Dartmouth Falls to Cornell in Ithaca, 72-57

Friday, February 17

Ithaca, N.Y.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

6-15, 1-7

Cornell

13-9, 4-5

Dartmouth

Cornell

2/17/2017 7:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Fanni Szabo Belle Koclanes Kate Letkewicz Olivia Smith Highlights: Dartmouth women's basketball vs. Cornell, Feb. 17, 2017 Box score: Cornell 72, Dartmouth 57 PDF Box score

By: Dartmouth

ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior Fanni Szabo led her team with 22 points and went 10 for 15 from the field, but the Dartmouth women's basketball team fell to Cornell, 72-57 at Newman Arena on Friday evening.

With the loss, the Big Green fall to 6-16 overall, 1-8 in Ivy League play, while the Big Red improve to 13-9 overall, 4-5 in conference play.

In addition to Szabo's solid performance, Olivia Smith and Kate Letkewicz each scored nine points, Smith also led her team with five rebounds. On the other end of the floor, three Cornell players finished the night in double-figures, including Nia Marshall's team-best 25 points.

“I thought we started much better,” said Belle Koclanes, the Gail Boudreaux '82 and Family Head Coach of Dartmouth Women's Basketball. “We were competing in the first quarter and it was back-and-forth, possession to possession. That's a positive to come out of tonight and that's something we've been looking for. The second quarter hurt us. We started making some substitutions and we just couldn't find a rhythm.”

The team's combined for six ties in what became a back-and-forth first quarter, however Cornell held a slight 14-12 lead after scoring on its final two possessions. In the second, the Big Red took control, unleashing an 11-0 run to take a 21-12 advantage. Letkewicz hit a three to keep Dartmouth within 10 points about halfway through the quarter, but Cornell responded with a 14-2 run, taking a 37-21 lead into the locker room at the break.

In the third, the Big Red continued to hit shots, opening up a 44-25 halfway through the quarter. Szabo emerged as the leader for the Big Green when her team needed her the most, keeping Dartmouth in the contest by pouring in 11 points alone in the third.

“We won the second the half,” Koclanes said. “We won the second by one point and we played together. We opened the floor up and had more energy on the boards.”

Letkewicz got the fourth started with a three, bringing Dartmouth within 19 points of Cornell's lead. Towards the game's final minutes, the Big Green kept inching back, closing the gap to 11 points, but there wasn't enough time to complete a late-game comeback.

Dartmouth returns to action tomorrow night when the Big Green travel to Columbia at 6 p.m. The game can be seen live in HD on the Ivy League Digital Network for subscribers.

NOTES: Szabo became the 21^st player in Dartmouth history to record 100 career games. Should she see action in the Big Green's final five games, she will be tied for 13^th on the all-time list with 105 career games.