HANOVER, N.H. — Concluding the back-to-back home weekend, the Dartmouth women's basketball team suffered an 80-37 loss to Columbia, who currently sits in a tie for first atop the Ivy League.
The Lions, winners of the seven of the last eight, improved to 21-4 (10-2), while Dartmouth fell to 2-24 (0-11).
Victoria Page, along with Columbia's Abbey Hsu, led all scorers with 17 points. Page tied a career-high with five 3-pointers on nine attempts, and added a career-best six rebounds. Kaitlyn Davis and Hannah Pratt joined Hsu in scoring double figures for the Lions.
Despite leading 8-2 in the opening three minutes, Dartmouth founded itself trailing 18-10 by the end of the first quarter. Page put the Big Green on the board with a 3-pointer and they soon held a 6-0 edge when
Olivia Lawlor finished through contact and knocked down a free throw. Lawlor, who finished the first quarter with a game-high seven points, scored again off a feed from
Karina Mitchell to give the Big Green the 8-2 advantage. Columbia tied the game at the 5:26 mark
Columbia's offensive momentum continued with a 26-point onslaught in the second quarter, eventually roaring to a 44-21 lead by halftime behind a 5-of-11 performance from the perimeter. Page knocked down her second triple of the quarter at the to snap an 11-0 Columbia run. Dartmouth scored the final points of the half on
Mekkena Boyd's bucket with just over a minute remaining.
The Big Green held the Lions to 28.6 percent shooting, including 0-of-5 from deep, in a much-improved third-quarter defensive effort to outscore the soon-to-be Ivy Madness participant 11-9. Page connected from downtown on back-to-back possessions as part of an 8-0 run. The Lions had scored just five points in the quarter until sinking shots on their last two possessions. Columbia kept its foot on the gas in the fourth, pouring in 27 to Dartmouth's five.
Dartmouth return to Leede Arena on Saturday, Feb. 25 to host Penn at 2 p.m. Along with Saturday's contest serving as Senior Day, Dartmouth will honor the jersey of three-time Ivy League Player of the Year Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 at halftime. It will be the first honored jersey in more than 150 years of Dartmouth varsity athletics. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 with Brett Franklin on the call and an audio broadcast with Justin McIsaac will be available through Dartmouthsports.com.