Dartmouth Escapes Fairfield, 52-51, Improves to 3-0

Sunday, November 17

Fairfield, Conn.

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

3-0,0-0Ivy Leag

Fairfield

1-3,0-0MAAC

Dartmouth

Fairfield

Senior Annie McKenna

Photo by: Doug Austin

Dartmouth Escapes Fairfield, 52-51, Improves to 3-0

11/17/2019 4:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Annie McKenna led the game with 14 points

By: Mike Miezejeski

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Dartmouth women's basketball closed the third quarter on a 14-2 run to take the lead into the fourth and escaped Fairfield's last-second shot attempt to steal a 52-51 road win and improve to 3-0 on the season. The Stags fall to 1-3 in the early going.

Annie McKenna led the game with 14 points on 5-9 shooting and dished out six assists. Paula Lenart continued her streak of double-figure scoring with 10 along with eight rebounds and Asha Taylor scored a career-high 10 points with four boards. Anna Luce led all players with 13 rebounds and finished with five points. Katie Armstrong led Stags with 13 points and six rebounds.

The Big Green outrebounded the Stags, 41-31, and won the battle in the paint, 34-28. Dartmouth's bench outscored Fairfield's, 15-9.

"We had a tough time scoring today and that's a testament to Fairfield's defense," said Belle Koclanes, the Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and Family Head Coach of Women's Basketball. "We finally found a combination that worked in the third quarter. That's personnel and lineups and everyone has to be prepared to play on any given night. We have to defend and rebound to win and we will get better as the season goes on."

Fairfield scored the first points of the day on a steal and a fast-break layup which resulted in an and-one. A couple of free throws by Lenart and a layup by Taylor gave the Big Green their first lead. Kealy Brown and McKenna each hit jumpers to keep the Big Green ahead, 8-6, with 4:36 on the clock. Fairfield then closed the first on an 8-0 run to take a 14-8 advantage into the second.

McKenna took off for 10 of Dartmouth's 17 points in the second. The senior started the quarter with the first three points to make it a three-point deficit with 8:13 on the clock. Fairfield went back up by five, but a 3-pointer by Asha Taylor brought the score to 18-16 at the 4:59 mark. It was back-and-forth with the Stags narrowly outscoring the Big Green, 11-9, in the final five minutes of the half. Mckenna had five of those points for Dartmouth, but Fairfield led, 29-25, at the break.

Fairfield opened the half on an 8-3 run to extend its lead to 37-27 at the 5:19 mark. Dartmouth flipped the switch and came alive in the final five minutes of the quarter and erupted for a 14-2 run. Karina Mitchell got it started with her first collegiate points, Taylor had a key 3-point play to cut the deficit to 37-34, and McKenna hit two at the line to give the Big Green their first lead at 2:52. Taylor then brought down an offensive rebound and converted an and-one to make it a 41-37 Big Green lead. The Stags finally scored at the buzzer to make it 41-39 heading to the fourth.

It was a battle in the fourth quarter as neither team gave an inch of space. Each side traded baskets through the first five minutes. Mitchell gave Dartmouth a small amount of breathing room with a 3-pointer to bring the lead to 50-46 with 4:22 left. Fairfield then hit a three and made a layup to close their gap to 52-51 in the final minutes. The last second shot by the Stags came up short, giving the Big Green the win.

Dartmouth is off for the holidays until December 1 when they travel to take on Manhattan at 2 p.m.