In a bid to defend its 7s title from last spring, the women’s rugby team squared off against the top-seeded Dartmouth Big Green in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association semifinals this Saturday. Despite playing a great game in Hanover, the Bears were unable to punch their tickets to the upcoming national championship.
Two weeks before the semifinal matchup, the Bears faced a crushing 60-19 loss against the undefeated Dartmouth team. Still, Bruno remained a fierce opponent and stuck to their guns in Saturday’s game.
“We didn't make any changes to the game plan, with the exception of having our strike moves off of Akilah Cathey ’25, who was injured when we played Dartmouth two weeks prior,” Head Coach Rosalind Chou wrote in an email to The Herald. “Everything else was identical, but our execution was not up to par in the regular season game.”
“We stayed true to our game plan and continued working together, just as we’ve done all season,” Olivia Baptiste ’26 wrote in an email to The Herald. “This wasn’t the time to change who we are as a team.”
Cathey did not disappoint in her return from injury. Notching a try and breaking the well-disciplined Dartmouth lines with intelligent, powerful runs, Cathey was instrumental to keeping Bruno in the match.
“Having Akilah Cathey back makes a big difference when we're attacking off of a scrum and close to the try line,” Chou wrote. “She’s one of the best rugby players in the country, so we were glad to add her back to the roster.”
Though Cathey’s return put the team back at full strength, the game got off to a rocky start. Bruno failed to get their feet on the ground, losing the ball to the Big Green after just 11 minutes of play. Finding space on the left flank, Dartmouth powered their way to a 5-0 lead. A quick kick conversion put Brown down 7-0.
Six minutes later, the Bears found themselves defending another scrum close to their tryline. Once again, the ball found its way to the left flank of Brown’s defense and in for a second Dartmouth try. So far, the Big Green had Bruno on the back foot.
“What really hurt us in those situations is that we got penalties to give Dartmouth those opportunities to choose a scrum just 5-10 meters out of the try zone,” Chou wrote. “It was just good tactical math, and being that close to the try line is almost impossible to defend off the scrum if you don't get your defense perfectly right.”
In the 21st minute, Cathey received the ball off of a lineout and led an offensive push which effectively disoriented the Dartmouth defense. Brown seized the opportunity to finally break the Dartmouth lines, rushing the ball all the way to the tryline.
Finding space on the left, Bruno switched the play out wide and allowed Lily Nowak ’27 to score the Bears’ first try of the game. A quick conversion of the kick left Bruno down by just one try.
But after another foul not far from their tryline, Bruno went to sleep on defense. The Big Green took advantage and broke the Brown lines with ease, restoring their 14-point lead.
“It was the lack of discipline of our squad, who had 10 penalties just in the first half, that got us into that hole,” Chou wrote.
As the game continued, the hole would only get deeper. The Big Green earned a lineout near the Bruno tryline and earned their fourth try of the half after a string of offloads. A missed kicking conversion put Bruno down 26-7.
After being thrashed by the Big Green’s relentless attack, Bruno needed to get back in the game before halftime.
It was Cathey that did the job. Receiving the ball off a scrum, she charged through three Dartmouth defenders, leaving them in her wake. A fourth brought her down, but she picked the ball back up and kept charging, persisting through another takedown and two more defenders for a second Brown try.
In the second half, Dartmouth came out strong once again, scoring in the first five minutes and throwing a Bruno victory into doubt.
But the Bears never lost their spirit. Cathey broke the lines again, offloading the ball to Nikki Lynch ’25, who carried it to the edge of the tryline. Elizabeth Mahoney ’25 finished off the play with a final push past for the score.
“My mentality going into the match was to give everything I had for my teammates,” Baptiste wrote. “We all wanted to win and were determined to fight until the very end, so I knew I had to bring intensity and confidence to every opportunity that came my way.”
Brown ultimately went back and forth with the Big Green, but was unable to chip at their lead.
“I've seen some incredible growth in (the team’s) mental fortitude,” Chou wrote. “This team now has experienced many close games in both 7s and 15s in high pressure situations and will always fight to the end.”
Down 47-26, the Bears knew their season was ending. Nevertheless, Mahoney powered over the tryline to make the game 47-31, with a conversion from Murray bringing the score up to 47-33 in the last minute.
“It was an incredible season for the team and 33 points is the most points scored against Dartmouth by anyone this year,” Chou said via Brown Athletics. “It was a huge improvement on performance from two weeks ago and the coaching staff couldn't be more proud of the effort and fight until the very end.”
Dennis Carey is a Sports editor who enjoys playing volleyball, listening to and collecting vinyl records and poorly playing the guitar in his spare time.
