Strong First Half Not Enough at No. 25 Princeton

Saturday, February 22

Princeton, N.J.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

8-15 (2-8Ivy)

Princeton

21-1 (9-0Ivy)

Dartmouth

Princeton

Senior Paula Lenart

Photo by: Doug Austin

Strong First Half Not Enough at No. 25 Princeton

2/22/2020 8:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Anna Luce and Asha Taylor each finished with 10 points

By: Mike Miezejeski

PRINCETON, N.J. – Dartmouth women's basketball played an inspired first half where they had first-place Princeton in a two-point game after the first 20 minutes. The Tigers (21-1, 9-0 Ivy League) then turned it on and outscored the Big Green (8-15, 2-8 Ivy) 53-23 to come away with an 87-55 win at Jadwin Gymnasium Saturday night.

Anna Luce and Asha Taylor led Dartmouth with 10 points apiece, while Katie Douglas added eight and Annie McKenna, Elle Louie and Veronica Kelly each tallied six points.

Princeton had three players in double figures with Bella Alarie leading the Tigers with 28 points and 12 boards.

"We were really proud of our effort and execution in the first half," said Belle Koclanes, the Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and Family Head Coach of Women's Basketball. "We were able to put the ball in the basket at a high clip and compete, now we need to put an entire game together. We're going to focus on the first half because it shows that we can compete with a top-25 team. Our goal is to get a few more victories to close the season."

Dartmouth started the game on fire as Luce knocked down a 3-ball to start things off and Douglas connected on two early trifectas to give Dartmouth an 11-4 advantage after the first four minutes. Princeton fought back and took its first lead with 1:54 on the clock until Luce answered with another three to finish the quarter tied at 16.

Asha Taylor and Veronica Kelly traded baskets with Alarie and the Tigers in the opening minutes of the second. Luce then hit a jumper to keep the score even at 26 with 4:00 until the half. The Tigers took a four-point lead until Louie made a pair of tough baskets and Douglas drilled another shot with 40 seconds on the clock to make it a 34-32 Princeton lead at the break.

Princeton controlled the third, winning the quarter 31-to-11. The Tigers run was 29-6 through nine minutes. Kealy Brown drilled a triple and Asha Taylor hit a fade-away jumper in the final minute. Alarie scored 14 points in the quarter for Princeton as its lead grew to 65-43.

Lenart Luce and McKenna opened the fourth on a 6-3 spurt. After that, Princeton closed the game on a 17-6 run. Georgia Alexander grabbed an offensive rebound and finished at the basket in the final minute.

The Big Green are back at Leede Arena at 7 p.m. to take on Cornell on Friday.