Dartmouth came out strong in the first half, in part due to the excellent play of its post players. The women started off the game with an early 11-7 lead and continued to lead for the entire half. Dawson and Arianne Hunter '14 battled their way into the paint, fighting with the Crusaders for every rebound.
Captain Faziah Steen '13 said that getting to the net required reading Holy Cross' defense and executing the appropriate offense.
"It came down to being able to recognize whether they were in zone or man," she said. "We were able to hit some outside shots but I think we played our best offense when we were able to move the ball around and get post touches along with some easy buckets inside."
Steen and Toskovic solidified the Big Green's lead, leading the charge with outside shots to bring the lead to 23-15 just six minutes into the game.
Holy Cross soon regained confidence, however, as Kristine Ganser went 6-for-7 at the free-throw line, leading to a 14-6 Crusader run. By halftime, Holy Cross had tied the game 29-29.
Steen said the team discussed the importance of keeping the ball in its possession during the halftime break.
"The second half was just about being able to take care of the ball down the stretch as far as not turning it over and then continuing to move the ball around to get everyone touches and make the defense work," she said.
Crusader Amy Lepley stifled the Big Green at the beginning of the second half with a huge scoring streak of seven points. Although Holy Cross snagged its first lead of the game 36-29, Dartmouth was determined not to let the game slip away. Nicola Zimmer '14, who tallied 11 points on the night, sliced the Holy Cross lead by adding five points to put the Big Green back on track.
The game was delayed for nearly 20 minutes due to a Holy Cross player's injury, and when the whistle blew, Dartmouth returned with a new-found intensity and came back from a six-point deficit. Toskovic nailed a jumper from the right to start a 10-5 run for the Big Green, creating a one point lead over the Crusaders.
Two minutes later, the game was tied 56-56 and Dartmouth was looking for a big opportunity to grab a win.
The Big Green took a three point lead with less than five minutes remaining with the help of a three-pointer from Steen and a jumper from Hunter. From that point on, it was an all-out battle for the lead. Holy Cross sunk three of four free throws and had help from a late jump shot by Kelly Hamner to ice the game.
Steen said the Big Green took a couple of quick missed shots instead of taking longer with the ball. Holy Cross' defense held up and was able to make several key baskets to catch up with only minutes left, she said.
Dartmouth will focus on practicing hard for the next two weeks in anticipation of its Ivy League opener against Harvard University on Jan. 14. The game is set for 7 p.m. at Leede Arena.
Steen said that to prepare for the upcoming match against Harvard, the team will focus on putting the right pieces together and polishing its play.
"For the next week and a half, we will practice being able to execute our offensive sets and doing strategic things such as be able to transition between defenses seamlessly," she said. "It's about capitalizing on our strengths as a team, like our running game."
