Dartmouth Takes First-Round Ivy Playoff Game at Levien

On March 14, Columbia hosted the first of two Ivy League women’s basketball playoff games at Levien Gymnasium. Cornell, Dartmouth, and Harvard all finished the season at 11-3 in league play, but while these teams share the conference title, only one can receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Cornell was randomly selected as the first-round bye recipient, so the Big Green and the Crimson faced off on Friday night in a showdown between two storied programs.

Dartmouth and Harvard opened Ivy play against each other during the regular season, and the Big Green came away with a five-point victory on the road. During the rematch in New Hampshire, however, it was the Crimson that won by 13 points. Both teams came into Friday’s playoff ready to fight, and it showed.

Senior forward Sydney Scott started the game’s scoring with a lay-up for Dartmouth, but the Crimson soon answered with a basket by senior point guard Lindsay Hallion. The game remained a back-and-forth one, with each team responding to its opponent’s runs, until 3:35 remained in the first half. At this point, Dartmouth sophomore Betsy Williams, a guard, hit a three-pointer to give her squad a six-point advantage. The Big Green then outscored Harvard, 10-4, to close the period and held a 42-30 lead at halftime.

Dartmouth entered the second period with the same intensity it displayed during the first half. With just under seven minutes left in regulation, freshman forward and Ivy Rookie of the Year Brittney Smith hit a lay-up to give the Big Green a comfortable 18-point advantage, its greatest lead of the game. However, the Crimson was not about to hand Dartmouth an easy victory. Harvard chipped away at its deficit and with 1:04 remaining, senior guard Jessica Knox made a lay-up to get the Crimson within four points of its rival.

Despite its furious comeback, Harvard could not get any closer to overtaking the Big Green. Dartmouth hit key free throws during the final minute of play to win by six points, 68-62. Columbia women’s basketball head coach Paul Nixon, who was in attendance, offered his observations.

“For about the first 35 minutes of the game, Dartmouth did a great job of controlling the tempo and preventing Harvard from getting out and getting a bunch of easy baskets in transition,” he said. “Loose basketballs on the floor and rebounds coming off the rim in the second half, especially in the critical moments, those balls really seemed to wind up in the hands of the Dartmouth players more often than the Harvard players, and I think that’s really what ended up being the ultimate difference in the game.”

Dartmouth will meet Cornell in the final game of the Ivy women’s basketball playoffs on March 16 at 2 p.m.