Szabo, Roland Lead the Women to 16-Point Win Over Holy Cross

Thursday, November 20

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

2-0

HOLY CROSS

0-3

Holy Cross

Dartmouth

Szabo, Roland Lead the Women to 16-Point Win Over Holy Cross

11/20/2014 9:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — Sophomore Fanni Szabo poured in 31 points and junior Lakin Roland recorded a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead Dartmouth (2-0) to a 69-53 victory over visiting Holy Cross (0-3) at Leede Arena on Thursday night. This is the first 2-0 start to a season for the Big Green since 2005-06.

Szabo shot a sizzling 11-of-17 (.647) with a trio of three-pointers while converting 6-of-8 at the foul line to account for her 31 points. The Big Green overpowered Holy Cross on the boards, 47-36, with Roland leading the way and junior Daisy Jordan chipping in nine caroms to go with eight points as well.

The Dartmouth defense kept the Crusaders in check all night, forcing 23 turnovers on the strength of 11 steals while holding Holy Cross to 31.6 percent (18-of-57) from the floor.

Lisa Misfud was one of three Crusaders to score in double figures with a team-high 15 points.

The game was a defensive struggle in the first half with the Big Green taking a slim 22-21 lead into the locker room. In the second half, the Dartmouth offense kicked in as the Green rattled off a 17-6 run as Szabo found her stroke. She began the stanza with a layup, and after Holy Cross dropped a jumper through the hoop, Szabo drained a three-pointer for a four-point lead.

Szabo wasn't done as she connected on a jumper and another three-pointer to account for the first 10 Dartmouth points of the half barely two minutes in. After a Roland free throw and two more by freshman Emily Slagle, the Big Green had their first double-digit lead of the night at 35-25.

The lead hovered between eight and 12 points for the next four minutes until freshman Olivia Smith sank two foul shots for a 45-32 lead. Roland answered a Crusader layup with two more free throws, and after one more freebie by Smith, Szabo drove for a scintillating layup and a 16-point advantage at 50-34 with 10:27 to play.

Holy Cross tried a full-court press to try and rally from the deficit with minimal success. A Mifsud layup with 5:18 to go brought the Crusaders within 10 at 54-44. The two sides traded free throws to keep the difference at 10, but Roland started a 7-0 spurt with a three-point play, extending the lead to 17 at 63-46 with three minutes remaining. Szabo dropped her final points in the final seconds of the contest with the shot clock winding down to top 30 points for the fourth time in her young career.

At the outset of the game, neither team could grab a foothold as they went back and forth on the scoreboard with five lead changes and a pair of ties. Jordan provided four points and six rebounds in the early going as the Big Green battled to a 9-9 tie after seven and a half minutes.

Szabo provided a glimpse of what was to come in the second half, scoring eight straight points in a three-minute span on a mix of short jumpers, layups and free throws for a 17-9 lead at the 10-minute mark.

Holy Cross dug in, however, and gradually chipped away at that lead, scoring 12 straight points while holding the Big Green scoreless for more than eight minutes. But it wasn't until 3:24 showed on the clock that the Crusaders took the lead on a Katie Doherty three-pointer. When Molly Hourigan capped the run the way it started with a layup, Dartmouth found itself trailing by four, 21-17.

The tide turned when Hourigan could not complete the three-point play and Smith ended the scoring drought with a pair of free throws with 1:33 left in the half. Then with 22 seconds to go, Roland launched a three-pointer that found the bottom of the net. Holy Cross was off the mark on its final shot and Jordan was there to grab the rebound to allow the Big Green to take their 22-21 lead into the locker room.

Dartmouth will take off a week for final exams before flying to California to play in the Cal Poly/ShareSLO Holiday Tournament. The Big Green are slated to square off against host Cal Poly on Friday, Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. (EST).