Dartmouth Women Top Yale, 51-42, for Seventh Straight Win

Saturday, February 7

New Haven, Conn.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Yale

Dartmouth Women Top Yale, 51-42, for Seventh Straight Win

2/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

NEW HAVEN, Conn. ? The Dartmouth women's basketball team withstood a late Yale charge to take a 51-42 win, its seventh-straight, remaining undefeated in Ivy play.

The Big Green (10-9, 5-0 Ivy) won its seventh-straight game ? all on the road ? by knocking off the Bulldogs (9-10, 2-4 Ivy). Dartmouth enjoyed offensive balance again led by Brittney Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) with 16 points and seven boards while Margaret Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) and Koren Schram (Batesville, Ark.) added 10 points each. Schram also snagged five steals in an impressive defensive effort.

For the second-straight weekend, Dartmouth held another of the Ivy's top scorers in check, holding Melissa Colborne to just two points, well below her average 16.4. Haywood Wright was the top player for Yale, contributing 10 points and eight rebounds.

After Dartmouth held a nine point lead to start the second half, Yale would not go quietly throughout the second. Though the Big Green kept its lead throughout, the Bulldogs made things interesting late, cutting the lead to just four points, 43-39 Dartmouth at 3:04 off a Mady Gobrecht three-point play.

Brittney Smith got two points right back with a pair of free-throws for the Big Green, starting Dartmouth on its 8-of-9 streak from the line in the final two minutes. Dartmouth gave up another three-point play to Yale's Wright to make it 47-42 at 1:03 but Margaret Smith and Meghan McFee (Manchester, Conn.) iced the win with two free throws each.

For the second-straight game, Dartmouth scored only 25 points in the first half, but again it was the defense that carried the day, building a 25-16 lead at halftime.

The Big Green took a quick 4-0 lead off back-to-back buckets by the Smith sisters, first Brittney, then Margaret at 17:40. Yale sniper Jamie Van Horne answered with a three at 17:12 before Dartmouth rattled off a 10-0 run including six points from Brittney Smith to go up 14-4 at 11:18.

Yale stopped the bleeding with five quick points from Van Horne and Mady Gobrecht to cut the lead to 14-8 at 9:03. Dartmouth went on another big run, this time 11-0, however, to rebuild the lead. Cassie Cooper (Chelsea, Maine) sparked the Big Green, first with an amazing pass out of the post to McFee, who found an open Schram who drained a big three at 7:55. Cooper added the next four points for the Big Green before Schram orchestrated a great play in the paint off a feed from McFee. That bucket, at 6:13, gave the Big Green a staggering 25-8 lead.

After getting into early foul trouble, the Bulldogs composed themselves and closed the half on an 8-0 run, but the Big Green held on for the 25-16 halftime advantage.

Yale came out of the gates hard in the second, opening on a 7-2 run to cut the Dartmouth lead to just 27-23 off a Wright three. Schram and Brittney Smith both scored in the paint to regain the lead before Yale reserve Kaitlyn Lillemoe scored four-straight to make it a four-point game again, 31-27, Dartmouth at 14:40.

The teams continued to trade buckets and Yale eventually pulled within three after a big three from Yoyo Greenfield at 10:36 to make it 35-32. Rose hit one of two free throws on the next trip down the court before Dartmouth forced Gobrecht into a turnover and Schram drove the lane to make it 38-32, Big Green at 9:34.

Both teams stagnated offensively during the next stretch, mustering just nine points combined as Dartmouth held a 43-36 lead at 3:36 off a perfect jumper by Margaret Smith off a feed from Brittney Smith. On the next possession, Gobrecht made her three-point play to cut it to four, setting up the dramatic finish.

McFee's free throws were the final two points of the game with 38 ticks on the clock and the Big Green played keep-away late while Yale chose not to foul and Dartmouth took the 51-42 final.

After 40 days since its last home game, Dartmouth will finally return to Leede Arena to host Columbia on Friday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m and Cornell on Saturday. During Friday night's game, Dartmouth will participate in the WBCA's Pink Zone breast cancer awareness game.