Big Green Drops Road Contest to Long Beach State

Friday, December 16

Long Beach, Calif.

10:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Long Beach State

Big Green Drops Road Contest to Long Beach State

12/17/2011 12:29:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Dartmouth women's basketball team cut the lead to 10 points with 3:46 remaining in the game but couldn't overcome 22 turnovers in a, 66-52, loss to Long Beach State at Walter Pyramid on Friday (Dec. 16).

Junior guard Faziah Steen (Detroit, Mich.) led the Big Green with 15 points - all from long range - while freshman center Tia Dawson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Dartmouth on the glass with seven rebounds. Dartmouth's balance was also on display as eight of Dartmouth's 10 players that saw action scored at least two points and grabbed two rebounds.

Dartmouth, which trailed by as much as 19 points in the game, turned it up a notch in the final five minutes. With Long Beach ahead, 60-42, Dartmouth used an 8-0 run sparked by a three-point play from Dawson to cut the lead to 60-50 with 3:42 led in the game but Long Beach utilized its foul shots late for the win.

The Big Green, who trailed 38-23 at halftime, got some help off the bench from sophomore forward Arianne Hunter (Oklahoma City, Okla.) in the second half. Hunter had a career-high seven points, six coming in the second half. Dartmouth did showcase its defensive skills pulling down 35 rebounds and posting a game-high eight blocked shots, the most blocks in a game this season.

Dartmouth jumped out to a quick 12-5 lead behind the play of Steen who had two triples in the first four minutes of action. Long Beach was able to take the lead at 13-12 behind the play of Lauren Spargo who had eight unanswered points off the bench and had a game-high 14 points in the first half.

Long Beach State extended its lead to 22-13 at the eight-minute media timeout behind a 9-1 run over the span of six minutes midway through the half. The Big Green were hampered by foul trouble for the remainder of the half as Steen sat the final 6:24 of the half after picking up her third foul. Long Beach State was able to capitalize taking a 38-23 lead into the break.

Dartmouth concludes its two-game road swing in California against California on Tuesday (Dec. 20). Tipoff between the Big Green and Bears is at 10 p.m. (ET). The Big Green return to Leede Arena on Dec. 29 for the annual Blue Sky Classic when they host LaSalle at 7 p.m.

Big Green Sidelines
-Tonight's game is the second-ever meeting between Dartmouth and Long Beach State. The last time the two teams met was during the 1985-86 season, when Dartmouth traveled to Long Beach.

-Dartmouth had lots of fans in the stands in tonight's contest. The Big Green have three players that call California home in Janelle Ross (Inglewood), Milica Toskovic (Santa Monica) and Eve Zelinger (Palo Alto). Former Dartmouth player Angie Soriaga was also in the stands.

-Ross made her second consecutive start in tonight's contest, after coming off the bench in each of Dartmouth's first seven contests.