Dartmouth Dominates Late in 53-45 Win Over Bucknell

Sunday, December 7

Hanover, N.H.

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

5-2,0-0Ivy League

Bucknell

3-7,0-0Patriot

Bucknell

Dartmouth

Dartmouth Dominates Late in 53-45 Win Over Bucknell

12/7/2025 6:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The Big Green used a late 10-0 run to pull away

By: Justin Lafleur

HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth women's basketball team buckled down defensively in the second half, allowing just 17 points (and just 12 until the final seconds when the game was out of hand), as the Big Green defeated Bucknell 53-45 on Sunday afternoon inside Leede Arena. Nina Miniccozi led Dartmouth in scoring, tallying 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

The performance marked Minicozzi's third straight double-figure scoring game, all coming in the last week. Zeynep Ozel added 10 points and eight rebounds while Olivia Austin had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

The Big Green held Bucknell leading scorer Reese Zemitis scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting.

For a second straight game, both wins, Dartmouth surged ahead in the third quarter. This time, the Big Green held a 15-8 advantage, with Minicozzi knocking down two big 3-pointers in the stanza. That turned a 28-24 halftime deficit into a 39-36 lead heading to the fourth.

Owning a 5-2 record, Dartmouth owns its best mark after seven games since the 2017-18 season.

Score: Dartmouth 53, Bucknell 45
Records: Dartmouth (5-2, 0-0 Ivy League), Bucknell (3-7, 0-0 Patriot League)
Location: Hanover, N.H. (Leede Arena)
Date: Sunday, December 7, 2025
Attendance: 773

UP NEXT:

The Big Green hit the road for two games this week, at NJIT on Thursday (6 p.m.) and Iona on Saturday (7 p.m.).

FIRST QUARTER:

Dartmouth jumped out to the early lead, reaching 6-2 after baskets from Austin, Clare Meyer and Alexandra Eldredge.
Bucknell responded with an 11-0 run to take a 13-6 lead late in the quarter, but five straight points from Minicozzi pulled the Big Green within 13-11 after one quarter of play.
In the end, an even quarter saw Bucknell lead for 5:17 and Dartmouth 4:34 of action.

SECOND QUARTER:

The Bison began the second with 11 of the first 16 points to take a 24-16 lead.
But the threes began to drop for the Big Green, as treys from Cate MacDonald and Tahira Muhammad pulled Dartmouth within 26-22 with 1:50 on the clock.
An Austin layup got the Big Green within 28-24 at the half.

THIRD QUARTER:

The Big Green began to chip away in the third.
A Meyer layup and Minicozzi 3-pointer gave the Big Green the lead back at 34-32 with 5:32 on the clock.
After the Bison retook the lead, Dartmouth scored the final five points of the quarter — via two Ozel free throws and a Minicozzi three — to take a 39-36 lead into the fourth.

FOURTH QUARTER:

Neither team scored until 4:59 on the clock, extending the stretch to 7:14 without a point from either side (bridging the end of the third quarter).
It was Meyer who broke the drought, finishing a jumper to give the Big Green a 41-36 lead.
After Ozel hit a 3-pointer to give the Big Green a 51-40 lead with 1:04 remaining, she quickly had a steal and took it in for the layup to make the advantage 13, making it a 10-0 Dartmouth run and erasing any doubt.
Dartmouth held Bucknell to just 12 points over the first 19:45 of the second half, with the Bison adding five late points when the game was out of reach.

This sequence by Zeynep Ozel 🤯#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods🌲 | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/z0dcDE2hi1
— Dartmouth Women's Basketball (@DartmouthWBB) December 7, 2025

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Dartmouth finished at 37.5% from the floor (21-of-56), including 34.8% from 3-point range (8-of-23).
Bucknell shot 38.9% (21-of-54) and 15.8% from behind the arc (3-of-19).
The Big Green held a 36-33 edge in rebounds.
Dartmouth had a season-low nine turnovers, its fewest since committing nine Jan. 1 of last season against Colby-Sawyer and fewest against a Division I opponent since also committing nine last Dec. 10 at Stonehill.
MacDonald is up to 46 rebounds over her last five games (9.2 average).
Minicozzi has scored 41 points over her last three games, tallying double figures in each contest. Three marks the longest double-figure scoring streak of her career.
Dartmouth has now beaten four Patriot League teams over the last two seasons, owning a 4-1 record in that span. The Big Green beat Navy and Lafayette last season while this year, beating Boston University and Bucknell.

QUOTABLE:
Hear from Minicozzi, Coach Cimino and Ozel following the victory.