A stellar defensive effort contributed to a 58-27 blowout against Brown (3-17, 0-5 Ivy) on Friday night. On Saturday, Dartmouth (9-9, 5-0 Ivy) beat Yale 51-42 despite a late comeback attempt by the Bulldogs (9-10, 2-4 Ivy).
A 14-0 Dartmouth run in the second half brought the score to 46-16 against Brown. A career-first double-double by Meghan McFee '11, and a balanced effort overall led to the 31-point win. The Big Green shot 45.7 percent from the field while holding Brown to only 18 percent.
"Our defense is doing really, really well right now," assistant coach Leah Foster said after the game.
Dartmouth hammered Brown on the boards, capturing 40 rebounds to Brown's 30. Perimeter defense from McFee and Koren Schram '09 restricted Brown to just two of 12 from the three-point line.
McFee led both team in scoring with 14 points, followed by Darcy Rose '09 with 11. McFee and Brittney Smith '11 each tallied 10 rebounds.
Junior Natalie Bonds led Brown's offense with seven points and four rebounds.
Smith said the Big Green continued to play hard even with its substantial lead.
"We just kept running the offense, we stuck with what was working," she said. "We definitely felt more comfortable in the game, but our mindset didn't really change."
Rose started the game strong, scoring four points in the first four minutes of the half. Brown responded with a three-pointer, bringing the score to 4-3. The Big Green picked up momentum as the half continued, and an 8-0 run extended its lead to 12-4. Four straight points from Cassie Cooper '11 brought the score to 20-6 with 10:01 remaining in the half.
Dartmouth was held to only five points in the next 10 minutes, finishing the half with a comfortable 25-10 lead. The Big Green held Brown to just 12-percent shooting in the opening period.
Dartmouth continued to pull away in the second half. A three-pointer by Schram and a 6-2 run by Rose inflated Dartmouth's lead to 20.
Dartmouth's subsequent 14-0 run in the second half built the lead to 46-16. Dartmouth slowed its offense as the second half drew to a close. A three-point play by Margaret Smith '10 and a layup by Cooper brought the final score to 58-27.
Dartmouth returned to the court Saturday night for its fifth Ivy League matchup of the season, defeating Yale 51-42. Three double-digit scoring performances by the Big Green helped to maintain Dartmouth's position as the only undefeated team in Ivy League play.
After allowing Yale to narrow the Big Green's 17-point lead to just four, Dartmouth scored eight of nine from the free throw line in the last two minutes to win by seven.
The Big Green's defense was responsible for the win once again, holding Yale to just 32-percent shooting from the field.
Of the seven Dartmouth players who played in Saturday's game, three scored in double-digits. Brittney Smith was the game's high-scorer with 16 points, followed by Margaret Smith and Schram, who each scored 10.
Schram also picked up an impressive five steals. Brittany Smith and Rose led both teams in rebounds, each securing 10. Sophomore Mady Gobrecht was Yale's high-scorer with 11 points.
Dartmouth held one of the Ivy League's top scorers, Yale junior Melissa Colbourne, to only two points. Colbourne scored well below her average of 16.4 points and fouled out with 4:27 to go in the second half.
Dartmouth captured an early lead, scoring 14 points to Yale's three in the first nine minutes of the game. The Big Green continued to build its lead with a 10-0 run, bringing the score to 25-8. Yale responded with an 8-0 run of its own, but Dartmouth held on to a 25-16 lead entering halftime.
McFee said that although the team enjoyed an early lead, the Big Green expected Yale to put up a fight.
"In the Yale game, we came out really strong in the beginning," she said. "They did come back on us in the second half. We knew that was going to happen. [Head] coach [Chris Wielgus] said in the locker room that they were going to come out strong -- they don't roll over and die. We had some struggles scoring, and they went on a run on us."
Schram echoed McFee, and said much of the team's success came from the Big Green's ability to adapt to changing conditions.
"They started pressuring the perimeter players, on the guards, which forced us into some unnecessary turnovers," she said. "We got over that hump as opposed to falling into that downward spiral. Overall this season, our team has been able to adapt, and that's what basketball is all about, adapting to the other team."
The Big Green capitalized on opportunities inside during the first half, scoring 16 of its 25 points in the paint.
Dartmouth and Yale played equally in the second half, both scoring 26 points. After starting the half with a nine-point lead, Dartmouth let Yale come within three points with 10:36 to go. A three-pointer by Yale sophomore Yoyo Greenfield brought the score to 35-32.
The teams remained neck-and-neck until a jumper by Margaret Smith gave Dartmouth a seven-point lead with 3:36 remaining. A three-point play by Gobrecht narrowed the score to 43-39. Free throws by Brittney Smith, Margaret Smith and McFee in the last two minutes of play secured Dartmouth's 51-42 victory.
Saturday marked the end of Dartmouth's seven-game road trip.
The Big Green will return to Leede Arena to square off against Columbia at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Cornell at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday in Hanover.
