Harvard Denies Dartmouth's Comeback Bid, 64-49

Saturday, January 25

Cambridge, Mass.

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

7-8, 1-1Ivy

Harvard

10-5, 1-1Ivy

Dartmouth

Harvard

Senior Paula Lenart

Photo by: Doug Austin

Harvard Denies Dartmouth's Comeback Bid, 64-49

1/25/2020 4:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Paula Lenart led the Big Green with 16 points and 11 rebounds

By: Mike Miezejeski

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Dartmouth women's basketball played tough Saturday afternoon at Harvard but came up short, 64-49. The Big Green fall to 7-8 (1-1 Ivy League), while the Crimson improve to 10-5 (1-1 Ivy).

Harvard turned the tables and consistently knocked down 3-pointers to halt the numerous Big Green runs, going 11-of-24 from deep (45.8 %). Dartmouth shot well from downtown hitting 7-of-21 (33.3 %) but could not keep up the same pace as last time out.

Paula Lenart was the Big Green's leader with a career-high 16 points with 11 rebounds. Annie McKenna finished with eight points and six assists, while Asha Taylor tallied eight as well.

"Harvard responded today," said Belle Koclanes, the Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and Family Head Coach of Women's Basketball. "We're all fighting hard to earn victories and it's so important that we split this series. It was a great environment and we battled in the third and fourth quarters. The final score doesn't always show the way the game went. Shout out to Paula Lenart for leading us today, she had a great game."

Neither team had any room to breathe in the first as baskets were traded. Lenart scored underneath and Katie Douglas hit a three to give the Big Green a 5-3 lead in the opening minutes. Harvard used its size to quickly retake the lead, scoring the next seven of nine points to go up 10-7. Taylor then evened the score at 12 with a triple and Veronica Kelly hit a pair of jumpers in the final minutes to give Dartmouth a 16-14 lead after the first 10 minutes.

McKenna scored in the paint to put the Big Green up 18-17 in the first minute of the second. Harvard then went on a 4-0 spurt to take a three-point advantage with 8:16 on the clock. Dartmouth's defense held the Crimson off the board for next few minutes and Anna Luce nailed a triple to tie the game at 21 with 5:44 to go. Harvard closed the half on a 9-0 run with three free throws and a couple of long balls to go up 30-21 at the break.

Harvard extended its run to 18-3 to go ahead 36-24 with 6:16 remaining in the third. The surge was halted when Taylor and Douglas connected on back-to-back 3-pointers and Lenart scored in the paint to make it just a seven-point deficit with 1:43 left in the quarter. But the Crimson heated up again and nailed consecutive triples to go up 45-34 heading into the fourth.

Dartmouth did all it could to claw back as McKenna and Lenart combined for a five-point surge to cut the gap to six to start the fourth. The Big Green hung around, but Harvard's hot-shooting kept the Big Green at bay. The Crimson iced the game with a triple with 44 seconds to go.

Dartmouth is back at home for a meeting with Princeton Friday night at 7 p.m.