Women's Basketball Falls to UNH in Home Opener

Wednesday, November 30

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

UNH

Women's Basketball Falls to UNH in Home Opener

11/30/2011 10:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. - Despite a ferocious second-half comeback, the Dartmouth women's basketball team dropped its home-opener, 58-53, to Granite State rival New Hampshire on Wednesday night at Leede Arena.

Trailing 56-49 with 1:38 remaining in the game, junior guard Faziah Steen (Detroit, Mich.) hit a jumper to make the game two possessions and was able to cut the lead to three points by hitting two late free throws, but a free throw from New Hampshire's Abigail LaRosa sealed the win for the Wildcats; their second consecutive over Dartmouth.

Steen led the Dartmouth offense with 15 points and was Dartmouth's only player in double-figures. Freshmen Tia Dawson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Kamala Thompson (Seldon, N.Y.) led the way on the glass, grabbing seen rebounds each. Thompson also added nine points for the Big Green. Dartmouth shot 40.0 percent from the floor on 22-of-55 shooting and picked up 34 rebounds in the loss.

Down by as many as 15 points, Dartmouth (2-4) staged a second half comeback jumpstarted by Steen. After being held scoreless in the first half, Steen nailed three consecutive triples to cut the UNH halftime lead to four points, 37-33, with just two minutes off the game clock.

Dartmouth's 9-2 run was halted with free throws from UNH's Kelsey Hogan but the Big Green wouldn't go away and utilized a 5-2 run with buckets from sophomore guard Nicola Zimmer (Chevy Chase, Md.) and sophomore guard Eve Zelinger (Palo Alto, Calif.) off the bench to keep the game within reach.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair but New Hampshire (3-2) used some timely defensive stops and clutch free throw shooting to take a 56-49 lead at the 1:38 mark before the Big Green began its rally.

Dartmouth opened the game with a triple from Zimmer on its first possession but the game proved to be a back-and-forth affair from that point on with both teams getting up and down the floor early. Dartmouth took a 13-6 lead early and led by as many as seven points in the first half, but the Wildcats would not go away quietly and with a 14-2 run took a 16-13 lead midway through the first half.

Senior forward Sasha Dosenko (Kiev, Ukraine) ended a nearly six minute Big Green drought with a three-pointer at the 9:06 mark of the first stanza and Thompson followed with a jumper of her own, but UNH closed the half on a 15-6 run, headlined by a 11-0 run, which sent the Wildcats into the halftime break with a 35-24 lead.

Denise Beliveau led New Hampshire with 15 points and 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Sarah Frankenberger and Bridgette McKnight also reached double figures with 14 points and 10 points, respectively.

Dartmouth will take some time off for exams before resuming action on Wednesday Dec. 7 when they welcome the Bryant Bulldogs to Leede Arena. Tipoff between the Big Green and Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m.

Big Green Sidelines

-Today's meeting marks the first time since the 1999-2000 season that Dartmouth has played New Hampshire to open the home slate.

-Freshman Tia Dawson celebrated her birthday on Monday (Nov. 28). Her birthday is the third birthday Dartmouth has celebrated this season. Faziah Steen and Milica Toskovic celebrated their birthdays on Nov. 22 with a win over Vermont.

-Tia Dawson set a new career-high with four blocks, her four blocks is the most for a Dartmouth player this season.