Curtis’ Clutch Shot Seals Dartmouth’s First Win

Wednesday, November 16

Hanover, N.H.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

1-3,0-0Ivy League

Merrimack

0-3,0-0NEC

Merrimack

Dartmouth

Mia Curtis ’24

Photo by: Doug Austin

Curtis’ Clutch Shot Seals Dartmouth’s First Win

11/16/2022 9:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Late-game heroics by the junior pushed the Big Green past Merrimack, 68-65

By: Kyle Relf

HANOVER, N.H. — Mia Curtis knocked down a clutch 3-pointer with less than five seconds remaining to lift the Dartmouth women's basketball team to a 68-65 victory over Merrimack Wednesday evening at Leede Arena.

The Big Green picked up their first win of the season and improved to 1-3 in their non-conference slate, while the Warriors dropped to 0-3.

Dartmouth led by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter before Merrimack stormed back to tie the game, 65-65, with 17 seconds remaining. On the Big Green's final possession, Victoria Page found Curtis, who spotted up on the right wing and stepped into a jumper, and subsequently sent Leede Arena into a frenzy.

"Victoria set me up for a great look and I was just excited to be there with my teammates in that moment," Curtis said. "We did it together and that's a great feeling to get a team win."

Curtis was two shy of tying a career-high with 18 points, going 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from downtown. Mekkena Boyd followed with 11 points. Emma Koch cleaned up the glass with a career-high 13 rebounds. Merrimack was paced by Marissa Hamilton and Kaylee Thomas, who combined for 39 points.

Dartmouth was a frequent visitor to the free throw line and was 23-of-31, marking the Big Green's most made attempts from the charity stripe since Nov. 20, 2015 (23 against McNeese State).

Dartmouth's strong first half was partially guided by repeated, and successful, trips to the free-throw line. The Big Green were 7-of-9 from the charity stripe in the second quarter after a perfect 4-of-four showing in the first. The Big Green started strong from downtown, going 3-of-6 from three despite Merrimack holding a slight advantage following the opening 10 minutes. Treys from Olivia Lawlor, Anna Nelson and Page helped Dartmouth stay within striking distance while the Warriors shot better than 50 percent in the opening quarter.

Trailing 20-19 entering the second quarter, the Big Green quickly erased that slight deficit with Koch's free throws. Merrimack took advantage of Dartmouth's cold spell and led 26-22 with four minutes remaining in the half. The Big Green bounced back to reclaim the lead after Curtis knocked down a 3-pointer. Seconds before the break, Curtis capped off the first half going coast-to-coast for an uncontested layup that put Dartmouth on top, 33-27.

The third quarter saw Dartmouth extend its lead, eventually claiming a double-digit advantage with Koch's fastbreak bucket. Merrimack hung around and cut the lead to five with less than two minutes remaining, but Curtis' trey along with three free throws from the junior put the Big Green back up by 10, 51-41, by the end of the quarter.

Dartmouth held its largest lead, 58-44, after Allie Harland's 3-pointer with 7:38 remaining. Merrimack responded with a sizeable run and trailed by only one, 64-63 after Jayme DeCesare's three-point play. Boyd knocked down one of two free throws, and Merrimack's Kaylee Thomas scored in the paint to tie the game on the ensuing possession. With seconds remaining, it was Curtis' heroics that sealed Dartmouth's first victory of the 2022-23 season.

Dartmouth is back in action Sunday, Nov. 27 at Leede Arena, hosting Holy Cross for a 2 p.m. tip. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Brett Franklin and Lori McBride on the call, and fans will be able to listen to the game via the Dartmouth Athletics website with Justin McIsaac calling the action.