Defensive-Minded Nailbiter Narrowly Sides With Yale

Saturday, January 20

New Haven, Conn. / Lee Ampitheater

1:00 PM

Dartmouth College

6-10,0-4Ivy League

Yale

4-13,1-3Ivy League

Dartmouth

Yale

Mia Curtis (pictured) and Nina Minicozzi both scored in double figures and made multiple 3-pointers.

Photo by: Kyle Relf

Defensive-Minded Nailbiter Narrowly Sides With Yale

1/20/2024 4:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Saturday’s 48-46 defeat came down to the final possession

By: Kyle Relf

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Saturday's low-scoring Ivy League battle in Yale's John J. Lee Amphitheater came down to the final possession as the Bulldogs escaped with a 48-46 win over the Dartmouth women's basketball team, which looked poised to pick up its first conference win having led by multiple possessions midway through the fourth quarter.

The Big Green moved to 6-10 and 0-4 in the Ivy League, while Yale improved to 4-13 (1-3 Ivy).

Nina Minicozzi knocked down a trio of 3-pointers to lead the Big Green with 11 points and Mia Curtis joined her in double figures with 10. Jenna Clark, Kiley Capstraw and Grace Thybulle combined to score 42 of Yale's 48 points. Clark and Capstraw tied for the game high with 16 apiece. Clare Meyer grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and added nine points to narrowly miss a double-double. The junior also contributed three blocks on the defensive end to help the Big Green hold the Bulldogs more than 10 points below their season average in scoring.

Dartmouth had a 40-36 advantage, matching the largest second-half lead for either team, at the five-minute mark of the fourth when Doreen Ariik connected on a jumper from the elbow. The Bulldogs answered with back-to-back triples — one from Capstraw and another from Clark — as the search for Ivy League win No. 1 intensified.

Meyer's bucket with just under three minutes remaining put the Big Green back on top, 43-42, but Yale once again had the answer in the form of a Clark 3-pointer. With the Bulldogs holding a two-point lead, both sides experienced a scoring drought of more than two minutes until Capstraw knocked down a couple clutch free throws with 55 seconds left.

Trailing by four (47-43) with less than 10 seconds remaining, the Big Green looked to Victoria Page out of a timeout and the junior delivered, hitting a 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds on the clock to make it a one-point game. With all eyes on Clark at the free throw line on the ensuing possession, she missed the first and made the second, allowing Dartmouth the chance to win or force overtime with 3.6 seconds remaining. Minicozzi's attempt from just inside the 3-point arc drew front iron and the Bulldogs breathed a sigh of relief.

The Big Green led by as many as six in the first quarter, eventually holding a 15-13 edge with the opening 10 minutes in the books. A Capstraw layup in the final minute of the second gave Yale its first lead of the quarter to seal a 28-26 halftime advantage for the Bulldogs.

Yale was held to just six points on 20 percent shooting in the third quarter, but a 3-of-4 effort from deep in the fourth proved to be a difference maker.

The Big Green will head to Brown for a 3 p.m. tip off on Saturday, Jan. 27. Already the second meeting of the two Ivy League foes, the Bears picked up a win in the conference opener inside Leede Arena on Jan. 6. The game will air live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available through DartmouthSports.com.