With Dartmouth (5-9, 1-0 Ivy) trailing by one point, Margaret Smith '10 hit two crucial free throws with 5.1 seconds left in regulation to lift the Big Green past a dogged Crimson squad in the first Ivy game of the season.
"This is Ivy League basketball," head coach Chris Wielgus said. "You can go to the Big 12, you can go to the Pac-10, you can go anywhere. These are all amateur athletes on a very level playing field."
A three midway through the first half courtesy of Michelle Meyer '10 opened a modest three point lead for the Big Green before Harvard responded with a three of its own from junior Christine Matera to tie the score at 16.
The Crimson output ran dry for the rest of the half, however, and Dartmouth established a seven point lead heading into the intermission, 25-18.
The Big Green is 5-0 in games when leading at halftime this season.
Dartmouth opened the second half with a quick 4-0 run, but the Crimson soon created a shift in momentum and was up 44-43 with under a minute to go in the game.
"We knew it was about to be a close game, but we didn't know it was going to be that close," Sasha Dosenko '12 said.
The nail-biting conclusion capped off a defensive battle in which both Dartmouth and Harvard (9-5, 1-0 Ivy) struggled from the field, shooting 32.7 percent and 31 percent from the floor, respectively.
Harvard, which averages 73.6 points per game this season, was limited to only 18 points in the first half. Dartmouth also out-rebounded the Crimson, 42-32.
"We broke [Harvard] down," Smith said. "We knew what their strengths and weaknesses were, and we came out and played to those."
Periodic errors disrupted Dartmouth's motion offense, allowing Harvard to stay within striking distance for most of the second half.
"We can't solely rely on the defense because we have to put the ball in the basket," Smith said. "We just really need to improve on our offensive end, and I think that will determine whether or not we will win the Ivies."
The "Pack the House" game, which drew 1,500 fans, was an NCAA-sponsored initiative to promote women's college basketball. The conference-wide contest was to have the highest percentage increase in single-game attendance from last season.
Looking for its third straight championship, the Big Green will face a competitive field of Ivy League teams particularly Princeton University and Columbia University.
Dartmouth will host the University of New Hampshire on Tuesday night at Leede Arena at 7 p.m.
