Jordan's Block Saves The Day For Big Green on School Day

Thursday, December 4

Hanover, N.H.

12:00 PM

Dartmouth College

5-1

HARTFORD

3-5

Hartford

Dartmouth

Jordan's Block Saves The Day For Big Green on School Day

12/4/2014 3:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — Junior Daisy Jordan made a game-saving block with 32 seconds remaining as the Dartmouth women's basketball team defeated the Hartford Hawks, 49-43, in front of 1,000 fans on School Day at Leede Arena on Thursday.

“I am proud of our defensive effort today,” head coach Belle Koclanes said following the win. “ As a group we talk about defensive positioning. Daisy was there at the right time and moved her feet over. I really feel that we brought the intensity right off the tip.”

“I would like to send a personal shout out to all the students and schools that attended the game today. We hope everyone learned something in our classroom today.”

The win improved the Big Green to 5-1 on the season. The last time the team started the season four games over .500 was back in 2005-06.

Sophomore Fanni Szabo led the Big Green with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Szabo also collected three steals, three rebounds and dished out two assists. Junior Lakin Roland picked up her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Milica Toskovic continued her defensive presence once again, securing 10 rebounds and two steals while also scoring five points.

The Big Green held the Hawks to just 14 percent shooting in the opening half, which frustrated head coach Jennifer Rizzotti, who was ejected from the game after receiving her second bench technical right before the period ended. Without Rizzotti, Hartford erupted in the second half and outscored the Big Green 24-17 and tied the game for nearly two minutes late in the game.

Dartmouth, on the other hand, led for 38 minutes and looked to coast through the game after holding 14-point cushion with six seconds remaining in the half. Dartmouth finished the game shooting 35 percent from the field, but struggled from the outside, which entailed the team to drive the lane and shoot mid-range jumpers. On the glass, Dartmouth corralled 44 rebounds to Hartford's 35.

“Everyone embraced their roles today. We worked on boxing out in practice and it showed on both ends of the glass,” Koclanes commented.

Cherelle Moore led the Hawks (3-5) with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Hartford, on a five-game losing streak, will host Boston College on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Hartford scored the first five points of the second frame and cut the deficit to eight, 32-24, before Toskovic drilled a triple to move the lead back to double digits with 14:52 left. Midway into the second, Hartford moved to within a single possession before tying the game on an 11-0 run. With 2:48 left, Moore tied the game with a jumper. Two possessions later, after a defensive board by Toskovic, Szabo pushed the ball down the lane to regain the lead for the Big Green, 45-43, with 1:25 remaining.

After Szabo's basket and a timeout by the Hawks, Deanna Mayza missed a three-pointer and then reset her offense, but on her next shot, Jordan rejected Mayza. Hartford then picked up a pair of fouls, as Szabo and Roland sank all four from the charity stripe.

The Big Green led the entire opening half and went into the break up, 32-19. Szabo paced the team with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. The Big Green's shooting guard got the party started with a jumper 32 seconds into play. Hartford's Janelle Harrison made it a one-point game, 3-2 on a layup at 17:10. The Green and White then increased the lead, 14-7, with 10:58 left on a jumper by Norman. The advantage reached double digits with 7:38 left, when Roland connected on the backend of a pair from the line to give the hosts a 19-9 lead. The Big Green kept the lead above six the remainder of the half.

Dartmouth will embark on a four-game road trip over the next two weeks; beginning with a Twin State rivalry match against Vermont on Sunday at 2 p.m. A special road radio broadcast on ESPN Radio WTSL/WTSV 94.5 FM will have the call from Patrick Gym.