W. Cagers Capture Ivy Opener Versus Dartmouth, 81-68

Last year, the Harvard women's basketball team struggled to a mediocre 6-5 record during its preseason games before turning its season around with an inspired 92-70 victory over Dartmouth. Harvard went on to win all but one of its next 13 games versus Ivy League rivals en route to capturing the league title.

Entering Saturday's Ivy opener at Dartmouth, Harvard found itself in a similar situation with a 6-5 record, having endured an inconsistent preseason.

It looks as if history may repeat itself.

The Crimson turned in its finest performance of the season against the Big Green, rallying late in the second half to earn an 81-68 win.

Junior Allison Feaster--playing at power forward for the first time this season--led a balanced Harvard attack with 18 points and 15 rebounds and senior co-captain Kelly Black netted a career-high 17 points, as Harvard won for the third straight time against Dartmouth.

"Playing at Dartmouth is always just a huge game," Black said. "We were very confident going into the game. It definitely showed in our play."

"I definitely had not been playing well of late," Black continued. "I think I'm getting my play back to where I know it can be."

Harvard appeared to rediscover its post-up game against Dartmouth; with Feaster moving back inside and sophomore center Rose Janowski (eight points) coming off the bench, the Crimson not only benefited from improved interior scoring, but also from better ball movement.

"I thought the ball movement was pretty good last night," Feaster said. "I think Dartmouth paid a lot of attention to me [which made for balanced scoring]. I thought that was why we won the game last night--it was a total team effort."

"We're starting to pass more into the post," Black said. "That's what helped [against Dartmouth]. When you establish your inside game it opens up a lot more from the outside."

But it was Harvard's inside game that gave the Crimson the momentum and broke the Big Green's spirit.

Tied 37-37 at halftime, Harvard and Dartmouth traded baskets for the first 10 minutes of the second half. With the game still knotted at 50-50, senior co-captain Jessica Gelman (14 points, 9 assists) hit Janowski with a pass underneath the basket in transition. Janowski sank the lay-up, drew a foul, and made the free-throw to convert the three-point play.

Following a defensive stop, Gelman found sophomore forward Sarah Russell on the low block. Russell turned and hit a sweet lefty jump hook off the glass, drawing a foul and silencing the 2,000 Dartmouth fans in attendance.

Russell's free throw increased the lead to six, 56-50, and turned the momentum for good in Harvard's favor.

And Russell wasn't the only spark off the Harvard bench. Back-up point guard Megan Basil once again made substantial contributions, teaming with Gelman in the backcourt to break Dartmouth's defensive pressure.

"The bench played really well," Black said. "This whole year Megan's been playing great. She hustles and she's been shooting really confidently. [Junior guard/forward] Sarah Brandt did a lot of nice things on the boards in the first half. It was such a team effort--everyone was so into the game."

"I thought that [what was] significant about the game was that we never gave up," Feaster added. "We were down by several points at several periods throughout the game and came back." Harvard  81 Dartmouth  68