Scott Powers Dartmouth Past Columbia, 59-40

Friday, March 2

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

Columbia

3/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Hanover, N.H. - Dartmouth junior Sydney Scott (Houston, Texas) celebrated her 21st birthday by posting 20 points and 17 rebounds as the women's basketball team defeated Columbia, 59-40 tonight.

The Big Green improved to 14-12 (8-4 Ivy) while the Lions dropped to 8-19 (4-9 Ivy). Dartmouth's stingy defense allowed just 40 points, the lowest output by any opponent this season. It marked the seventh time this season that a Big Green opponent has failed to crack 50-points.

Senior guard Ashley Taylor (Cookeville, Tenn.) joined Scott in double figures with 13 points while Darcy Rose (Fort Collins, Colo.) hauled in 11 rebounds.

Dartmouth started the game strong, taking a 6-0 lead at the 15:19 mark after Taylor found Scott in the paint. Columbia got rolling as Brittney Carfora scored seven-straight to pull her team ahead 7-6 at 12:42.

The squads traded buckets over the next eight minutes before the Lions took a 19-17 lead off a fast-break layup by Shasta Henderson at 4:35. The Big Green buckled down for the balance of the half to end on a 5-0 run and go up 24-19 at the break.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair to start, and the Big Green held a slim 33-31 lead at 13:05. A pair of made free-throws by Scott kick-started a blazing 13-3 run to give Dartmouth a powerful 46-34 lead at 5:57.

Becky Hogue stopped the bleeding for Columbia with a layup seconds later but Dartmouth got back on its horse and rattled off eight-straight, including four points from junior Kristen Craft (Marshalltown, Iowa) to lead 54-36 at 2:38.

The Lions went 4-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch while the Big Green outscored them 6-4 for the final 59-40 victory.

Scott's double-double was her fifth in the last eight games and her 17 rebounds were a career-high.

Harvard clinched sole possession of the Ivy Title with its 64-48 win over Cornell. The Big Green will be back in action tomorrow night as it continues its battle for second place when it faces the Big Red at 7:00 p.m. Dartmouth will honor its seniors, Taylor and Fatima Kamara, prior to the game.