Dartmouth Hangs on for, 53-49, Win Over Holy Cross

Wednesday, November 23

Hanover, N.H.

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Holy Cross

Dartmouth

Dartmouth Hangs on for, 53-49, Win Over Holy Cross

11/23/2016 1:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Highlights: Dartmouth women's basketball vs. Holy Cross, Nov. 23, 2016 Box score: Dartmouth 53, Holy Cross 49 PDF Box score

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. – From the opening tip, to the final horn, the Dartmouth women's basketball team and Holy Cross played a tight game, where the Big Green prevailed, 53-49, in Leede Arena on Wednesday afternoon.

With the victory, Dartmouth improves to 2-1 on the young season, while the Crusaders drop to 1-4.

Junior Kate Letkewicz led the Big Green with 15 points and 10 rebounds in her first double-double of the season, as two of her teammates also finished the day in double-digits in scoring. Isalys “Ice” Quinones continued her consistent play with 10 points and six boards, while freshman Annie McKenna had a decent afternoon with her 11 points.

“We talked about being more aggressive out of the gates,” said Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and Family Head Coach, Belle Koclanes. “Holy Cross, they throw the kitchen sink at you. It's a really fun game to coach. You're going to see lots of different defenses and all sorts of offensive sets. Bill has been coaching a long time, so we navigated through it all and came out with the victory.”

In a contest that saw the score tied eight times, Dartmouth relied on solid defense down the stretch to earn the victory and remain undefeated at home in its first two games in Hanover. After a back and forth first half, the Big Green went into the locker room with a 27-25 lead. Dartmouth came out strong for the third quarter when Fanni Szabo and Amber Mixon both hit a pair of shots from beyond the arc, giving the Big Green their largest lead of the contest.

With about three minutes to play in the fourth, McKenna hit a jumper to give the Big Green a 48-44 lead. A minute later, Quinones came through with a huge block when the Crusaders attempted to make it a one-possession game.

After a few good free throws by Quinones, Dartmouth took a 51-47 advantage in the contest's final minute, but a late three by Holy Cross' Infiniti Thomas-Weed gave the Crusaders a chance to tie it. As the second ticked down, Letkewicz jumped on a loose ball for the rebound and was fouled, thwarting the Holy Cross comeback.

“We need to score and that's an emphasis,” Koclanes said. “We spend a lot of time on our offensive skills, but there's a lot to the game. Defense always has to be a constant for us and there has to be a lot of energy. We have confidence in making the adjustments we need to make, but defense and rebounding has to be constant. You put the ball in the basket with your offense, but its your defensive effort that maintains those leads.”

The Big Green return to action this Saturday with another matchup with a Patriot League foe when Army visits Leede Arena at Noon.