Big Second Half Sends Dartmouth Past Princeton, 68-55

Friday, February 1

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

PRINCETON

Smith Named Ivy Rookie of the Year, Schram Tabbed to First Team

Big Second Half Sends Dartmouth Past Princeton, 68-55

2/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Hanover, N.H.- The Dartmouth women's basketball team used a 20-9 run in the final five minutes to secure a 68-55 victory over Ivy foe Princeton tonight at Leede Arena.

Dartmouth's senior co-captains Sydney Scott (Houston, Texas) and Kristen Craft (Marshalltown, Iowa) engineered a 10-0 run with five points each in just over a minute to give the Green a 58-46 lead with 3:50 remaining in the game.

Princeton (4-14, 1-1 Ivy) pushed back and cut the lead to nine, down 60-51 at 2:15, but Dartmouth (5-12, 2-1 Ivy) hit its free-throws late to ice the win.

Sophomore guard Betsy Williams (Norwich, Vt.) matched her career-high with 17 points while rookie Brittney Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) had a double-double on 13 points, 12 rebounds. Scott finished with 12 points and Craft with eight. Junior guard Koren Schram (Batesville, Ark.) was just a point shy of her first career double-double, with nine points, 11 rebounds.

Dartmouth shot 48.0 percent from the floor in the win including a scorching 59.1 percent in the second half while Princeton hit just 30.6 percent of its shots.

The Big Green's defense was the star in the early goings, holding Princeton scoreless until 13:01 when Meagan Cowher hit a pair of free-throws to make it 8-2. The Tigers did not hit a field goal until 11:44 off a Jessica Berry triple. Dartmouth's offense stagnated, however, held without a bucket for nearly four minutes before rookie Jacky Nikic (Longwood, Fla.) nailed a three to make it 13-7, Dartmouth at 7:15.

After a series of missed layups and offensive rebounds, Smith hit a jumper at 4:29 to give Dartmouth a comfortable 21-12 lead at 4:29. The Tigers hit their last shot of the half with 2:53 remaining and Dartmouth scored late to take a 25-17 lead into the break. Princeton shot just 16.7 percent from the field in the first half.

The Tigers came out on fire in the second, chipping away at the Big Green's lead with three triples in the first three minutes to take a 30-29 lead at 17:03. The teams traded buckets and leads before the Big Green gained a two-point advantage, up 38-36 at 11:16 after a pair of free-throws by Williams.

Shelbie Pool and Caitlin O'Neill stepped up and hit back-to-back threes to regain the lead for Princeton, up 42-41 at 9:38. However, Williams answered with a triple of her own to pull Dartmouth out front for good, up 44-42 at 9:25.

Scott converted a conventional three-point play and followed that with a jumper to give Dartmouth a 53-46 lead at 4:27. Berry was quickly called for a traveling violation after Princeton inbounded the ball, forcing her coach, Dartmouth grad Courtney Banghart, to call a timeout.

The Big Green didn't miss a beat after the break and Craft hit a huge three on the ensuing possession, ending a four-game long-range slump for the senior. Scott stole the ball on Princeton's next possession and Craft hit a nice jumper to push the Dartmouth lead to 58-46 at 3:50.

The teams played fairly even in the final minutes, with the Big Green closing on a 10-9 run, but its lead was too much for the Tigers to overcome.

Dartmouth was just three points shy of having five players in double-figures for the second time in the last three games. Cowher was Princeton's top scorer with 17 points.

The Big Green is back in action on Saturday when it hosts Penn at 7:00 p.m. The Quakers are fresh off a heartbreaking 63-62 loss to Harvard tonight.