Big Green Wins Tough Battle Over Yale, 67-59

Friday, February 16

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

Yale

2/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Hanover, N.H. - The Dartmouth women's basketball team went 14-of-14 from the free-throw line in the last 1:41 of the contest to ice a 67-59 win over Yale this evening. With its fifth-consecutive victory, the Big Green moves to 12-10, 6-2 Ivy while the Bulldogs fall to 11-12, 4-5 Ivy.

Senior guard Ashley Taylor (Cookeville, Tenn.) made 12 consecutive free-throws during that stretch of play and tied the school record for free throws made and attempted at 16-of-18 for the night.

The teams battled early in the first half, with Yale up 11-8 at the 14:06 mark after a pair of free-throws by Melissa Colborne. Sophomore Darcy Rose (Fort Collins, Colo.) answered with a pair of her own makes from the line to start a 9-2 Dartmouth run to go up 17-13 at 11:06.

Dartmouth held that lead for the balance of the half and closed on a 6-3 mini-run to take a 27-23 advantage into the locker room.

The second half was more of the same as both teams fought for a critical Ivy win. Each time Yale crept close, the Big Green managed to keep it at least a possession away until a 4-0 run capped by a Colborne layup gave Yale its first lead since early in the contest, up 41-40 at 7:30. The squads traded buckets and leads in an action-packed stretch and Yale took a 50-49 advantage at 3:32 after Colborne hit one of two from the line.

The Big Green hung tough, however, and Koren Schram (Batesville, Ark) made a beautiful baseline move at 3:12 to put the her team back on top, 51-50. Following a free-throw by Yale's Chinenye Okafor, Dartmouth junior Sydney Scott (Houston, Texas) hit the eventual game-winning layup at 2:18 to put the home team up for good, 53-51.

Yale hit some big shots down the stretch, including a pair of triples by Stephanie Marciano, but the Big Green's sterling free-throw shooting would prove the difference maker in the 67-59 win.

Taylor finished with 24 points, six assists and two steals while Scott had her second-consecutive double-double on 10 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Fatima Kamara (Carrollton, Texas) did a great job off the bench with nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Colborne led Yale with 17 points while Erika Davis added 16 and Marciano had 10.

The Big Green remains in second place in the Ivy race and will take on Brown at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow.