Dartmouth Outlasted by Bryant in Season Opener

Monday, November 6

Smithfield, R.I. / Chace Athletic Center

5:00 PM

Dartmouth College

0-1,0-0Ivy League

Bryant

1-0,0-0America East

Dartmouth

Bryant

First-year Nina Minicozzi scored seven points and grabbed seven boards in her debut.

Photo by: Kyle Relf

Dartmouth Outlasted by Bryant in Season Opener

11/6/2023 8:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Victoria Page led the Big Green with 11 points in the 70-52 road loss

By: Kyle Relf

SMITHFIELD, R.I. —Opening the 2023-24 season and playing its first game under first-year Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and Family Head Coach Linda Cimino, the Dartmouth women's basketball team was on the wrong end of a 70-52 final on Monday evening at Bryant.

Despite outrebounding the Bulldogs, the Big Green are off to an 0-1 start while Bryant stands at 1-0 following the opening night of hoops around the nation.

"I'm proud of our effort," said Cimino. "I thought we competed and played hard, but we ran out of gas in the end and credit to Bryant - they played a strong second half. Going into Sunday's home opener, I'm looking forward to our players being able to rebound from this game. We need to tweak a few things on the defensive end and put it all together to get ready for Siena."

Victoria Page led the Big Green with 11 points, but was outdone by Bryant's Mia Mancini and Mariona Planes Fortuny, who both went for 20. Martina Boba added 15 points for the Bulldogs and Nia Scott recorded 10 rebounds. Doreen Ariik, along with first-year guard Nina Minicozzi, grabbed seven boards apiece to lead Dartmouth. Bryant, which led the America East in rebounds per game a season ago, was outperformed by Dartmouth on the glass, 34-31.

Dartmouth looked to have the lead at the end of the first quarter until a last-second foul sent the Bulldogs to the line to shoot three, and Mancini knocked down each to give the hosts a 20-18 advantage. The 18-17 edge the Big Green held following Cate MacDonald's layup in the last minute of the first would be their final lead of the game. Page scored six of her 11 points in the opening quarter.

.@victoriaapage for 3⃣!https://t.co/HeN1D1arQe | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/oMeuTZpImK
— Dartmouth Women's Basketball (@DartmouthWBB) November 6, 2023

The Big Green trailed by nine with less than three minutes remaining in the second quarter, but would cut the lead to four, thanks in part to a successful and-one from Leiya Stuart. Clare Meyer's layup with 38 seconds remaining in the half further swung momentum in Dartmouth's favor, bringing the score to 36-32 in favor of Bryant, but the Bulldogs had the answer on the other end to secure a six-point halftime advantage.

Bryant had its first double-digit lead at the 7:59 mark of the third quarter with Scott's bucket. Dartmouth's deficit grew to 16 after Silvia Gonzalez's triple. Bryant kept its foot on the gas in the fourth, shooting 50 percent from the field to eventually extend its lead to 20.

Following the season-opening loss, Dartmouth is set to square off with Siena in the home opener on Sunday, Nov. 12. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Season and single-game tickets are available for purchase through the Dartmouth Athletics ticket office.

Hear from Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and Family Head Coach Linda Cimino after tonight's season opener at Bryant. #TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/Q0vwcOZI3e
— Dartmouth Women's Basketball (@DartmouthWBB) November 7, 2023