Starting on the Right Note

Dartmouth 45 - Harvard 44.

One down, 13 to go.

Last night's win over Harvard was just tremendous. It was a classic Ivy League battle for 40 minutes - every pass and shot contested, every rebound a knock-down fight. There was so much energy in Leede Arena! We had 1,500+ fans who really made a difference for our team, getting loud and creating a really fun environment for college basketball. Our players rose to the challenge yet again, and I saw a grit and determination in them that I know had just been waiting to rise to the surface. They are finding their identity as a strong defensive and rebounding team with a real toughness to them.

My recap from the game can be found here. Basically, Margaret Smith was CLUTCH, hitting two free throws with five seconds to play to seal a one-point win. Those two free throws were Margaret's only two points of the night, but she had put forth a sound effort all game and ended up the hero for her team. Faziah Steen scored 11 points in her Ivy League debut and Sasha Dosenko had 10 points and seven boards. We controlled the rebounding game, 42-33 and held Harvard 30 points below their season average!

After last night's game ended, someone asked me if I was ready to do this 13 more times. Since that game felt like an Ivy Championship game - that was a tough question! But the answer is that of course I'm ready and I know now that our players are ready. There is something undeniably special about Ivy League contests, particularly basketball. The passion, brought on by the do-or-die situation in every game, is simply unparalleled.

Having a postseason tournament would completely change the nature of our league and I like it the way it is. There is drama in every game, every possession, as each game truly matters towards determining our champion - and it sets us apart. It makes winning the league and earning the NCAA Tournament bid so much more special as opposed to a rushed conference tournament that all too often results in a league not sending its best team to the national championship tournament.

Some will say that of course a person from Dartmouth wouldn't want a tournament because we're so often near or at the top of the league. That's a fair thing to say. But I believe our success comes from having players that go above and beyond their talent level on the court to execute gameplans that are expertly prepared by a genius head coach and her amazing staff. Our success begets success because of how hard the people in the program work to sustain it. Nothing has been handed to our players and their passion is what drives them to become better both individually and as a team.

We host UNH this Tuesday night for what is always a great instate rivalry game. Tipoff is 7 PM at Leede.

- Dara