W. Basketball Drops Ivy Opener

Exactly 363 days after Dartmouth jarred the Harvard women’s basketballteam from undefeated Ivy bliss—and on the same court that the Big Green received a tail-whipping months later—the teams split the difference in Hanover, N.H. on Saturday night.

In the latest chapter of a burgeoning rivalry, Harvard and Dartmouth needed two halves and an overtime to scrape out a dramatic result. Unfortunately for the Crimson (8-6, 0-1 Ivy), that meant losing a 73-70 heartbreaker.

It was Harvard’s second consecutive Ivy League season-opening loss to the Big Green (4-7, 1-0 Ivy).

“We were so excited and fired up for the game,” said Harvard junior forward Maureen McCaffery. “I think that was one of the hard parts about losing.”

Most spectacular about Harvard’s loss was the valiant way it went down.

Down 46-27 with 13:34 remaining in the second half, and led by senior center Reka Cserny’s 10 points in the next six minutes, the Crimson launched an exuberant comeback.

Cserny, who finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds overall, hit a three with 59 seconds remaining.

That capped a 33-14 run by knotting the game at 60.

“I guess my shots were falling,” Cserny said.

After two Dartmouth free throws, Harvard regained the ball for a final shot.

Junior point guard Jessica Holsey answered the call, much like fellow Crimson standouts Katie Murphy and Kate Mannering over the course of the comeback, by hitting a clutch jumper with seven seconds left.

“It was the entire team,” Cserny said. “The fact that everyone contributed is a good step.”

If big shots powered the rally, then aggressive defense certainly facilitated the comeback.

At the same time that Harvard’s first-half field goal percentage of 29.2 ballooned to 51.5 in the second, Dartmouth’s figure shrunk to an anemic 22.7 in the final frame of regulation.

Mannering credited the change to a supercharged second-half defense.

“We just kind of went for it,” she said. “At halftime we just made it a personal goal.”

In overtime, Dartmouth, led by super sophomore Elise Morrison—who unexpectedly returned from injury—and Jeannie Cullen, awoke from its shooting slumber.

Cullen hit two threes and Morrison, who scored 17 and finished with 13 rebounds overall, chipped in a three-point play to give the Big Green a commanding 71-64 advantage.

Murphy and Holsey answered with six consecutive Harvard points, and when Cserny hit an inside shot with 53 seconds left, the Crimson appeared to take a late overtime lead.

The shot was negated. Cserny was called for an offensive foul—her fifth—and left the game.

“I don’t think it really affected things,” Cserny said. “It may have affected the game, but it didn’t affect the team.”

McCaffery agreed. “Things like that happen. There wasn’t time to worry about that.”

Harvard earned one last chance at the lead after a missed Cullen three-pointer.

With six seconds remaining, Mannering—who contributed 12 points overall—rimmed out a layup.

Morrison pulled down the rebound and, after sinking two free throws, sealed the win.

At that, Harvard entered the reading period break with an Ivy loss in its first game. Cornell awaits on Jan. 28 with a 1-10 record.

“I’m just looking at this like a mental break,” McCaffery said. “We have something to prove.”

—Staff writer Alex McPhillips can be reached at rmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.