Dartmouth Wins Defensive Struggle Over Delaware State, 49-38

Sunday, December 20

Los Angeles, Calif.

3/5:30PM PST

Dartmouth College

Delaware State

Sasha Dosenko Named Ivy Player of the Week

Dartmouth Wins Defensive Struggle Over Delaware State, 49-38

12/20/2009 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

LOS ANGELES - The Dartmouth women's basketball team rode a first-half lead to a 49-38 victory over Delaware State at the 2009 Women of Troy Classic at USC this afternoon.

Brittney Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) posted a double-double on 10 points and 15 rebounds along with six blocked shots. She was joined in double figures by Sasha Dosenko (Kiev, Ukraine) with 13 points and eight boards and rookie Faziah Steen (Kalamazoo, Mich.) who had 12 points. Smith was named to the all-tournament team.

The Big Green (3-6) had a promising first half offensively, taking a 27-14 halftime lead, but struggled to pull away in the second, shooting just 31.8 percent while the Hornets (1-9) actually held a 24-22 scoring advantage in the period. Overall, Dartmouth did hold Delaware State to just 26.7 pecent shooting for the game while converting 36.2 percent itself.

The Big Green narrowly controlled the boards, 41-39 while forcing 14 turnovers to its own 18. Delaware State did not have any players in double figures, but Sade Bowen had eight points and six rebounds to lead her squad.

Dartmouth's offense was much improved from its previous outing in the first half, shooting 40 percent from the field, though it was defense that made the difference overall. The Big Green stifled the Hornets, pressuring each time a DSU player caught the ball.

The Big Green opened the game on an 8-0 run with four points each from Dosenko and Brittney Smith. Delaware State did not get on the board until Jamarra Robinson made one of two free throws to make it 8-1 at 12:34. Dartmouth responded with four more points before the Hornets got their first field goal of the game at 10:34, a Kianna D'Olivera layup for the 13-3 score.

Delaware State scored four unanswered points to cut the lead to 13-7 at 8:32 and the Big Green's offense struggled for a five-minute span before Louise Vanden Bosch (Kettering, Ohio) drove the lane for two at 6:23. Stephanie Brush pulled DSU within six points, 16-10, with a three at 4:13.

The Big Green responded strong in the final four minutes, outscoring DSU 11-4 including five points from Steen. Dosenko capped the half with a nice hook shot off a great feed from rookie Kelsey Byrd (Saratoga, Calif.). In the first half alone, Dartmouth had 10 of its 11 dressed players get into the game.

Delaware State scored the first points of the second off a Sade Bowen layup at 19:24 but Dartmouth responded with a 10-0 run including three unanswered treys from Steen, Margaret Smith and Betsy Williams (Norwich, Vt.) to go up 37-16 at 16:11. The Hornets gave the Big Green a taste of their own medicine, however, using a trapping defense to force tough shots and turnovers. The result was a 6-0 DSU run to pull the score to 37-22 after a Crockett jumper at 13:19.

The Hornets traded a three and layup for two Dartmouth jumpers to take the score to 41-27 at 8:15. Delaware State went on a quick 4-0 run to slow the Big Green offense, which was ultimately held to only eight points in the final eight minutes. Dosenko scored four of the Big Green's late points while the defense gave up some miscues but held on for the win.

Dartmouth has a nine day layoff before its next game, returning home to host its own Blue Sky Classic on Dec. 29-30. The Big Green welcomes a strong field including nationally ranked Dayton, Rhode Island and Vermont.