"Every game you want to come in and win and be focused, whether it's Princeton at the top or Cornell," Nicola Zimmer '14 said. "I think that was one of the issues tonight. We just didn't have the same energy we've had against some of the top teams."
The Big Green (6-20, 4-8 Ivy) got off to a strong start, winning the opening tip-off and sinking a three-pointer for the first points of the game.
After an even 3-3 score for the first five minutes, the Big Red (12-14, 4-8) hit four consecutive shots to take an 11-3 lead. The Big Green responded with two completed field goals of its own, to which Cornell's coach responded with a momentum-killing timeout.
The game evened out as both teams relaxed, with the Big Red playing strong defense, forcing turnovers and three expired Big Green shot clocks, but was hampered by a weaker field goal percentage than the Big Green.
Dartmouth controlled the play at the boards, leading Cornell 22 to 17 in first half rebounds and noticeably shutting the Big Red down with its physical presence down low. Dartmouth earned seven points off of second chance opportunities while Cornell did not tally any, and 19 out of Dartmouth's 25 first-half points came in the paint or off second chances.
As the first period went on, the Big Green women appeared more and more composed, coming back from an eight-point deficit, jumping ahead of the Big Red by six points by half time.
On offense, Dartmouth moved the ball around effectively, waiting for opportunities down low. Post-play almost always translated into points for the Big Green.
Cornell was less content to wait and forced the issue more frequently than Dartmouth on offense, resulting in a poor one for 13 from beyond the three-point line and a 26.7 percent first-half shooting percentage.
Point guard Kaitana Martinez '16 proved to be a highly effective substitute whenever Zimmer needed a break. On the court for 10 of the first-half minutes, Martinez led the team in assists going into the second.
Cornell came out in the second half with a different strategy, applying a full court press. The Big Red sent three players into the back court in an aggressive attempt to contain the Big Green point guards as they tried to bring the ball out. This succeeded in killing off several seconds of Dartmouth's shot clock and forced them to try and create opportunities faster or settle for lesser shots.
"Their press bothered us a little bit," Zimmer said. "We just weren't careful enough with the ball. We knew what was coming but we just weren't able to execute."
This strategy proved effective and dug Cornell out of its six-point hole, but quickly drained the Big Green and Dartmouth lost a lot of its energy necessary for the physical fast pace of the game.
"I think we went away from trying to score around the rim and from driving," captain Faziah Steen '13 said. "We weren't able to get some of our shooters open like Nicola. We just weren't very cohesive on the offensive end."
Cornell junior Allyson DiMagno provided a spark off the bench, converting multiple three-point opportunities and driving to the net to force fouls. She proved to be the difference on the night, finishing with 27 points.
With 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Big Green led 38-37. The game's pace slowed down late in the second half as neither team wanted to make mistakes. With two minutes remaining, Cornell grabbed the advantage off a timely three-pointer to take a 44-42 lead. Another timely three increased the Big Red's lead to five points.
"Cornell had a lot of on-ball screens and I don't think our help defense was good enough," Steen said. "Our post to guard defense wasn't good enough and we weren't reacting quickly enough. We lost a lot of the hustle plays."
A Cornell steal with 1:18 remaining, followed by a converted layup, effectively iced the game.
The Big Green travel to Ithaca, N.Y., this Friday to match up against Cornell once again.
"There can be no pity party," coach Chris Wielgus said. "I know there are a lot of reasons and a lot of excuses and they have exams and this and that. But there can be no excuses, the quality of play was just not what we expected tonight."
