Marquette Tops Dartmouth on Ellis' Buzzer-Beating Heave

Saturday, December 29

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

MARQUETTE

Dartmouth Heads North to Vermont for TD Banknorth Classic

Marquette Tops Dartmouth on Ellis' Buzzer-Beating Heave

12/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Hanover, N.H. - Marquette's Krystal Ellis threw up a desperation shot from just past half court at the buzzer to give her team a 64-61 victory over the Dartmouth women's basketball team tonight in the Blue Sky Classic.

The Big Green (1-9) had tied the game at 61-61 with just three seconds left after a made free-throw by senior Kristen Craft (Marshalltown, Iowa). Dartmouth tried to deny the Marquette (7-4) inbound pass but Ellis, a 2007 All-American, got her hands on the ball and managed to throw up a shot over Craft that banked in at the buzzer.

Craft led the Big Green with 14 points including three triples. She was joined in double figures by Koren Schram (Batesville, Ark.) with 12 points and six rebounds and Brittney Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) who had 11 points and five boards. Senior Sydney Scott (Houston, Texas) was Dartmouth's top rebounder with seven. Ellis led Marquette with 23 points while Angel Robinson added 12.

"It was very disappointing to lose that way but you can't stop a shot like that," said Craft, a senior point guard. "We definitely played well and we are still confident going into tomorrow's game. I am excited to turn around a play again."

The teams traded buckets in the early goings and Marquette took its largest lead of the half, 14-10, at 13:50 after a steal and a breakaway layup by Erin Monfre. Dartmouth answered with a triple from freshman Jacky Nikic (Longwood, Fla.) to start a 10-2 run, capped by a Michelle Meyer (Covington, Ohio) to take a 20-16 lead at 9:03.

The Big Green would not trail again for the rest of the half, leading by as many as three points at 2:13, up 29-26 after a pair of free-throws by Nikic. Ellis scored the last points of the half with a Golden Eagles' layup at 1:39 and Dartmouth took a 29-28 lead into the locker room.

Marquette came out strong in the opening minutes of the second half, going up 36-32 at 16:58 after a Janele Harris layup. Craft answered with a three for Dartmouth to cut the lead to one, but Marquette matched the Big Green's buckets to take a 41-37 lead at 14:37 after a triple by Ellis.

The Big Green would not back down and Brittney Smith went on a 6-1 run on her own to put her team up 43-42 at 11:10. Her teammates got in on the action, ultimately giving Dartmouth a 14-4 run to go up 51-45 at 7:10.

Marquette crept back in it, pulling within two at 6:16, down 51-49 after free-throws by Angel Robinson, but Schram answered with a triple to make it 54-49 Dartmouth at 5:23.

The 5-foot-7 Schram came up big late in the game for the Big Green, twice hauling in a defensive rebound and getting fouled in the last three minutes. She hit 4-of-4 free-throws in the final 2:30, putting her team up 60-59 at 1:05. Ellis answered with two made free-throws of her own to give Marquette a 61-60 lead with 31 seconds remaining.

Dartmouth opted to hold for the last shot and struggled to get a good look at the basket. Craft finally pulled up for a jumper with three seconds left and was fouled hard, sending her to the line where she hit one of two freebies to tie it at 61-61 with three seconds left, setting up Marquette's dramatic final possession.

Both teams shot the ball well but Dartmouth had a slight advantage, hiutting 46.5 percent of its shots in its first game at Leede Arena since Nov. 29. Marquette connected on 43.9 percent of its attempts and shot just 26.7 percent from three-point range while Dartmouth was a sizzling 58.3 percent from behind the arc.

The Big Green also held a substantial rebounding advantage against their Big East foe, pulling down 33 rebounds to the Golden Eagles' 24.

Dartmouth is back in action tomorrow night at 5:00 p.m. when it faces Delaware in the consolation game of the Blue Sky Classic. Marquette will take on Arkansas in the final at 7:00 p.m.