Women's Hoops Drops Last Second Heartbreaker at Southern Methodist, 65-63

Tuesday, December 16

Dallas, Texas

8:00 PM

Dartmouth College

SMU

Dartmouth Heads North to Vermont for TD Banknorth Classic

Women's Hoops Drops Last Second Heartbreaker at Southern Methodist, 65-63

12/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

DALLAS ? Dartmouth battled from 11 points down and Darcy Rose (Fort Collins, Colo.) tied the game with eight seconds left but defending Conference-USA champ SMU hit a late shot to take a 65-63 victory over the Big Green tonight.

After getting a huge block on the defensive end, Rose made a big play on the Big Green's final possession. With 10 seconds on the clock, Rose corralled an offensive rebound and went up strong, tying the game at 63-63 with eight seconds left. SMU (4-5) called timeout and regrouped for the final possession. After a defensive miscue for the Big Green (2-6), Christine Elliott found herself open under the basket and put the Mustangs up 65-63 with three seconds on the clock. Senior guard Koren Schram (Batesville, Ark.) pushed the ball up the floor and got off a dead-on midcourt shot that banked off the glass and just missed.

It was a wire-to-wire battle with eight lead changes and three ties. The Big Green shot 50 percent from the floor and hit a season-high eight threes, but turnovers were the downfall again, with 24, despite recording 15 assists on 25 field goals. Dartmouth benefitted from balance, with Schram leading all scorers with 18 points along with eight rebounds and six assists. In front of her hometown crowd, junior Margaret Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) had a breakout night with a career-high 14 points. Her sister, Brittney Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) posted 12 points while Betsy Williams (Norwich, Vt.) added 10.

The Mustangs opened the game on a 10-2 run, scoring with easy jumpshots before the Dartmouth defense settled down to score eight unanswered. The Big Green capped its 8-0 run with a Schram triple to tie the game at 10-10 at 14:25. The teams traded buckets until Schram gave Dartmouth its first lead with another triple to go up 15-13 at 11:41.

Dartmouth rattled off a 13-2 run late in the half to build a solid 28-21 lead including a pinpoint accurate pass from Meghan McFee (Manchester, Conn.) to a wide-open Margaret Smith under the basket. Elliott eventually snapped a four-minute SMU drought at 3:58, starting a 10-2 run for the Mustangs to close the half and gain the narrow, 31-30 advantage. Despite the late drought and 15 first-half turnovers, Dartmouth shot a sizzling 50 percent from the floor to make for an exciting opening 20.

The second half was more of the same, as Dartmouth opened with a triple by Williams to take back the early lead. Schram had assists on Dartmouth's first three buckets and the Big Green led 37-36 at 17:57. After SMU scored four unanswered, Rose tied the game with a free-throw at 15:20, 40-40.

Then the Mustangs rattled off a stifling 10-0 run to build a 50-40 run capped by an Elbie Gates jumper. The Big Green slowly chipped away with a 5-0 run of its own to cut the lead but Haley Day answered a Schram three with one of her own to put SMU back up 53-45 at 9:10. Jillian Samuels hit one of her five threes on the day for the Mustangs' next score, giving her team its largest lead of the game ? 11 points ? up 56-45 at 6:59.

The Big Green would not go quietly and Margaret Smith got things started with her second three of the game at 6:33 to make it 56-48. SMU answered right back with one of its own, but Dartmouth kept its composure and outscored the Mustangs 15-4 during the final 5:35. Brittney Smith started an 11-0 Dartmouth run with a layup at 5:43 and Rose capped it with a jumper to tie the game at 59-59 with 2:55 on the clock.

Elliott hit one of two free-throws before Schram took back the lead with a nice move under the basket off a feed from Williams. LaShandra Hill converted a huge three-point play for SMU to give the Mustangs a 63-61 lead at 2:04, setting up the dramatic finish.

Samuels led SMU with 15 points, all off three pointers while Elliott had a double-double off the bench with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Dartmouth is back in action on Thursday night when it heads to Schram's home state to take on the University of Arkansas. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Central time, 8 p.m. Eastern.