In sports, deception lurks in the strangest places. Scores, for example, can exaggeragte a team's domination, or they can mask a team's flaws.

But sometimes, a score can tell everything.

The Harvard women's basketball team (15-11 overall, 9-5 Ivy) fell to Ivy champion Dartmouth, 65-62, last night at Leede Arena in Hanover, New Hampshire.

It was the Crimson's final game, and it told the story of the team and its season.

Last night, the Crimson jumped out to an early lead, but the Big Green (12-2 Ivy) battled back, taking the lead at halftime, 30-28.

In the Ivy race, the Crimson cruised to a 6-0 Ivy record. The Big Green was the first and most fearsome victim, but Dartmouth regrouped and put together it own winning streak.

After Harvard's loss to Brown in Providence February 11, the Crimson and the Big Green were tied for first.

Last night, Harvard suffered through a six-minute stretch where it could not score.

In the Ivy race, Harvard succumbed to Brown and Yale in the second-to-last weekend.

The streaks of ineffective play caused last night's game to slip away and caused the season to collapse as well.

Last night, with the final seconds running out, the Crimson fired up a three-pointer but missed.

In the Ivy race, the Crimson dominated Penn but stumbled to Princeton last weekend.

Last night's game was lost. The race for first place was finished last Saturday against Princeton.

If the ball would have gone in, if one defeat could have gone the other way...

"It didn't work and we lost," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said.