HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth women's basketball returned to action for the first time since March of last year, opening the 2021-22 season with an 83-37 loss to Rhode Island at Leede Arena Tuesday.
Rosie Jennings and
Mia Curtis both ended their first collegiate games with 11 points. Jennings went 1-1 in free throws and 5-for-10 in field goals, while Curtis went 1-2 from the line and 5-14 from the field.
"It was great to be back on the court,"
Adrienne Shibles, the Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and Family Head Coach of Women's Basketball said after the game. "Rhode Island is a great team and our young, inexperienced squad showed moments of brilliance against them. I'm looking forward to getting back to practice to get ready for UNH."
Strong defense on both sides kept the game scoreless for the first two minutes, but what started as a one-point lead for the Rams turned into a 16-5 advantage at the 4:16 mark.
Isabella DiGiovanni's first collegiate field goal got Dartmouth closer to double digits, while URI added six more points before the end of the quarter (22-7).
A jumper and a good free throw by Jennings at 8:54 of the second ended a Rhody run (27-10). Curtis had back-to-back up layups, but URI saw its lead increase, reaching 40 at 4:02. The Big Green kept the Rams chances low for a few minutes while adding four consecutive points from Jennings and
Victoria Page following a great steal from
Karina Mitchell. The half ended with a 46-20 Rhode Island advantage.
Play to start the third was even, as both teams scored six points in the first 3:45 of play, with four of the Green's points coming from Curtis (52-26). Dartmouth got one point from a free throw by
Mekkena Boyd while URI added five with 5:18 to go. The score remained 57-27 for almost three minutes before the Rams broke through with a layup. Boyd hit the team's first three of the night with 1:37 to go, and Rhode Island had one good free throw before the quarter ended (62-30).
A 5-0 Rams run started the fourth quarter, but it was another two minutes before the score changed again thanks to a URI free throw and layup.
Doreen Ariik had the first layup of her career at 4:47 to open scoring for Dartmouth before Rhode Island added eight more points in a minute (78-32). Boyd had her second three of the night before time ran out (83-37).
The Big Green will be on the road for the remainder of November, starting with New Hampshire on Saturday.