Women's basketball hangs tough with Dartmouth

An upset of Brown and a win over Yale last weekend put women's basketball (5-13 overall, 2-3 Ivy League) in excellent position in the scramble for the Ivy crown leading into this weekend's games against Dartmouth and Harvard. Unfortunately Princeton lose 63-56 against the Big Green, and were crushed 96-62 by the Crimson.

On Friday night, the Tigers traveled to Hanover, NH to compete against undefeated Dartmouth (11-6, 4-0).

Down by 12 points at the half, the Tigers, led by sophomore post guard Becky Brown with seven points, went on a 13-2 run to tie the game at 51 with 5 minutes, 48 seconds remaining.

At this crucial point in the game, the Big Green answered with eight straight points of their own, ending Princeton's own 8-0 streak and the Tigers' hopes of garnering a win that night, leaving Dartmouth still undefeated in the Ivy League.

The game was not without its highlights, however. The beginning of the game saw even playing from both teams, neither side allowing the other to get too much momentum before answering back. In the first half, there were six lead changes and three ties. Twelve players, six from each side, scored in the first 10 minutes.

The Tigers kept the Big Green's lead scorer, freshman center Elise Morrison (18 ppg.) to just two points in the first half, mainly due to the efforts of Brown, although, at times Morrison was double and triple-teamed.

Princeton's own Katy O'Brien, who scored a game-high of 21 points including four threes against Brown the previous weekend, was held to just two points for the game.

But if this game saw many players held to below their normal abilities, it also allowed other players to step up.

Dartmouth had eight players score during the course of the game. The Tigers had seven players putting points up on the board.

For Princeton, freshman post guard Katy Digovich earned her first double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Brown also contributed 15 points for the game.

This game marked the seventh consecutive time Dartmouth has beaten Princeton.

Saturday night, the Tigers found themselves pitted against two-time defending league champion Harvard (9-9, 2-3).

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The Crimson return all five starters from last year, including Player of the Year Hana Peljto, yet the team has already lost three league games and was in sixth place.

The Crimson were led by Peljto with 18 points, the second leading scorer in the nation, and junior center Reka Cserny who scored a game-high 23 points.

Princeton's first and only lead of the game came in the first half, in the first few minutes of the game, 6-5 after O'Brien drained a three from long-range, the Tigers' only three of the game.

Harvard's Reka Cserny hit the team's next nine points to start a Crimson-dominated rest of the half. Harvard, with 14 minutes remaining, went on a run and when they stopped, the score stood at 48-29.

Lockwood and Brown led the Tigers with 14 and 13 points, respectively, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit.

With these losses, the Tigers are now tied with Harvard for No. 6 in the Ivy League. Next weekend Princeton will return to Jadwin Gymnasium to face up Cornell and Columbia.

The Tigers have one thing going for them. All three of their conference losses have been while they have been away, and, by the same token, all of their wins have been while they have been at home. With the return to its home courts, Princeton may see the return of its luck.