Big Second Half Leads Big Green to 61-59 Victory at Central Connecticut State

Monday, December 16

New Britain, Conn. / Detrick Gymnasium

11:00 AM

Dartmouth College

4-6,0-0Ivy League

Central Connecticut State

1-11,0-0NEC

Dartmouth

Central Conn. St.

Women's Basketball Team Celebration at CCSU

Zeynep Ozel became the first Big Green player with 10 assists since December of 2018

Photo by: Steve McLaughlin

Big Second Half Leads Big Green to 61-59 Victory at Central Connecticut State

12/16/2024 2:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Dartmouth outscored CCSU 39-27 over the game's final 17 minutes

By: Justin Lafleur

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — The Dartmouth women's basketball team ended the third quarter on a 21-8 run to take a lead into the fourth, on the way to beating Central Connecticut State on Monday, 61-59. Zeynep Ozel starred for the Big Green with 13 points and 10 assists while not turning the ball over. In total, four Dartmouth players reached double-figure points, with Victoria Page also scoring 13 to tie for the team lead.

Ozel became the first Big Green player with double-figure assists since Cy Lippold had 10 on Dec. 1, 2018. That was also the last time a Dartmouth player had a points-assists double-double.

Cate MacDonald provided a spark off the bench, posting 11 points and eight rebounds. Olivia Austin also had 10 points and eight boards.

Belle Lanpher led the Blue Devils with a game-high 27 points.

Monday was the start of three road games this week — with games also at Lafayette Wednesday and Syracuse Saturday.

Score: Dartmouth 61, Central Connecticut State 59
Records: Dartmouth (4-6, 0-0 Ivy League), CCSU (1-11, 0-0 NEC)
Location: New Britain, Conn. (Detrick Gymnasium)
Date: Monday, December 16, 2024
Attendance: 204

UP NEXT:

Dartmouth travels to Lafayette for a 6 p.m. showdown against the Leopards Wednesday night.

FIRST QUARTER: 

A tight start saw the score tied at two, four and six.
An Alexandra Eldredge layup gave the Big Green an 8-6 lead midway through the quarter.
CCSU responded with an 8-0 run, capped off by consecutive layups from Alonna Sellers to give the Blue Devils a 14-8 advantage.
Nina Minicozzi knocked down a 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to pull the Big Green within 16-13 after one quarter.

SECOND QUARTER:

Less than a minute into the second, the Blue Devils opened an 18-13 lead, but the Big Green responded with an 8-0 run of their own.
The run included a layup from Clare Meyer and 3-pointers from Minicozzi and Ozel, giving the Big Green a 21-20 lead with 5:30 on the clock.
With the score tied at 22, CCSU ended the stanza on a 5-0 run to take a 27-22 halftime lead. The Big Green were held scoreless for the final 3:41 of the quarter.

THIRD QUARTER:

CCSU scored the first five points of the third to extend its run to 10-0 bridging the end of the first half. That gave the Blue Devils a 32-22 lead just over a minute into the third quarter.
Dartmouth answered in a big way, scoring 18 of the next 24 points. Victoria Page scored 10 of them. Two Minicozzi free throws gave the Big Green the lead back 40-38 witih 48 seconds on the clock.
On the ensuing possession, MacDonald knocked down a corner 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded, giving Dartmouth a 43-40 lead following three quarters of play.

Cate MacDonald provided a big spark off the bench today, including this 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer! 🚨#GoBigGreen | #TheFutureIsGreen | #YOURFutureIsGREEN🌲 pic.twitter.com/tAvJ07CdTp
— Dartmouth Women's Basketball (@DartmouthWBB) December 16, 2024

FOURTH QUARTER:

The beginning of the fourth quarter saw three ties and one lead change.
A Lanpher fastbreak layup gave CCSU the lead back at 51-50, but Austin converted a second-chance layup on the other end to give the Big Green a 52-51 advantage with 4:40 remaining.
That began a 7-0 Dartmouth run, also featuring a MacDonald layup and Ozel 3-pointer, giving the Big Green a 57-51 lead with 2:21 on the clock.
Lanpher hit a desperation 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to get CCSU as close as one, but the Big Green held on for the 61-59 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

The Big Green shot 55.6% from the floor (15-of-27) in the second half to finish at 41.8% for the game (23-of-55). Dartmouth shot 66.7% in the third quarter (8-of-12).
The Big Green shot 29.6% from 3-point range (8-of-27). Dartmouth's eight made threes marked its most against a Division I opponent this season.
CCSU finished with a slim 33-32 edge in rebounds.
Ozel posted Dartmouth's second double-double of the season (along with Austin against UMass Lowell).
Ozel had a hand (scoring or assisting) on 14 of the Big Green's 23 field goals.
As a team, Dartmouth finished with 17 assists on those 23 made field goals.
The Big Green saw four score double-figure points, marking a season high.
Dartmouth improved to 6-1 all-time against CCSU.
The Big Green finished with eight steals, marked their fourth straight game with 8+ steals.
Dartmouth is now 2-2 on the road for a second straight season.