And the wins just keep on coming. The women's basketball team rocked and rolled its way to two more victories this past weekend, beating Columbia University, 62-40, on Friday night and Cornell Universitybest, 63-47, the following evening.
Against Columbia and Cornell Dartmouth proved to be just like the title of the 4 Non Blondes' recent album - "Bigger, Better, Faster, More." Neither team had a player who could counter Ilsa Webeck '94's size or Betsy Gilmore '94's speed.
The Big Green was more poised on offense and more aggressive on defense than their opponents - and it showed on the scoreboard, with Dartmouth handily overmatching its league counterparts.
The wins raised the Big Green's overall record to 11-8 and kept them atop the Ivy League with a 6-1 record.
The Ivy title is "ours to lose," Coach Chris Wielgus said. "We did what we have to do [to keep in contention]. We have to win at home, and we have to beat Cornell and Columbia here."
Dartmouth crushes Columbia, 62-40
The only suspenseful moment on Friday night came during the Hanover Inn 30-second halftime shootout. The Big Green took the drama out of the main event early, using an 18-2 run at the end of the first half to open up a 35-15 halftime lead.
A baseline jumper by Gilmore started the run with 8:05 left in the half, and freshman Sally Annis'97 three-pointer from the top of the key with three seconds remaining ended it. In between, Dartmouth used some stifling defense to shut down the Columbia team.
The Lions managed to get off a measly seven shots in the final eight minutes of the first half, and only Jen Holub's lay-up with 5:10 to play found the bottom of the net. Steals by Gilmore, Jen Stamp '96, and Katie Samuelson '97, as well as a Columbia 30-second clock violation, contributed to the Lions' miserable offensive performance in those minutes.
Webeck led the Big Green with 12 points and nine rebounds. Gilmore and Annis each added 10, and Stamp had eight points and four steals.
For the second Friday in a row, Gilmore recorded nine steals, just one shy of the school's single-game record, which she holds. Prior to this weekend's games, Gilmore was ranked ninth in the nation with an average of 4.4 steals per game.
Dartmouth pounds Cornell, 63-47
Saturday night proved to be more of the same, as Cornell fell to a red-hot Dartmouth squad. With 8:10 left in the first half and the game tied at nine, Dartmouth went on a 16-4 run to take a 27-13 halftime lead.
Jill Marple '97 came off the bench and scored seven points during the Big Green run.
"Marple is a prolific scorer," Wielgus said. "She uses her body well, and always manages to get her shot off. She's instant offense."
The Big Red climbed back into the game in the second half. Some good three-point shooting by the Cornell guards sliced the Dartmouth lead to 46-39 with 8:08 left in the game. That was as close as Cornell would get.
Five points from Annis, which included a nice back-door lay-up that was set up by Webeck, raised the Big Green lead to 12. Another Cornell three-pointer cut the lead back down to nine, but then Samuelson hit a long three-pointer to beat the shot clock and sap whatever momentum the Big Red had left.
"If you shoot three's like [Cornell did], you're going to be in every game," Wielgus said. "We were a little slow reacting to the three, so we put some fresh legs in. The kids off the bench provided the spark we needed."
Annis scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Big Green. Webeck and Brandi Jones '95 each chipped in 11, and Marple finished with seven points and six rebounds.
