Tigers' Rally Falls Short, Drops 58-56 Decision At Dartmouth

Saturday, March 4

Hanover, N.H.

6:00 p.m.

Princeton University

15-11, 9-4Ivy

Dartmouth

7-19, 3-11Ivy

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Princeton	7	11	18	20	56
Dartmouth	12	12	19	15	58

Photo by: Kobus Reyneke

Tigers' Rally Falls Short, Drops 58-56 Decision At Dartmouth

March 04, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HANOVER, N.H. – The Princeton Tigers cut an 18-point deficit to one in the waning moments, but couldn't get over the top, falling to the Dartmouth Big Green, 58-56, at the Leede Arena on Saturday evening.

Bella Alarie recorded her sixth double-double of the year, amassing a team-high 12 points and 12 rebounds. Leslie Robinson had 11 points and five rebounds while Vanessa Smith just missed a double-double, adding 10 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

Dartmouth took a 12-7 lead after the first quarter after holding Princeton to just two baskets. The Tigers would get as close as three in the second frame, but the Big Green shot 5-of-10 in the quarter to take a 24-18 advantage into halftime.

The Big Green ran out with a 16-4 spurt to open the third quarter, pushing its lead to 18 (40-22) at the under-five media timeout. This time it was Princeton's turn to go on a run, rattling off 13 of the next 17 to get within seven (43-36) after 30 minutes.

In the final quarter, the Tigers continued to close in on the Big Green as a three-point play by Smith made the score 48-45 with 5:56 remaining. Three possessions later, Kate Letkewicz knocked down a long-distance bucket to make the Ivy contest a six-point game (51-45).

As the clock ticked near three minutes, back-to-back baskets from Alarie and Smith got head coach Courtney Banghart's squad within a point (53-52). Again, Letkewicz dropped in a big three-pointer to keep Princeton at bay.

This steal and jumper from Taylor Brown made the game a one-possession affair, but the Tigers couldn't get the game-tying bucket over the final 44 seconds.

FINAL: Big Green 58, Tigers 56. A thrilling rally falls just short. #GoTigers #TigerUp #IvyMadness pic.twitter.com/4ngeW3ShzP
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) March 5, 2017

Letkewicz had game-high 14 points for the Big Green on 6-of-9 shooting (66.6 percent) while she grabbed eight boards. Dartmouth made 10 three-pointers in the game. Princeton caused 25 turnovers and outrebounded Dartmouth, 40-31.

With the loss, Princeton dropped to 15-11 overall and 9-4 in the Ivy League. Dartmouth finishes the season at 7-19 and 3-11 in conference play. Princeton will take on Harvard in the second semifinal of the Ivy League Tournament on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Penn (No. 1) and Brown (No. 4) make up the other semifinal.

Banghart's team finishes the regular season on Tuesday at Penn. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m.