Anybody want to play a game of 21?

The premise of the game is simple--making foul shots. It's the most fundamental part of basketball.

Every basketball player has played hundreds of such games once she gets to college.

But the Harvard women's basketball team lost a big game of 21 last night, missing half of its 32 free throws in a 72-65 loss to Dartmouth, which left the Crimson as Ivy League co-champions with the Big Green.

"We were getting fouled all night," Tri-Captain Barb Keffer said, "but we just didn't make the free throws."

The Crimson hit seven of its first eight foul shots in the process of building a 27-16 lead in the first 12 minutes of the game. But the team could only hit an incredibly pathetic 38 percent of its final 24 free throws, allowing Dartmouth to gradually pull ahead.

The Big Green, on the other hand, nailed 13 of its 17 free throws, including five in the last minute to clinch the big win.

The Crimson players were befuddled about their poor shooting from the charity stripe.

"I can't explain it," junior Sarah Duncan said. "They just didn't fall."

The Crimson was in the bonus early in both halves, but just couldn't convert the big advantage into points.

The list of missed opportunities at the charity stripe hurts:

.Leading 27-21, Keffer missed both foul shots.

.Still Leading 29-24, senior Mary Baldauf also missed a pair of free throws.

.Up 30-28, Baldauf missed the front end of a one-and-one.

.At the end of the first half, Tri-Captain Sharon Hayes, the Crimson's leading foul-shooter this year (81 percent), missed the front end of another one-and-one.

.Trailing 50-49 with seven minutes remaining, Duncan blew yet another one-and-one opportunity and Keffer and Hayes hit only three of six foul shots over the next couple minutes.

.With a chance to cut the margin to six with only a minute remaining Duncan missed the first shot of yet another one-and-one situation.

Final Tally--a staggeringly low three of a possible 18 points from the charity stripe.

"You just can't explain why a team that has shot free throws so well all season suddenly goes cold," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith added.

Harvard finished the 1988 season as Ivy League co-champions, but, under pressure, it failed where even last-place teams can succeed--at the game of 21.

The easy shots are over, and the Crimson must now count on a long shot, a tournament bid, to have an opportunity to play the game of 21 again this season.

Dartmouth, 72-65 at Briggs Cage Dartmouth  36-36--72 Harvard  32-33--65

DARTMOUTH [72]: Allison Greene 4-2--10; Liz Walter 6-3--15; Patty Webb 2-0--4; Ute Bowman 3-0--6; Sophia Neely 1-0--3; Bev Haverdon 0-2--2; Lee Hart 3-2--8; Nancy Fitz 3-0--6; Nicole Hager 7-3--17; Margo Peterson 0-1--1; Marie Polakowski 0-0--0.

Totals: 26-56 13-17 72.

HARVARD [65]: Sharon Hayes 2-1--5; Sarah Duncan 6-1--14; Beth Chandler 5-6--16; Barb Keffer 7-3--21; Heidi Kosh 1-5--7; Nancy Cibotti 1-0--2; Mary Baldauf 0-0--0; Beth Wambach 0-0--0 Totals: 22-55 16-32 65.

Three-pointers: Neely; Duncan, Keffer 4. Rebounds: Dartmouth 39 (Walter 13); Harvard 34 (Duncan 10). Assists: Dartmouth 20 (Bowman 6); Harvard 17 (Kosh 6). Fouled out: none Total fouls: Dartmouth 27; Harvard 18. Technical fouls: Duncan. Turnovers: Dartmouth 17; Harvard 17.