A Tough Loss, A Great Season

Losing sucks.

The Harvard women's basketball team unfortunately got a taste of what Dartmouth had to swallow last year in a very similar situation.

Dartmouth and Brown were tied for the Ivy League title at the end of the season and faced each other in a one-game playoff for a bid to decide who would go to the NCAA Tournament.

That game also took place in Harvard's Briggs Cage. With the score tied late in final seconds of regulation, the Big Green missed a shot at the buzzer and then fell in overtime, 72-62.

Dartmouth made sure the Ivy championship game last night wouldn't have the same ending or drama. The Big Green grabbed the lead early and continued building the margin almost until the final buzzer.

"We came in ready to play tonight," Dartmouth's Betsy Gilmore said. "We were expecting it to go down to the wire. I feel bad for Harvard, because certainly we could be in that spot."

Nothing went right for the Crimson last night. The players made sloppy passes, forced shots and were completely shut down on offense.

Dartmouth moved the ball well and--over the first 10 minutes--hit almost every single shot, scoring 24 points to Harvard's 13.

When Harvard cut an 18-point deficit to 16 early in the second half, the Big Green stepped up its defense and held the Crimson scoreless on 17 consecutive possessions and padded the lead to 28.

Did Harvard play that badly?

Not really. It was more that Dartmouth played far better--near-perfect in fact.

"I thought Dartmouth was just out of their minds," Harvard coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "Their defense, their offense--they just took us out the ball game."

Harvard didn't come out with confidence. Dartmouth did.

The experience of having played in a game like last year's--even though it was a loss--fortified the Big Green's character. Dartmouth's players knew what to expect coming into last night, and they confidently took control from the opening tip-off.

Even the boisterous mostly-Harvard crowd had no effect on the Big Green.

"I think we're very comfy here in Briggs Cage," Dartmouth coach Chris Wielgus said. "We lost last year but we played a very hard game.

"Harvard is a very good team--we just took control of the momentum," she said.

Harvard's season is over, but last night's loss cannot take anything away from the great campaign that the squad had. The team had been picked to finish fifth in the league, having come off a 7-19 season last year.

But led by captain Tammy Butler, the young Crimson opened a lot of eyes and a lot of big leads and wins. Last night was just the exception, when everything went wrong.

Harvard should be right in the thick of things next year--the team is just too good not to be back.

The only real tragedy is that Butler--Harvard's best player ever--won't be there.

"My heart breaks for Tammy Butler--maybe she'll just get elected the first woman president of the United States," Delaney Smith said. "It just wasn't meant to be."

Losing sucks, but not to have had the chance would hurt even more.

Harvard created its chance for the Ivy League title, and no matter what happened at Briggs Cage last night, the 1994-95 season was a major success. For that alone, Harvard's players and fans should be proud of the team's accomplishments.