Women's Basketball Grinds Out 50-47 Win Over Dartmouth

Saturday, February 7

Hanover, N.H.

6 pm

Brown University

9-11, 3-3Ivy

Dartmouth

10-10, 1-5Ivy

Brown

Dartmouth

Women's Basketball Grinds Out 50-47 Win Over Dartmouth

2/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HANOVER, N.H. – The Brown women's basketball team held off a furious Dartmouth rally in the final minutes to secure a 50-47 win over the Big Green at Leede Arena on Saturday night.

With the win, the Bears improve to 9-11 overall and even their Ivy record at 3-3. Dartmouth drops to 10-10 and 1-5 in league play. Brown completes the Harvard/Dartmouth road sweep for the first time since Feb. 26-27, 1993.

Ellise Sharpe (Tipp City, Ohio) posted 19 points for the third consecutive game, all starts for the junior guard, while she and teammate Sophie Bikofsky (Newton, Mass.) each recorded five steals. Bikofsky finished the night with nine points and career high three blocks.

As a unit, the Bears tallied a season high 17 steals and forced the Big Green into 29 turnovers overall.

Brown got the job done despite going 0-of-7 from long distance, but got enormous play on the glass from junior Natalie Ball (Orlando, Fla.), as she hauled in a career best 14 rebounds.

The Bears looked to replicate their hot shooting start at Harvard on Friday night, but we're unable to get into a groove early as a 3-for-17 start from the field allowed the host Big Green to rush out to a 17-9 lead with eight minutes left in the half. The Big Green's Lakin Roland aided the early run for the hosts, posting eight points and six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of action.

Undaunted, the Bears counterpunched by forcing 18 first half turnovers, led by Bikofsky's five steals that triggered a 14-2 Brown run. Sharpe's seven points, including a driving layup with 4:04 left, gave Brown it's first lead since the 17:34 mark.

After the Big Green drew within one possession at 33-30, the Bears responded with a 10-0 run led by Sharpe and Martin, who's apparent charge was reversed on replay after Roland was ruled to be inside the arc.

Leading 43-30, a 14-2 run brought the Big Green back within a point on Amber Mixon's trey with 2:47 to play. The Bears defense held strong and Bikofsky sank 3-of-4 crucial free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Inbounding the ball with four seconds left, a home-run pass by Tia Dawson was intercepted by Sharpe as time expired.

Roland led the way with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Fanni Szabo added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Big Green in the loss. For the Bears, freshman Savannah Johnson (Fort Washington, Md.) matched a career high with four points in 15 minutes of action.

Brown returns to action next Friday as they play host to No. 18 Princeton at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

Tickets for all Brown women's basketball games can be purchased online, calling the Brown Athletics Ticket Office at (401) 863-2773, or walking up to the Box Office located in the Pizzitola Sports Center, open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.