward Amy Reinhard to open the half, Harvard proceeded to control play for almost the entire second period.

Dartmouth valiantly hung in there and shot a respectable 42 percent from the field. Down the stretch, the Big Green benefited from several Harvard breakdowns in the waning minutes of regulation.

After Feaster drained two free-throws with 1:16 left, Dartmouth guard Nicci Rinaldi exploded down the court and drove in for a layup to bring the Big Green to within two points.

Then in a nightmarish few seconds, Proudfit lost the handle while dribbling up the court. Rinaldi jumped on the opportunity and layed in the tying two points.

"They had a lot going for them," Proudfit said. "It was senior night, their last game of the season and Dartmouth is notorious for getting a large crowd. They had nothing to lose--they were playing for pride."

The Crimson then had just 21 seconds to regain the lead. Gelman got the call and launched a shot from the elbow only to have it bounce off the left side of the rim. With authority, senior forward Katy Davis (15 points, 13 boards) tore down the rebound and managed to feed Gelman for a final attempt. Again the shot fell short and Harvard was forced into overtime, where it dominated.

By the end of the night, the Dartmouth nets had been cut down and were headed back to Cambridge.

"It was a great game because we haven't been playing that well lately," Proudfit said. "So an exciting overtime game was definitely the icing on the cake."

The sweetness of the Dartmouth game will be hard to match, but the season is far from over.

The team isn't sure who its first NCAA opponent will be, but after Tuesday night's performance, be assured that the players will definitely have their dancing shoes on. Harvard  85 Dartmouth  78

IVY STANDINGS   IVY  OVERALL Team  Wins  Losses  Wins  Losses Harvard  13  1  20  6 Princeton  9  5  18  10 Dartmouth  8  6  16  10 Yale  8  6  13  13 Cornell  7  7  12  14 Brown  7  7  10  16 Penn  3  11  3  22 Columbia  1  13  2  24

HARVARD, 85-78 at John W. Berry Sports Center Hanover, New Hampshire Harvard  34  39  12  --  85 Dartmouth  37  36  5  --  78

HARVARD: Reinhard 2-6 1-2 7; Black 0-2 2-2 2; Davis 7-16 1-3 15; Feaster 9-19 7-8 26; Proudfit 2-10 0-0 4; Grossman 1-6 0-0 3; Basil 0-3 0-0 0; Brandt 4-6 0-0 10; Gelman 3-12 6-7 12; Higgins 1-1 1-2 3; Gettelman 1-4 0-2 3. TOTALS 30-85 18-26 85.

DARTMOUTH: Rinaldi 6-21 5-5 17; Pinkston 4-6 4-7 12; Annis 3-9 2-2 8; Rewalt 4-9 7-11 15; Samuelson 2-3 1-2 16; Tortolani 8-17 1-4 18; Lawrence 0-4 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27-69 22-35 78.

IVY STANDINGS   IVY  OVERALL Team  Wins  Losses  Wins  Losses Harvard  13  1  20  6 Princeton  9  5  18  10 Dartmouth  8  6  16  10 Yale  8  6  13  13 Cornell  7  7  12  14 Brown  7  7  10  16 Penn  3  11  3  22 Columbia  1  13  2  24

HARVARD, 85-78 at John W. Berry Sports Center Hanover, New Hampshire Harvard  34  39  12  --  85 Dartmouth  37  36  5  --  78

HARVARD: Reinhard 2-6 1-2 7; Black 0-2 2-2 2; Davis 7-16 1-3 15; Feaster 9-19 7-8 26; Proudfit 2-10 0-0 4; Grossman 1-6 0-0 3; Basil 0-3 0-0 0; Brandt 4-6 0-0 10; Gelman 3-12 6-7 12; Higgins 1-1 1-2 3; Gettelman 1-4 0-2 3. TOTALS 30-85 18-26 85.

DARTMOUTH: Rinaldi 6-21 5-5 17; Pinkston 4-6 4-7 12; Annis 3-9 2-2 8; Rewalt 4-9 7-11 15; Samuelson 2-3 1-2 16; Tortolani 8-17 1-4 18; Lawrence 0-4 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27-69 22-35 78.

HARVARD, 85-78 at John W. Berry Sports Center Hanover, New Hampshire Harvard  34  39  12  --  85 Dartmouth  37  36  5  --  78

HARVARD: Reinhard 2-6 1-2 7; Black 0-2 2-2 2; Davis 7-16 1-3 15; Feaster 9-19 7-8 26; Proudfit 2-10 0-0 4; Grossman 1-6 0-0 3; Basil 0-3 0-0 0; Brandt 4-6 0-0 10; Gelman 3-12 6-7 12; Higgins 1-1 1-2 3; Gettelman 1-4 0-2 3. TOTALS 30-85 18-26 85.

DARTMOUTH: Rinaldi 6-21 5-5 17; Pinkston 4-6 4-7 12; Annis 3-9 2-2 8; Rewalt 4-9 7-11 15; Samuelson 2-3 1-2 16; Tortolani 8-17 1-4 18; Lawrence 0-4 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27-69 22-35 78.

HARVARD: Reinhard 2-6 1-2 7; Black 0-2 2-2 2; Davis 7-16 1-3 15; Feaster 9-19 7-8 26; Proudfit 2-10 0-0 4; Grossman 1-6 0-0 3; Basil 0-3 0-0 0; Brandt 4-6 0-0 10; Gelman 3-12 6-7 12; Higgins 1-1 1-2 3; Gettelman 1-4 0-2 3. TOTALS 30-85 18-26 85.

DARTMOUTH: Rinaldi 6-21 5-5 17; Pinkston 4-6 4-7 12; Annis 3-9 2-2 8; Rewalt 4-9 7-11 15; Samuelson 2-3 1-2 16; Tortolani 8-17 1-4 18; Lawrence 0-4 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27-69 22-35 78.