Second Half Surge Powers Bearcats Over Big Green

Sunday, November 29

Cincinnati, Ohio

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Cincinnati

Second Half Surge Powers Bearcats Over Big Green

11/29/2009 4:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Cincinnati, Ohio - Big East foe Cincinnati pulled away in the second half to win a defensive struggle over the Dartmouth women's basketball team, 55-35.

Dartmouth (1-4) put forth a great effort in the first half to come back from 10 points down, but a big second half showing by Cincinnati (4-2) proved the difference maker. The Bearcats outscored the Big Green by a staggering 30-13 margin in the period for the win.

Brittney Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) and Sasha Dosenko (Kiev, Ukraine) scored 11 points each in the losing effort. Margaret Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) added six points and six boards.

Cincinnati opened with the game's first three points before Brittney Smith answered back with three of her own to knot it up at 17:24. The Bearcats capitalized on a host of Big Green turnovers during the next four minutes to build a 13-3 lead at 13:35.

Dartmouth came storming back during the next four minute stretch to go on 9-0 run, pulling within one, down 13-12 at 10:02. Steen dished out to assists to Dosenko for four points and capped the run with a big three. Cincinnati was forced to burn a timeout to slow the tide. Neither team could get anything going, as the Big Green got some big stops but could not take the lead. Cincinnati came back with five quick points by Shareese Ulis to build the lead back to 18-12 at 6:45.

Brittney Smith finally broke that seal with a nice move inside off a feed from McFee with the shot clock winding down at 6:06. The Bearcats kept pace and picked up the lead to go ahead 22-17 off a Michelle Jones jumper at 3:55. Dartmouth responded with a 5-0 run, started by a dramatic play in which Brittney Smith knocked down her first career three on just her second attempt with one second on the shot clock. Betsy Williams hit two at the line to knot the score at 22-22 with 2:12 to play. The final minutes of the half looked a lot like the first, with the teams trading offensive miscues before Cincinnati's Carla Jacobs hit a three to take the halftime score to 25-22.

The Big Green controlled the boards, 14-12 in the first half and shot 47.1 percent from the floor but coughed up 15 costly turnovers, preventing the team from gaining a lead.

The second half had a promising start for the Big Green when Margaret Smith knocked down a big three to tie the game at 25-25 on her team's second possession. The Bearcats muscled inside and capitalized on Dartmouth fouls to go on 9-0 run, inflating their lead to 34-25 at 16:31 before Smith hit a free throw to stop the bleeding.

The Big Green's defense buckled down during the next four minutes, keeping the Bearcats off the board but mustering only three points on 3-of-6 shooting from the free throw line to make it a 34-28 game at 12:20. Dartmouth's offensive troubles continued and the Bearcats used their muscle inside to run off 12 unanswered points before a Dosenko three made it 46-28 at 7:21, ending a nearly six minute scoring drought.

The Bearcats used rebounding to their advantage in the second half, ultimately holding a 21-10 edge that would prove pivotal during the last seven minutes. Cinci outscored Dartmouth 13-4 in that stretch to seal the win. The Big Green put the Bearcats on the line down the stretch, allowing the Bearcats to extend their lead to the final, 55-35.

Dartmouth shot a woeful 12.5 percent in the second half, after a hot shooting first, dropping the game's percentage to just 30.3 percent. Cincinnati improved on its first half and shot 43.8 percent for the game. The Bearcats controlled the boards, 33-24.

The Big Green now has an 11 day exam break before heading to Stony Brook on Friday, Dec. 11 for a 7 p.m. start.