Cagers Repaint Dartmouth Crimson

Barb Keffer had only one thing on her mind.

Not that there wasn't a lot to think about. Nine seconds remained in the Harvard women's basketball game and visiting Dartmouth clung precariously to a 50-49 lead.

On top of all that, Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith was frantically calling for a time-out on the sideline.

But Keffer ignored all distractions and concentrated on only one thing: the hoop.

The freshmen point guard drove to the top right corner of the foul lane and put up a jump shot. With just six seconds remaining in the contest, the ball settled softly into the net.

Game, set, and match Harvard (now 5-3 overall, 1-0 in Ivy play), in one of the team's most important victories in the past four years.

"I wanted to get a good shot," said Keffer, who had hit on only one of her previous seven attempts before The Shot "I like pressure situations."

The win will be long remembered not only for Keffer's last minute heroics, but also because it signalled the return of the Crimson to serious contention in the Ivy League after a five-year hiatus. The Big Green has won the Ivy title four of the past five years and is led by superstar 6 ft., 2-in, center Jane Daigle.

This game, more than any other in this comeback season, illustrates how far the unit has progressed this year.

But this key victory wasn't a simple one.

Although Keffer's shot dropped through with only six seconds to play, the game was not decided until ten minutes after the heart-stopping toss.

Dartmouth called time-out with two seconds left and set up a play from half court. The visitors inbounded the ball to Laurie Lopes who turned and passed to Diagle. The buzzer sounded, Harvard rejoiced, and the officials ran off the court.

They soon returned, Dartmouth Coach Jaqueline Hullah protested that the clock had started too soon and that the buzzer had sounded too early.

Amid shouts of "Let's have a vote," from the stands. "We can beat them again," from the Harvard bench, and "That was an awfully quick two seconds," from Hullah, the two referees and the coaches huddled for ten minutes.

Finally the circle broke up, and the public address announcer told the crowd. "We have a winner. It's Harvard, 51-50."

"It's not a really nice way for the ballgame to end," said Delaney Smith. "In the waning minutes, we were very lucky to come out with the win."

The victory, the Crimson's fifth in six home games, places Harvard in sole, if brief, possession of first place in the Ivy League.

The game was neck and neck from the start. Both teams opened stone-cold and limped to a 21-20 halftime score, with the Cantabs on top.

A brief Harvard spurt, led by Anna Collins (who had 13 of her 14 points in the second-half), gave the hosts a 43-34 lead with about 10 minutes remaining in the game.

The Crimson then turned tentative and let Dartmouth run off 10 points in a row. With 32 seconds left, the Big Green's Sue Stoddard missed the front end of a one-and-one with her team leading 50-49.

Harvard freshman Beth Chandler grabbed the ball in the ensuing scramble for the ball, and passed it to Keffer, who dribbled the ball upcourt to her meeting with destiny.

The Cantabs did a great job of stopping Diagle, holding her to nine points and eight rebounds. Forward Mary Jane Whitten picked up the slack with 13 points, but her nine for 17 free-throw performance hurt her squad.

at Briggs Athlatic Center

DARTMOUTH (50)--Whitten 2-9-13; Murray 4-1-9; Daigle 3-3-9; Stoddard 0-0-0; Lopes 4-1-9; Fortin 3-0-6; Taylor 0-0-0; Hagerdon 2-0-4; Lawrence 0-0-0; Totals 18-14-50.

HARVARD (51)--Keffer 2-0-4; Sugrue 0-0-0; Hayes 5-0-10; Brown 2-3-7; Collins 6-2-14; Joseph 1-1-3; Baldauf 1-1-3; Kelly 0-0-0; Cibotti 0-0-0; Chandler 4-0-8; Smith 1-0-2; Bluestone 0-0-0; Totals 22-7-51.

Halftime: Harvard, 21-20.

Fouled Out-- Collins. Total fouls--Harvard 23, Hartford 16. Rebounds--Harvard 45 (Collins, Joseph, 8), Hartford 47 (Whitten, 15). Assists--Harvard 15 (Keffer 7), Hartford 8 (Whitten, Daigle, Stoddard, 2).

Att: 100.