The Big Green (8-11, 3-2 Ivy) now has two losses to league opponents after an encouraging 2-0 start to the Ivy season.
"We have to continue to improve on our defense, and we are getting better offensively as well," Margaret Smith '10 said.
After the weekend's action, Dartmouth is tied for third place with Harvard University in the league standings. The Quakers (1-18, 0-5 Ivy) pushed their losing streak to nine games after being swept by the Big Green and the Crimson, while the Tigers (17-2, 5-0 Ivy) marched to their twelfth straight victory to remain undefeated in conference play.
"We know that we cannot afford to lose any more games this year, so we will play hard against Brown and Yale [next week], just as we have against the other teams that we have faced earlier in the season," Smith said.
Heading into the doubleheader, the women's squad looked to bounce back from last week's to Columbia University. The 13-point loss snapped the Big Green's six-game win streak against Ivy foes.
On Friday in Philadelphia, Pa., Dartmouth set the tone with its trademark defense and ran up the score with a well-balanced motion offense en route to a dominating 14-point win over Penn.
"Our defense definitely sparks our offense," Meghan McFee '11 said. "The turnovers that we force give us scoring opportunities and help push the tempo of the game."
The Big Green opened the first half with a 9-0 run before the Quakers cut the lead to six.
Dartmouth, however, was just getting warmed up, as the visitors closed the half on a 10-2 run that caught the Quakers stumbling into intermission, down 28-14.
When leading at halftime, the Big Green is perfect this season.
In the second half, the women's squad opened the biggest lead of the game at 32-14 before a 16-4 Quaker run brought the score back to six points with about nine minutes left in regulation.
The Big Green was quick to respond with a scoring streak of its own, as Brittney Smith '11 led a 9-0 run that pushed the Dartmouth advantage back to double-digits.
The rest of the match was back and forth, as the Big Green kept the score out of reach, closing the game at 51-37 at the final buzzer.
Dartmouth's defense was crucial to the victory, as the Big Green outrebounded Penn, 46-29, and held all Quaker scorers to single digits.
"Our team has really improved on our defense since the beginning of the season," McFee said. "I think it has really paid off as we've been holding most teams under their scoring average."
Brittney Smith posted her fourth straight double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds, while Faziah Steen-Ngalamulume '13 was also impressive with a game-high 14 points, six rebounds and five steals.
On Saturday in Princeton, N.J., the women's squad looked to break the Tigers' momentum and build momentum of its own by taking the first doubleheader sweep of the season.
Although Dartmouth had won five of its last six meetings with Princeton, the Tigers charged ahead in the final 20 minutes after an evenly-matched first half to claim its first win over the Big Green in almost three years.
Dartmouth jumped to an early eight-point lead, propelled by eight combined points from Brittney Smith and Steen-Ngalamulume.
Princeton, however, soon fought back, tying the score at 19 with six and a half minutes left in the period. Neither team was able to pull away by more than two for the rest of the half, with the halftime score tied at 25-25.
Entering the second half, the Big Green were pushed back on their heels by a 7-2 Princeton run, allowing the home team to take an advantage that held for the rest of the game.
"We have to continue to force the action on the offensive end earlier in the second half," Margaret Smith said. "I think we play better when we look to score quickly. We did not do this particularly well in the second half against Princeton."
Five straight points from junior forward Addie Micir further increased the Tigers' momentum, as Dartmouth fell behind by ten at 45-35 with about seven minutes remaining.
A Big Green comeback effort narrowed the lead to a two-possession game at 48-43, but a series of well-timed buckets from Princeton brought the advantage back to double-digits at 55-44.
The 11-point deficit held for the final minutes, as the Tigers rode its early second half momentum to a 58-47 victory.
Micir posted a game-high 25 points for Princeton, while sophomore guard Lauren Edwards added 14 points.
Smith posted eight points, 11 boards and three blocks, while Steen-Ngalamulume led the team with 10 points and four assists.
With the Ivy championship still up for grabs, Dartmouth will be back in action next week at home to face off against Brown University on Friday and against Yale University on Saturday. Both games will take place at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena.
"Every game is important in the Ivy League, and we'll work hard this week in preparation for both Brown and Yale," McFee said.
