After the Dartmouth women's basketball team defeated Princeton earlier this month to gain a share of the Ivy League lead, all signs pointed to the rematch this coming weekend.
But first, the Tigers and the Big Green needed to take care of other Ancient Eight rivals this weekend as they both were 6-1. Dartmouth could not hold up its end of the bargain this afternoon as it was defeated by Columbia after beating Cornell on Friday.
Dartmouth's win over Cornell was by a score of 62-55 while Columbia finished off the Big Green by a score of 69-65. The Big Green played sluggish in both first halves, and while they managed to recover on Friday against the Big Red, they could not repeat the feat Saturday at Levien Gymnasium in New York.
"We just need to get re-focused," Courtney Banghart '00 said. "It's a long season, and it's been a great one so far -- I think we just sort of found ourselves going through the motions. Honestly, we're just out of sync right now."
The Lions were winless last season in Ancient Eight play, but the club has had recent success against the Big Green squad as of latte, winning three of the the last six contests against Dartmouth.
With the loss, Dartmouth had its six-game win streak snapped as it falls to 7-2 in the Ivy League, one game behind Princeton. Columbia is now 5-16 and 2-8 in conference play.
Dartmouth converted just three field goals in the first half totaling 19 points and an astonishing 13 turnovers. The teams recorded a combined 26 fouls, and the Lions went into the break up 26-19.
The Big Green awoke from its slumber early on in the second half, turning a seven-point deficit into a nine-point lead. Banghart caught fire in the second half, scoring 17 of her 19 after the intermission.
But Columbia's Emily Roller hit a trio of trifectas during a three-minute span that kept the Lions level with the Big Green. Ultimately, great free throw shooting down the stretch won the game for the Lions. In fact, Columbia won the contest despite the fact the Lions did not hit a field goal in the game's final 4:12.
Dartmouth's Nicci Rinaldi '99 had a chance to give Dartmouth the lead with 20 seconds to play. Down one, she drove the right side and was fouled by Katie Sherwin. However, the senior guard -- who has made more free throws than any other guard in Big Green history -- missed both and Vaughan snared the board.
Immediately fouled by Erin Rewalt '99, the Lions converted one of two shots from the charity stripe, giving the Big Green one last chance to tie or win.
However, with seven seconds left, Gyvonne Pinkston '99 drove baseline but had a jumper fall short; Columbia knocked down the free throws and the game was essentially over.
Katie O'Connor '99 notched 14 points for the Big Green.
Against Cornell the night before, the Big Green came from behind using depth and experience to win the seven-point contest. Cornell fell to 8-13 (2-7 Ivy).
Dartmouth once again struggled in the opening stanza as Cornell used a 13-0 run to take a 17-7 lead before the Big Green made a 10-0 run of their own. The game went to intermission knotted at 33.
Banghart opened the second half by knocking down a trifecta and a quick deuce on Dartmouth's opening two possessions to cement a five-point lead for the Big Green. Dartmouth never trailed again.
Cornell's Deborah Stevens eventually cut the deficit to one, at 53-52, but the Big Green scored seven of the next eight points down the stretch to gain the win and extend their win streak.
Banghart tallied 22 points for the Big Green while O'Connor had 13 points and Rewalt recorded eight points and 10 rebounds.
"We had a great practice [yesterday]," Banghart said. "And we have to continue to work and to get ourselves back in sync."
The Big Green and Tigers hook up next weekend in what could be a replay of last weekend where Dartmouth could potentially beat Princeton to reknot the two squads atop the Ivy standings.
"The bottom line is that our backs are up against the wall -- we will come out ready," Banghart said.
