W. Cagers Rock and Roll Over Dartmouth

The Harvard women's basketball team settled an old score last night, and settled it well.

The Crimson thrashed Dartmouth, 89-69, to finish with sole possession of second place in the Ivy League.

Junior Debbie Flandermeyer scored 22 points, shot 8-for-12 from the floor, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Junior Erin Maher added 15 points and six rebounds.

Renee Reed led the Big Green with 20 points.

Last night's game at Briggs Cage was the first encounter between these two teams since early January. The Big Green won that battle 74-55.

"Dartmouth was not 19 points better than us back then, but there were other factors," Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "This time around, we were much more mentally and physically ready to play than they were.

The Revenge Factor

"We were afraid that the loss would come back to haunt us, and it did," Delaney Smith said. "The revenge factor was definitely at play tonight."

Maher also commented on the importance of the "Revenge factor" in the victory.

"We definitely are 20 points better than Dartmouth," Maher said. "We showed that tonight. We were not surprised by the result.

"This could have been a hard game to play, very anticlimactic [after losing the Ivy League championship to Brown]," Maher said. "But we had to let people know that come next year, we'll be very strong."

The Crimson broke the game wide open early. A 14-point and 6-rebound performance from Flandermeyer--who leads the Ivy League in scoring--and two key three-pointers from freshman Nickole Cronk gave them a 45-28 lead going into halftime.

But the high point of the first half came when senior Co-Captain Heather Harris stepped onto the court for the first time since being sidelined with an injury in early January.

"Seeing Heather on the court again, watching her get that basket was a great way to end the season," Flandermeyer said. "I was very glad to have her back."

Harvard maintained a double-dig-it lead on the visitors for the better part of the second half, in spite of fairly sloppy performances from the team.

Nine fouls, several lost rebounds and bad passes made the game less than airtight for the Crimson.

"We let up too much in intensity," Delaney Smith said. "We let them get too close."

The closest Dartmouth got in the second half was within eight points on a 7-0 run, with 2:35 left to play in the game.

But Erin Maher, who had been quiet for much of the game, nailed a trio of treys to clinch the victory for the Crimson.

Relaxed Atmosphere

After the game, Maher commented on the very relaxed atmosphere at courtside.

"One of our goals tonight was to play to have fun," Maher said. "We wanted to play with chemistry and euphoria. We wanted to get it together for next year."