Going into Saturday night's Harvard-Dartmouth women's basketball match-up, the Ivy League season was, in effect, over.

The other six Ivy teams already had closed out their league slates, and Dartmouth had clinched the league crown with a sweep of Cornell and Columbia the previous weekend.

Statistically, the game really wouldn't mean much. Despite the outcome, Dartmouth still would have its title and Harvard still would finish somewhere in the middle of the pack.

Nevertheless, Saturday night's season finale with the Big Green--in which Harvard prevailed, 82-69--proved to be the cagers' biggest game of the season.

Dartmouth hit the court like it owned it--but soon found out that Briggs Athletic Center is the property of the Crimson.

With the win, achieved before a crowd of more than 200 fans, Harvard handed Dartmouth only its second league loss of the year.

"We were always the underdog last year," Hanya Bluestone said. "We went into this game as the underdog, and we rose to the occassion."

The Crimson (13-13 overall, 8-6 Ivy League) did more than just beat Dartmouth. It surpassed the Big Green in almost every aspect of play.

Shooting 55 percent from the floor, the women cagers executed their offensive plays with a smoothness and consistency they had been lacking all season.

"The ball movement to create the open shots was unbelievable," Harvard Assistant Coach Dale Snyder said. "They had touch passes where they just knew they were going to be there."

Back and Forth They Go

Harvard traded baskets with Dartmouth until seven minutes into the game, when Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith inserted junior Mary Baldauf and freshman point guard Heidi Kosh into the line-up.

Kosh, Baldauf and junior Co-Captain Sharon Hayes played better together than they had all season, dishing off three assists apiece and throwing up unexpected shots from outside that were consistently on target.

A few minutes later Harvard snared the lead for good, and by halftime the Crimson had extended its advantage to seven points.

The women cagers didn't even bother to hit the locker room for coaching during the half. They remained on the court to watch a skit staged by Co-Captain Trisha Brown's family and friends in honor of the senior's last game.

But the lack of mid-game advice certainly didn't hurt the Crimson.

Harvard controlled the remainder of the contest, building up leads of 13 and 15 points throughout the second stanza.

"We knew what to concentrate on. They're really big inside, and boxing out was definitely a key," Brown said.

Big D

Sophomore center Sarah Duncan played excellent defense on Dartmouth's leading scorer and rebounder, Liz Walters. But Walters, last year's Ivy Rookie of the Year, responded in kind, holding Duncan to two points and no rebounds in the first half.

"Dartmouth paid a lot of attention to Sarah," Delaney Smith said. "They were giving her a really quick double-team, but she handled it beautifully."

On the Rebound

Duncan rallied in the second half, netting 15 points and grabbing 12 boards. She was also credited with four blocked shots.

"We played great help defense, especially on Liz Walters," Brown said. "We just didn't let their pressure get to us."

THE NOTEBOOK:Brown's final Harvard contest put her in a tie for the all-time career record of most games played...With the 10 points scored Saturday night, Brown finished with 676 career points, which is ninth on the all-time scoring list...Hayes led the team in scoring with 18 points, while Baldauf chipped in 12...Dartmouth finished the season with an Ivy record of 12-2 and a 16-9 overall mark...Harvard's final record of 13-13 marks the first time the Crimson has reached .500 since the beginning of the Ivy season.