The entire Ivy League women's basketball season comes down to a single game tonight in Cambridge, Mass. The team that wins tonight's Dartmouth-Harvard game wins the Ivy League title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament; the loser heads home for a long off-season.
Dartmouth and Harvard are now tied for first place in the Ivy League. The team that wins tonight's game, the last of the regular season, will be the Ivy League Champion, and will move on to the first round of the NCAA tournament.
"To have everything riding on the last game of the season is wonderful," Coach Chris Wielgus said. "You wait all your life to play in big games like this. We've wanted to play Harvard all along, and we want to beat them. Everything is at stake, the Ivy title and the NCAA tournament."
Harvard is led by Tammi Butler, an excellent shooter, who scored her 1000th career point in Hanover this winter. Freshman standout Alison Feaster has great talent under the boards, and is thought to be one of the best freshman in the League.
"Harvard has awesome shooters," Wielgus said. "They are an offensively-minded team, using a lot of fast-breaks. We are more defensively oriented."
Dartmouth is equally strong, however, with forwards like Ilsa Webeck '94 and guards like Sally Annis '97 and Betsy Gilmore '94.
Sharpshooter Brandi Jones '95 said "We want to win, and being a senior this is my last chance to make NCAA's. However I don't feel it's fair to say one game accounts for whole season. I have had a great four years with my teammates, and overall, we are a team of winners and champions, regardless of what happens against Harvard."
Two fan buses are leaving the Berry Center at 3:15 PM Tuesday afternoon. Tickets are available at the Berry Sports Center Ticket Office. Bus fare is six dollars. Tickets for the game will be available at Harvard.
