Big Green's Second Half Comeback Falls Short at Maine

Saturday, December 10

Orono, Maine

1:00 PM

Dartmouth College

3-5

Maine

5-5

Dartmouth

Maine

Big Green's Second Half Comeback Falls Short at Maine

12/10/2016 2:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Belle Koclanes Kate Letkewicz Olivia Smith Andi Norman Box score: Maine 60, Dartmouth 55 PDF Box score

By: Dartmouth

BANGOR, Maine – The Dartmouth women's basketball team engineered a resilient second half comeback that came up just short, as the Big Green fell to Maine, 60-55, at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, Dartmouth drops to 3-5, while the Black Bears improve to 5-5.

Big Green junior Andi Norman had a career day for the Green with an impressive 26 points, shattering the career-high nine points she set last season. The Upper Arlington, Ohio native went 7-for-13 from three, contributing to the team's 42 percent mark from beyond the arc. Fellow junior, Kate Letkewicz also turned in a solid performance with 11 points and eight rebounds, seven of which came on the defensive side of the floor.

“From the moment we met Andi in high school, we knew she had this potential in her,” Belle Koclanes, Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and Family Head Coach said. “She has had so much more to give and she's been wanting to give it, it has just taken her a moment. She's finally had that ah-ha moment and is playing with so much more confidence. She's also grown up a lot in two years.”

Trailing by 11 points at the half, the Big Green exploded for an 11-3 run sparked by three consecutive three-pointers form Norman, Letkewicz and Annie McKenna. By the end of the third, Dartmouth had closed the gap to just five points, which set up the exciting final stanza.

After a slight lull, both teams found their stride in the fourth, trading baskets on five consecutive possessions. With 3:36 to play in the contest, Norman's three brought the Big Green within four points of Maine's advantage.

A jumper by Yarmouth, Maine native Olivia Smith brought Dartmouth within a field goal with 1:22 left in the game. After struggling from the free throw line for most of the afternoon, the Black Bears hit a pair of free throws, taking a 58-52 lead.

As the clock ticked down to 22 seconds, Norman hit her seventh three of the game, brining the Big Green within three points of the lead. It would be as close as Dartmouth would get after Sigi Koizar hit two more free throws down the stretch to seal with victory for Maine after the Big Green's late surge.

“Credit to Maine for an excellent competitive game today,” Koclanes said. “All week in preparation for today we talked about the best way to earn a victory against Maine is to out work them. They make it very hard to do that. Our focus was on executing against their two-three matchup and we pulled them out of it in the second half and forced them to play some man defense against us. For our young team and direction our team is heading, this is part of the process. We're not satisfied, but very pleased with the effort.”

Dartmouth will return home after playing four consecutive games on the road next Saturday when the Big Green host Marist at 2 p.m. The game will be steamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network and can be heard on KOOL 93.9 FM.