The nation's leading scorer, Harvard's Allison Feaster, was human on this evening, and the Big Green women's basketball squad was strong down the stretch in a 78-67 upset of the Crimson which allowed Dartmouth to claim third place in the Ivy League all for themselves. Despite the loss, Harvard had already clinched the Ivy League title, and, consequently, the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Dartmouth forward Bess Tortolani '98 scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in her final collegiate game to record the first and last double-double of her career. Tortolani's 14 points moved her into the top 10 on Dartmouth's all-time scoring list. She also finished her career with several other Dartmouth records, including second all-time in three-pointers with 78 and eighth all-time in steals with 167.
Meanwhile, Feaster shot 6-for-20 from the field and a dismal 1-for-8 from beyond the arc. Nonetheless, she totaled 21 points, grabbed 11 boards and swiped eight steals.
The game was characterized by poor handling of the basketball as Dartmouth (15-11, 9-5 Ivy) committed 23 turnovers -- an atrocious number. Fortunately for the Big Green, the Crimson (22-4, 12-2 Ivy) turned the ball over 24 times.
Harvard led 11-3 with 14:56 left, and so Dartmouth Head Coach Chris Wielgus made an excellent defensive decision, changing the Big Green's zone defense to a man-to-man one giving the Crimson Tide huge problems. The defensive efforts of Erin Rewalt '99 was especially notable as she shut down on Feaster.
At the 11:30 mark, Dartmouth went on a huge run sparked by Rewalt's pick of Feaster's pocket, leading to a Nicci Rinaldi '99 lay-up to go up five.
Another notable offensive weapon the Big Green used all night was their foul shooting, taking advantage of their opportunities from the charity stripe shooting 91.7 percent as a team.
But Harvard never went away. Suzie Miller drained two threes and put Harvard right back into the game. Harvard not only got back into the game, but at one moment they had an eight point lead, 34-26. The Big Green went on a mini-run at the end of the half to close the gap to five.
Dartmouth came out of the break with increased intensity and a full court press. The tactic paid off as Samantha Berdinka '01 scored two points on a fast break after a Harvard turnover.
With 12:10 left in the half, Rewalt scored on a drive to the basket and was fouled. She completed the three-point play and put Dartmouth ahead by six, 57-45. The Big Green never looked back.
They sealed the game down the stretch by continuing their solid defense and strong free throw shooting.
Dartmouth defeated Harvard for the first time since their 1995-96.
