Balanced Attack Sends Dartmouth Past New Hampshire

Wednesday, January 9

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Balanced Attack Sends Dartmouth Past New Hampshire

1/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Hanover, N.H.- A balanced attack that included four players scoring in double figures and two double-doubles led the Dartmouth women's basketball team to its third-straight win, a 67-52 victory over New Hampshire tonight.

It was a possession game until the seven minute mark when the Big Green rattled off a 17-5 run to close the game, including holding the Wildcats scoreless for a four-minute stretch. Dartmouth's inside rebounding wore down New Hampshire, as a 46-31 rebounding advantage and 29 Big Green second chance points proved the difference.

Dartmouth (4-9) had incredible balance offensively with four players in double figures led by Betsy Williams' (Norwich, Vt.) career-high 17 points. Koren Schram (Batesville, Ark.) added 16 points including four triples while Sydney Scott (Houston, Texas) and Brittney Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) cleaned up inside with double-doubles, marking the first time since Feb. 26, 2005 that two Big Green players did so on the same night. Scott matched her career-high with 17 rebounds and 12 points while Smith had 13 points, 11 boards.

New Hampshire (3-10) also had three players in double-figures, led by Amy SImpson's 16 points and Candace Williams' 14 point, 14 rebound double-double.

It was a tight game from the very start, with the teams trading buckets to knot it at 7-7 at 16:06. Neither team would score for nearly three-minutes until a Simpson triple started a 10-1 run that gave UNH a 17-8 lead, its largest of the game, at 12:06.

Dartmouth answered with a 9-0 run to tie it at 17-17 off a Schram jumper at 8:10. New Hampshire would not back down, increasing its lead back to five points before a 10-4 Dartmouth run to close the half gave the Big Green a 27-26 lead at the break.

The squads picked up right where they left off in the second half, with the game tied at 37-37 at the 12:39 mark. Dartmouth edged out to a six-point lead, up 45-39 after a pair of free-throws by Smith, but New Hampshire's Ashley Cerniglia kept her team in it, with eight points in a two minute span to make it 50-47 at 7:07.

That's when the Big Green buckled down, starting a 12-0 run with a Schram three at 6:44, capped by a jumper by Smith to make it 62-47, Dartmouth. Candace Williams hit a pair of free-throws at 2:09 to stop the bleeding for New Hampshire, but her team would never make it close again, ultimately falling 67-52.

The Big Green outscored the Wildcats 40-26 in the second half and outrebounded them, 27-17 in the half.

Dartmouth's defense continued to be its calling card, holding New Hampshire to just 52 points, eight below its season average. All 13 players on Dartmouth's roster saw action in the win, with seven scoring and nine pulling down a rebound.

The Big Green is back in action on Monday night when it heads to Holy Cross at 7:00 p.m.