"The Ivy League season is full of unexpected situations," Fatima Kamara '07 said. "So I knew something would happen that will give us another chance for a championship."
With these victories, Dartmouth improved to 20-6 on the season and 11-2 in Ivy play.
The Big Green struggled with a persistent Columbia squad on Friday night until the very last seconds of the game.
"We were very happy to hear that Princeton beat Brown, especially after squeaking out a win against Columbia," Angie Soriaga '06 said. "They were a very feisty team and we could never make a run on them, but we executed really well in overtime and never gave up. We made some key shots, which helped us to get the win."
Columbia, prior to Friday's game, was never perceived as a threat to the Big Green's season. However, the Lions treated Dartmouth to a big surprise.
"We knew that Columbia would come out fighting, but it wasn't a game that we thought was going to go into overtime," Sydney Scott '08 said. "They really played their hearts out and pushed us to the limit. It was a good team win to pull out."
Throughout the game, the two teams were within six points of one another, and with 26 seconds left, Dartmouth clung to a narrow three-point lead. However, a Cate Taylor three-pointer knotted the score at 55-55 and carried the game into overtime.
In overtime, Columbia led by as many as four points with 2:29 left before the Big Green embarked on an 11-2 run to win the game 70-65.
Soriaga scored a team-high 19 points to lead four Dartmouth players in double figures. Kamara contributed 14 points, while Scott added 10. Krista Perry '06 recorded a double-double against the Lions, grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds and tossing in 10 points for the Big Green.
"Krista Perry played phenomenally," Scott said. "She and Fatima Kamara really won us the game against Columbia, as well as timely shooting by Angie."
Dartmouth suffered cold shooting during the first 40 minutes of the contest, completing only 27.6 percent from the floor in the first stanza and 33.3 percent in the second. However, in overtime, the Big Green made six of eight field goal attempts en route to its 19th win of the season.
Michele Gage scored a game-high 25 points for the Lions, while teammate Megan Griffith added 12 more points.
On Saturday night, the Big Green captured its 20th win of the season against the Big Red at Newman Arena.
"Cornell came out gunning," Scott said. "It was their senior night, and they weren't going to go down easily. We had to fight our way back in after being down early. Our defense kept us afloat until our offense started to click. Everyone played well tonight to help us get the win."
Cornell managed a nine-point edge over Dartmouth with 11:15 left in the first half and maintained the lead for the next four minutes of the game. However, the Big Green went on an 11-2 run to close the first stanza up 25-24.
Dartmouth persisted through the second half and held a firm 12-point advantage over Cornell after 10 minutes of play. The Big Green kept the Big Red at a distance for the rest of the contest.
"As a team, I feel that we came out with fire in our eyes," Kamara said. "We proved to ourselves that we can play good team basketball and withstand the pressure that was put on us from the opposing teams."
Soriaga and Scott each contributed 16 points, while Ashley Taylor '07 added 14 more points to the score. Kamara contributed another 11. Perry grabbed 15 rebounds, including 12 defensive boards, to guide the Big Green to victory.
"The Cornell game was a good team win. We finally had the team clicking on all cylinders with good guard and post play," Soriaga said. "Still, though, there were times that we struggled on both the defensive and offensive end, so we have to work on that going into Tuesday's game."
The Big Green takes on the Harvard Crimson on Tuesday for the regular season finale. Dartmouth automatically qualifies for a share of the Ivy League title with a win over the Crimson and moves into the post-season with the possibility of playing Brown and Princeton for an NCAA bid.
"We will take the Harvard game seriously, like we do in all the other games," Kamara said. "As long as we execute, we will have no trouble winning the game."
"I'm really looking forward to the Harvard game. There will be so much going on," Soriaga said. "It's senior night, it's Harvard and it determines whether or not we get a share of the Ivy title. There's really no better game you can ask for, but our team is ready for the challenge. I think we are the best team in the league when we play with confidence and look to attack. We hope to show that on Tuesday, when we try to win another Ivy League championship."
