Big Green Drops Second Straight with Loss at Maine

Thursday, November 15

Orono, Maine

7:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Maine

Big Green Drops Second Straight with Loss at Maine

11/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Orono, Maine - The Dartmouth women's basketball team never found its rhythm in a tough loss to Maine in the Black Bears' home opener tonight, 67-53..

Senior guard Kristen Craft (Marshalltown, Iowa) did all she could for Dartmouth with a career-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting but it was not enough to propel the visitors.

Turnovers proved costly in the early going for the Big Green, who trailed by as many as 10 points, down 16-6 after an inside bucket by Brittany Boser. Sydney Scott (Houston, Texas) stopped the bleeding for Dartmouth with a nice inside move at 11:58, but seven straight points by Maine ballooned the lead to 23-8 at 9:02.

The teams traded buckets down the stretch and a Craft three at 2:07 seemed seemed to be a beacon for Dartmouth, pulling her team back into it, down 29-19. However, defensive breakdowns late in the half allowed the Black Bears to close on an 8-0 run and take a 37-19 lead at halftime. Craft had 14 of Dartmouth's 19 points in the first.

The Bears moved the ball exceptionally well in the first, with 13 assists on 16 field goals.

Things did not get much better for Dartmouth in the second half. With a new look lineup, including three freshmen and two sophomores, the Big Green got stops defensively, but struggled to score the basketball. Dartmouth's first six points of the half came from the free-throw line before Betsy Williams (Norwich, Vt.) hit a jumper to take it to 45-27, Maine at 14:35.

Craft gave the Big Green a shot in the arm with five-straight points to take it to 49-34 at 11:15. Each time Dartmouth got its offense going, Maine had an answer - twice, in the form of back-to-back triples by Emily Rosseau, who gave the Black Bears their largest lead, up 57-36 at 7:55.

Dartmouth's defense kicked it up a notch to hold Maine scoreless for four minutes but the Big Green's own offense was stymied as well, managing just a 6-0 run and trailing 60-42 at 3:58.

Head Coach Chris Wielgus went deep into her bench, with three players, Cassie Cooper (Chelsea, Maine), Jacky Nikic (Longwood, Fla.) and Louise Vanden Bosch (Kettering, Ohio), making their collegiate debuts. Cooper and Vanden Bosch each scored their first collegiate points. Dartmouth mixed up its lineup late in the game and drew fouls but was ultimately unable to make up the deficit.

Williams and Brittney Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) each had seven points.

Dartmouth falls to 0-2 while Maine is 1-1.

The Big Green hosts Marist on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in its home opener at Leede Arena.