The Crimson's only hope for a salvageable weekend was that surging Dartmouth (14-6, 6-1) would upend Penn the next night while Harvard held off Princeton (4-17, 1-6), whose record belied its talent. Harvard handed Dartmouth its only Ivy loss on Jan. 7, 73-67.
Dartmouth and Harvard wins on Saturday would force a three-way tie atop the Ivy standings between the Crimson, the Big Green and the Quakers, who would all finish the first round of Ivy play at 6-1.
So the Harvard players found themselves in the foreign position of rooting for Dartmouth, of all teams.
"I can't believe I would root for Dartmouth," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. "But you know what? That would be alright with me."
The Dartmouth-Harvard rivalry has gotten stronger and stronger with each year as the two teams, who have traditionally been at the top of the league standings year-in and year-out, have developed an animosity toward one another.
"There is nothing better than beating that team," Sturdy said after the Dartmouth game. "This is what we run for in the summer. This is what we sweat for in the preseason."
And, lo and behold, the Big Green took one from the Quakers, 89-71, the good news coming after the Harvard-Princeton game wrapped up with a 73-67 Crimson win.
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