Nearly 850 fans poured into Leede Arena on Friday night to watch the women’s basketball team face Cornell University.
It was alumni weekend, and dozens of former Big Green ballers rallied in the stands. For forward Clare Meyer ’26, the alumni presence added an element of excitement to the game.
“It was really great to play in front of that crowd because you see the support of the program,” she said.
Despite the energy in the arena, the Big Green ultimately fell 60-48 to the Big Red. The match-up put Dartmouth 2-4 in conference play, giving Cornell its first in-conference win of the season and putting the team 1-5 in Ivy League play.
Over the last 10 match-ups against Cornell, Dartmouth has now gone down 4-6.
Guard Victoria Page ’25 — who is sitting fifth in the Ivy League for overall scoring, totaling 318 FG’s during the 2024-25 season thus far — opened the scoring with back-to-back three-pointers. With 4:04 left on the clock in the first quarter, Page’s second shot pushed the Big Green into the lead, 11-6. Cornell then stole the lead, bringing the game 13-11. Dartmouth guard Alexandra Eldredge ’27 then sank a jump-shot with 41 seconds remaining, to round off the first quarter, tied 13-13.
Coming into the second quarter, the Big Red went on an 8-0 unanswered run, putting Dartmouth down 21-13. With 7:10 left on the clock, Meyer threw up a layup and got the Big Green on the board for the first time in the second quarter. Another layup from Meyer drew the Big Green within four, but a 6-0 run from Cornell put the Big Red 28-19 at the half.
The third quarter was a turning point for the Big Green. Just 11 seconds into the quarter, Page dropped another three-pointer. Another four points with 7:50 left in the quarter brought the game within two.
The momentum collapsed when a Dartmouth offensive rebound followed by a kick-out beyond the three-point arc — combined with a missed shot opportunity — led to a fast break for Cornell. The Big Red subsequently scored and continued that hot streak for the next three possessions.
Guard Zeynep Ozel ’28 brought the ball all the way down the court and weaved her way under the basket with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter. There, she put up an and-one layup, again putting the game within two, 38-36.
The Big Red came into the fourth quarter firing on all cylinders. The team opened the quarter with an 11-2 run, putting Cornell 13 points ahead, 52-39. The Big Green was unable to break any closer than a 10-point margin for the remainder of the game.
According to head coach Linda Cimino, the loss largely owed to the team’s turnovers — Cornell scored 14 points off the Big Green’s 16 turnovers. Turnovers make “the difference in the game,” she added.
Meyer said the team also needs to work on cohesive play, especially when the game is tight.
“We were defeated but we know what we need to do,” Meyer said. “You can see the momentum shift when we’re playing well together.”
The next day, the Big Green hosted the Columbia Lions at Leede Arena for Alumnae day.
“We hosted about 80 alumni, it was such an awesome feeling and environment in the gym today,” Cimino said. “We’re just so blessed that we have these women that come back and support us.”
The Big Green came out strong, finishing the first quarter with a 17-10 lead. Forward Olivia Austin ’28 dominated the tip-off and sent the ball right to Ozel, who opened the game with a layup just five seconds in.
Columbia proceeded to even up the score, 2-2 at the 7:84 mark. In response, Eldredge put up a jumper with 6:44 on the clock. Meyer then proceeded to throw down four points, pushing The Big Green through an 8-0 run. Once the ball found Page in the paint at the 3:22 mark, she threw down a layup solidifying the Dartmouth upperhand, making the score 10-2. The Lions then shrunk the margin down to four points at the 1:42 mark, landing at 12-8. Page then proceeded to throw down another three-pointer which bolstered Dartmouth up 15-8. With three seconds remaining in the quarter, Austin was in the paint, where she threw down a layup resulting in the 17-10 lead.
“I think it was good to have Clare start early from the jump in her energy,” Page said. “Even just with the tip, to get that to Z [Zeynep Ozel] on that first play. I think that's a little bit of the spark that we needed, especially offensively.”
Dartmouth entered the second quarter in the lead by seven points, 19-12. Aiming to close the gap, Columbia set out on an 11-0 unanswered run, the Lions took the lead 23-19 with 4:42 left in the quarter. The Lions, with 2:46 remaining in the half put up an in the paint layup now extending their lead 25-23, proceeded to score seven of the eight final points of the half, giving Columbia the eight point lead, 32-24, before halftime.
With the advantage at the half, the Lions maintained their momentum and outscored the Big Green 18-7. With 2:43 left on the clock, the margin was up to 19 points, with the Lions leading 48-29. Both the Lions and the Big Green only scored two points before the quarter ended, making the score 50-31 going into the final quarter.
Coming into the fourth quarter, the Big Green had some impactful moments, including a 5-point run, created by a layup from Page at the 5:45 mark. Followed by a 3-pointer from forward Cate MacDonald ’27 at the 4:15 mark.
The back-to-back points brought the score to 63-41 with 4:15 remaining in the game. Page proceeded to drain another 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining to bring the game to 67-46. Soon after, Columbia sank a layup with just nine seconds remaining, and sent the Lions to a 71-48 victory.
“The game was a disappointing loss, we played a really good Colombia team,” Cimino said. “I was really proud of the way our team started coming out of the gate, and winning that first quarter, I thought our players were locked in and focused. But at the end of the day, they were just deeper and they wore us out.”
After five straight losses, the Big Green are currently sixth in the Ivy League. That said, they remain determined to turn things around.
We’re not giving up,” Cimino said. “We’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to keep working.”
The team is looking to strengthen all aspects of play going forward, Cimino added. The Big Green is currently sitting third in the league in defense, which has historically been a strong suit for the team. Last year, Dartmouth finished second in the league in defense.
The Big Green has seven more games lined up this season — four away before returning home for the final three. Dartmouth will be traveling to the Lavietes Pavilion to play Harvard University on Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. Cimino said she hopes her players will find the “competitive edge in them and finish this season strong.”
