Cold Shooting Dooms Dartmouth in Loss to Princeton

Saturday, February 5

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

PRINCETON

Cold Shooting Dooms Dartmouth in Loss to Princeton

2/5/2011 8:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

BOXSCORE

HANOVER, N.H. - The Dartmouth women's basketball team showed plenty of hustle against the defending Ivy Champs Princeton, but got no luck shooting the ball in a 75-50 loss.

Dartmouth (5-14, 1-4 Ivy) again dressed only nine players for the game against Princeton (15-4, 4-1 Ivy). The Tigers lost to Harvard on Friday night in the battle for first place. Princeton was eager to prove itself against the shorthanded Big Green after seeing its 22-game Ivy winning-streak snapped last night and did so with hot shooting from top to bottom.

Sasha Dosenko (Kiev, Ukraine) was powerful on the boards, with a career-high 19 rebounds and 13 points along with three blocks, helping Dartmouth match Princeton, 43-43 rebounding.

After she turned in back-to-back 28-point performances, it was no surprise that Princeton face-guarded sophomore Faziah Steen (Kalamazoo, Mich.), but the Ivy's leading scorer still managed 13 points and three steals.

Princeton had three players reach double-figures and while Dartmouth held Addie Micir to just eight points, Megan Bowen scored 14 and Krystal Hill added 12, both off the bench. Devona Allgood was the only Princeton starter in double-figures with 12 points.

It was a dogged defensive battle in the early goings, with Dartmouth keeping Princeton off the scoreboard until an Allgood jumper at 16:38 made it a 2-1 Tiger lead. The teams traded buckets including a three from Steen and it was an 8-6 Princeton lead at 12:30 after a long two from Dosenko.

Princeton rattled off a quick 5-0 run to go up 13-6 after a Kate Miller breakaway layup at 11:44, but Steen hit her second triple of the night to answer back on the next possession to make it, 13-9. The teams traded three point buckets to make it a 16-12 Tiger lead at 10:40, before Princeton went on a 10-0 run to lead 26-12 after a Krystal Hill jumper at 5:50.

Dartmouth got good looks inside during the Princeton run but could not get any help from the officials despite extremely physical play from the Tigers. Senior Cassie Cooper (Chelsea, Maine) stopped the bleeding with a long jumper at 5:35 and Steen scored on the next trip down the court to cut it to 26-16 at 4:40.

The teams traded buckets, but Dartmouth got a shot in the arm with a 5-0 run courtesy of Dosenko and Louise Vanden Bosch (Kettering, Ohio) who hit a big three to make it 30-23 at 2:40.

Princeton would not let that momentum last long, using its depth, however, to wear down the Big Green late. The Tigers went on an 8-2 run to close the half with a 38-25 lead, with Dartmouth's last bucket coming off a Dosenko jumper at 1:30.

Princeton opened the second with a three from Addie Micir, just the sixth attempt for the normally long-range happy Tigers, to go up 41-25 on their first offensive possession. Dartmouth responded with a 6-0 run thanks to steals on three straight possessions by Steen, making it a 41-31 game at 16:45.

Once again the Tigers would not let Dartmouth get any closer, going on a 7-0 run including a big three from Micir to make it a 48-31 game with 14:51 on the clock. The teams traded a host of missed shots, though Dartmouth was outhustling the Tigers, getting offensive rebounds and grabbing loose balls. The Big Green stopped the run with a Vanden Bosch putback, down 48-33 at 13:59, but went stone cold for the next five minutes, allowing a 6-0 Princeton run that resulted in a 54-33 lead at 9:44.

The Big Green finally got back on the scoreboard when Cooper hit a jumper at 8:45, making it a 54-35 game. The squads continued to trade buckets and Allgood took advantage inside for Princeton with four points in a row for the Tigers, giving her team a 60-39 lead before Cooper stepped out and hit a long three, cutting the lead to 60-42 with 4:46 on the clock.

The squads traded buckets and Princeton, which used a full-court press until the final possession, scored four unanswered for a 69-45 lead that ended any Dartmouth chance at a comeback. It was more of the same in the final minutes, with Princeton taking the final, 75-50. Rookie Eve Zelinger (Palo Alto, Calif.) did score her first collegiate points late in the contest.

Dartmouth shot just 29 percent from the floor compared to Princeton's 48 percent. The teams were equal on the boards with 43 rebounds apiece.

The Big Green hits the road next weekend to Ivy foes Brown and Yale.