A phenomenal 24-point shooting exhibition by Princeton's Sue Zack proved more than the Harvard women's basketball team could handle last night as the Crimson fell to the Tigers, 57-54 in opening round competition of the Ivy League tournament at Dartmouth.

The loss squelches any hopes Harvard might have entertained about winning the three-day round robin tourney--they must win both of their remaining matches just to finish fifth overall.

Consolation

Today the hoopsters take on Cornell, in the first round of consolation play. The Big Red last night crumbled at the hands of Yale, 71-38.

The Harvard-Princeton contest was by far the most evenly matched game played last night--UPenn downed Brown 75-58 and host Dartmouth plastered Barnard 99-27--and it looked like a close one from the start.

The Crimson came out strong in the opening half, keeping Zack and the Tigers in check and working well on offense. They took a two-point, 28-26 lead into the locker room at the halftime.

Dismal

But the second half proved a different story. Despite some strong performances by Pat Horne--14 points on the game--and Elaine Holpuch--12 points, 12 rebounds--the Crimson managed to hit only a dismal 30 per cent from the floor during the second half.

At the same time, the Tigers started to warm up, hitting 48 per cent during that period.

Unlike the men's contest at the IAB last night, the closing minutes in this one were not as close as the score would indicate. The lackluster Harvard offense could never gear up to make a serious bid for the victory.

If the hoopsters manage to beat Cornell today, they will take on the winner in today's Brown-Barnard match up. If they fall today, they will take on the loser of that contest.