Feb. 17, 2007

Box Score

HANOVER, N.H.--Dartmouth's Ashley Taylor went 16-for-18 from the free throw line, including 12-for-12 down the stretch, to lead the Big Green (12-10, 6-2 Ivy) to a 67-59 victory over Yale (11-12, 4-5 Ivy) Friday night at Leede Arena. As a team, the Big Green went 27-for-37 (73 percent) from the line, while the Bulldogs were just 13-for-24 (54.2 percent) at the charity stripe.

"We missed free throws, that's all it was," Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach Chris Gobrecht said. "If we made them (our free throws), they're fouling us at the end instead of the other way around. That's often how games are decided on the road."

Yale built an early 9-4 edge on a Melissa Colborne three-pointer. Dartmouth took the lead for the first time when a Taylor layup made the score 12-11 in favor of the Big Green. The Big Green eventually built a five-point, 21-16, edge with 6:11 left in the first half. Yale cut the deficit to one at 21-20, but Dartmouth rallied for six straight points to take a seven-point advantage. Jacqueline Erickson drained a three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining in the half to send the Bulldogs into the locker room trailing by four, 27-23.

Dartmouth quickly got its lead back up to eight early in the second half, but Yale chipped away and eventually tied it at 37-37 on Ashley Carter's free throw with 9:51 to go. The Big Green scored the next three points to take a 40-37 lead, but a Sara McCollum jumper and a Colborne layup gave the Bulldogs their first lead since midway through the first half, 41-40.

The game was very nip-and-tuck over the final 7:30, as there were three ties and four lead changes. Yale took its final lead of the night when Colborne made one of two free throws to make it 50-49 with 3:32 to go. Dartmouth's Koren Schram hit a layup on the other end to put the Big Green back in front, 51-50. Chinenye Okafor made a foul shot to tie it at 51-51, but Sydney Scott's layup with 2:18 remaining gave Dartmouth a lead it would not relinquish. The Big Green's last 14 points came at the free throw line in the 67-59 victory.

Colborne tallied 17 points to lead the Bulldogs. Erica Davis posted 16 points and six boards. Stephanie Marciano, who had 22 points against the Big Green earlier this season, finished with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals. Okafor grabbed six rebounds off the bench, and Jamie Van Horne dished out a career-high six assists. The Bulldogs shot 47.7 percent (21-of-44) as a team and 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from three-point range. The teams pulled down 34 rebounds apiece.

Taylor finished with a game-high 24 points. She added six assists and three rebounds. Sydney Scott posted a double-double for Dartmouth with 10 points and 10 boards. Fatima Kamara had nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals off the bench for the Big Green. Dartmouth shot 39.2 percent (20-of-51) from the field.

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday night for a 6 p.m. matchup at Harvard. Yale handed Harvard its only Ivy League loss so far, a 61-53 decision in New Haven on Jan. 26. The first-place Crimson moved to 7-1 in Ivy play with a 67-41 win over Brown on Friday night.

NOTES: Yale held Dartmouth without a three-pointer, the third time this season the Bulldogs held their opponent scoreless from behind the arc...The Bulldogs attempted a season-low 44 shots...Dartmouth now leads the all-time series 45-15...Yale was looking for its first sweep of the Big Green since the 1997-98 season...With one block, Davis now has 54 on the season, one shy of her single-season school record.

Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity