After a stunning season-ending win over Harvard last term, for the first time in more than 10 years the women's basketball team earned a bid to the NCAA tournament and headed to Charlottesville, Va., for the first round.
Despite an agonizing first-round loss to the University of Virginia Cavaliers, ranked in the top 10 in the country, team members said the experience was still incredible.
"It was very exciting," Brandi Jones '95 said. "We had a rough time at the beginning of the season, but midway through we all established that our goal was to make the NCAAs. That was our focus, but I think we even surprised ourselves with how we beat Harvard."
With an Ivy League Championship under their belt, the Big Green carried their momentum down to Virginia where they made an impressive showing in the first round of the tournament's East Region.
The team flew to Virginia courtesy of the NCAA.
Dartmouth, seeded 14th, came out confident in its March 16 match up against third-seeded Virginia, but was unable to overcome the experience of the Cavaliers who were playing on home territory.
"I think a key to our success was really not getting too uptight," Jones said. "We take each game as they come, so I think the Virginia game was just another game. We stuck to our routine and the game plan that we have had the past few years."
The Big Green did not give up without a fight, though. With 9:15 left Dartmouth took the lead 54-51 after scoring on nine out of 10 possessions with six consecutive shots.Virginia remained poised however and managed to battle back to take the victory 71-68.
In past years, the team representing the Ivy League was seeded 16th, so to move up two spots was an accomplishment that made the Big Green proud.
"We were definitely the underdog," Jones said. "Moving up in the seedings showed that someone must have had confidence in us though. I think maybe we gained a little more respect for the Ivy League overall."
The Big Green players were not only able to enjoy the excitement of playing national basketball, but also took advantage of the Virginia environment. During its five-day stay the team was hosted by Eleanor Shannon Salem '79.
Salem played field hockey and lacrosse at Dartmouth from 1975-1979.The women's lacrosse team occasionally stays at her house on its spring training trip.
With this hospitality, the Dartmouth women escaped the stress-filled environment of hotel living and were able to relax in a typical southern type home.
The team spent day before the game walking around the farm's private woods and relaxing in the warm Virginia air.
Following game day, the players relaxed a day and then split up in different directions. While some spent time with family members who had made the trek to Virginia, others traveled south to Florida for a typical college spring break.
As for returning to Dartmouth, all was not bad until yesterday's snow.
Yet several players on the team are escaping the Hanover climate with a leave term. A break well deserved as their winning season came to a climatic end.
