Time For a Little Segway Tour

Today is our last full day in California! We've got a big game against Cal-Berkeley tonight, but first I have to fill you in on yesterday's activities...

In my last post I hinted that many of us would be able to cross something off our bucket lists after this trip, which is why yesterday morning we were so excited to board the bus to San Francisco for a segway (!!) tour of the city.

We walked into City Segway Tours a little nervous, but after completing training we almost felt prepared to cruise the sidewalks on our new machines ...until we learned we'd be riding in the bike lane ...which turned into us segwaying right alongside drivers in the traffic lanes. But no worries! It was all completely safe (we had on helmets of course, and rode on calm streets) and pretty much no one got hurt (Morgynn suffered a minor injury but I'm pretty sure it was due to personal error). 

We segwayed single-file behind our instructor, wearing our identical Dartmouth travel suits, and looking something like a group of baby ducks. More than a few strangers took our picture as we rode through the streets. What someone would do with such a photo, I don't know, but I believe Janelle posed every time a pedestrian took out his or her camera.

The tour took us through through Fisherman's Wharf, which is right on the water, and we got to see the famous cable cars, an In-n-Out Burger, and countless seafood restaurants. We eventually made it out to Municipal Pier, the oldest pier in San Francisco, which has a great view of Alcatraz in one direction and a stunning view of the city in the other. By the time we got to the pier, we had been segwaying for about 45 minutes and were feeling extremely confident. There was a big open space perfect for segway tag, segway dancing, and segway racing. It was all super fun, and at this point some of us (me) were completely set on dropping out of Dartmouth to lead our own tours. But the pier was our big destination for the afternoon, and before long it was time to take our segways back to home base, grab lunch, and get ready to practice at Cal.

I would love to share more, but it's time to get focused for shoot around and the big game tonight.

Thanks again for reading!

*Be sure to check out more pictures of the fun on the Dartmouth Women's Basketball facebook page*

Nicola

From LA to Berkeley ...

I'm baaack!

We've traveled up the coast since my first post, and are staying at a hotel overlooking the water in the Berkeley Marina. It's a beautiful place, and as we judge hotels on the quality of their continental breakfasts, this one is certainly up there with the best (made-to-order omelets ensure a positive review).

 

Yesterday was mainly dedicated to travel, although we did fit in some time, and naps, by the water, and later indulged in a seafood dinner at Spenger's Restaurant. Sasha and Faziah went particularly hard and each ordered "The Big Pot," which is literally a big pot full of everything on the menu, one probably being enough to feed a family of five.

Today we made the trip to practice at Eve's high school in Palo Alto. The school and basketball court are beautiful, and we got to see Eve's 2007-2008 league MVP banner hanging up in the gym. After practice, we went to the nearby Stanford mall, where most of the shopping was done for our annual Secret Santa exchange...gag gifts (the more inappropriate, the better) are given anonymously throughout the week, and one night toward the end of the trip we trade the real gifts and reveal who has who. It's always a lot of fun and another excuse to get--and give--more presents.

The Zelingers hosted us for a huge barbecue dinner after shopping (we really do eat well on these trips). It's always wonderful to meet the families and get hilarious details on each other's lives before Dartmouth. After the meal, we all gathered in the living room to watch No. 1 Baylor take on No. 2 UConn (some inspiration for our game on Tuesday, perhaps) amid conversations about Eve's early years. Apparently she locked a babysitter out of the house once...classic. The night ended with homemade apple crisp and lots of hugs as we boarded the bus back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we'll take our first shots in the Cal-Berkeley gym, and many of us will also get to cross something big off our bucket lists...I'll update with a post soon.

*7 days til Christmas, and only 2 til the first night of Channuka! Happy holidays!*

Nicola

California Dreamin'

The Dartmouth women’s basketball team is embarking on a West-coast swing right before the holidays. The Big Green will be playing Long Beach State (Dec. 16) and then traveling north to take on California on Dec. 20. The team has some fun activities planned during its California trip and sophomore Nicola Zimmer is going to give you all some “behind-the scenes” action!

 

Hello from CALI! It's awesome to escape the Hanover weather for a bit, and Janelle, Milica, and Eve are especially excited to be back in their home state.  We're playing two great teams in the next week, and we've got a lot of cool things planned for our down time.  While Jessica keeps tabs on the games, I'll be updating you all on some of our off-the-court activities.

Our flight landed at LAX last night and we drove straight to the hotel from the airport, so for some of us today was our first real taste of Southern California.  Because practice didn't start until 5pm, Koren kindly hooked us up with a trip to the Long Beach Aquarium.

Hundreds of little kids, probably on some school-wide field trip, welcomed us in the modest lobby of the aquarium. Their presence, and frankly, their screaming, was less than thrilling, and the aquarium suddenly became overcrowded and juvenile (personally, I was just worried the little ones would take the prime viewing spots in front of the shark tank). However, it only took one or two sea-life exhibits before we turned into our ten-year-old selves...baby-talking to the sea otters (Faziah is guilty here), ooing and ahhing at the jelly fish, and enthusiastically calling each other over to look at the one really unfortunate, ugly fish. Ari even met a good friend in one of the tanks.  At the end of the day, our constant camera flashes and non-stop commentary undoubtedly caused more disruption than the kids.

The afternoon was capped off by a big lunch across the street at Bubba Gump's Shrimp, where we showed off our Forrest Gump impersonations (I'd have to say Morgynn, our manager, had it down best) and repeated "life is like a box of chocolates..." way too many times.

The aquarium trip was certainly a success, and practice at Long Beach State later in the day went well.  We are really excited for our game tomorrow night, and now have to rest up so we're ready to go. Thanks for reading; I'll check back in soon!

Nicola

We’re Off!

First things first, let me apologize for our lack of blogging so far this season. We have been so busy since the start of the season that we’ve not blogged in awhile but don’t fear we promise to be better heading into 2012!

It always seems like it takes SOOOO long for the season to actually arrive and then when it does BOOM it comes quick. I’m sure the players feel this but it also extends to coaches, athletic trainers and even athletic communications folks. I tell ya, it seems like just yesterday I was counting down the days to our first game and here we are in the fourth week of the season with seven games under our belt already!

I’m sure you all have been following the team this season and I liken a basketball season to a roller coaster with numerous peaks and a few valleys and we’ve certainly had our share of peaks and valleys so far this season.  Most of you all know that we’re YOUNG. We have two upperclassmen in Sasha Dosenko and Faziah Steen and the rest of our squad is sophomores and freshmen. The grind of a college basketball season is tough for even the most veteran of teams so I’d like to commend our team and coaching staff for taking the season by the horns, young or not.

So far, we’ve had some valleys with tough losses to Kansas State, St. Joseph’s (Pa.), Providence, New Hampshire and Bryant but there have also been some awesome peaks this season. Namely seeing Faziah Steen go bananas against Vermont with a career-high 32 points and 11 rebounds against the then-undefeated Catamounts but for me the biggest and best peak has been the progress of the team as a whole.

Our 2-5 record might not accurately reflect it but this team has made some big strides this season. The rookies are beginning to gel with the upperclassmen and the group as a whole is learning how to play better together and within coach Wielgus’ system. It’s always a learning process when you have so many youngsters but for me its been neat seeing them grow together and also individually. We still have a long way to go but I have no doubt that this group will make some noise especially when we get into Ivy League action.

I’d also like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season from the Dartmouth women’s basketball program. We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season and we hope to see you at Leede Arena really soon!

Make sure to stick with our blog this season (we promise to be more regular with it and I promise we’ll get some of the Big Green players to guest blog here soon).

Also stay updated on all things Dartmouth women’s basketball related by following us on Twitter (@Dartmouth_WBB) and “liking” us on Facebook (Dartmouth Women’s Basketball). As always leave us any questions or comments and we’ll do our best to get them answered.

Happy Holidays,

Jess Poole

It’s Beginning to look a lot Like … Basketball Season!

Well folks, we are officially just NINE days away from the start of the 2011-12 Big Green women’s basketball season. I can’t believe that in just nine short days we’ll FINALLY get on the court against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., aka “The Little Apple” Let’s just say I am one happy SID!

It seems like I just met this group of players and coaches yesterday (well it was, just only about two months ago) but they have grown on me. From the coaches to the players this group gets after it and its great to be around them.  We haven’t really spent too much time together but the first road trip is always the best road trip in my experience.

One can learn quite a bite about a team from that initial roadtrip. For instance, movie selections, choice of card games and seat preference are all good indicators of the group you’re working with.  I’ve heard from an inside source (Nicola Zimmer) that road trips with the Big Green are lots of fun and I’m very excited to experience my first one.

Now when it comes to team travel, I’m a BIG fan of games on the bus. A few of my favorites are Catchphrase and Euchre (I’m very NOT good at this one, but I do enjoy trying to play) but one thing that I LOVE about road trips are the spontaneous dance offs and karaoke.  So I’m just warning you all out there, I do a mean rendition of “I Will Survive” and I learned how to “Dougie” last year, so watch out!

I have to say that there are quite a few things that I love about my job but team travel is right up at the top of the list and I feel like I can count on this group to make each and every road trip pretty exciting.

Getting back to the business of basketball, playing Kansas State has a bit of special significance for me. I spent my college days at the University of Missouri (M-I-Z-Z-O-U) also of the Big 12 and I distinctly remember Kansas State having awesome women’s basketball teams, so it should be a fun game. Plus, it gets me back to my Big 12 roots!

As we embark on the 2011-12 season, I invite you all to follow the blog and stay updated on all things Dartmouth women’s basketball related by following us on Twitter (@Dartmouth_WBB) and “liking” us on Facebook (Dartmouth Women’s Basketball). As always leave us any questions or comments and we’ll do our best to get them answered.

Until next time,

Jess Poole

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Hello Dartmouth women’s basketball fans! First things first, let me introduce myself. My name is Jessica Poole and I’m the new women’s basketball SID here at Dartmouth. I have the pleasure of working with the AWESOME Dartmouth women’s basketball team and staff and let me say, so far, it has been a BLAST.

Let me share a little background about myself, I’m about 713.68 miles away from my hometown of Ann Arbor, Mich., and the Dartmouth women’s basketball team is the fourth women’s basketball team that I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my career. I’ve also worked with the University of Denver, UNC Greensboro and most recently the University of Michigan women’s team.

Needless to say, I am somewhat of a basketball junkie so I think that this group and I are going to get along just fine. Speaking of being a basketball junkie, I have had my eyes glued to the WNBA playoff this season (and not just because coach Griffith presented the trophy at the Western Conference Finals, but that was pretty sweet!) The level of talent in this year’s Finals is just crazy and makes me very excited about the upcoming college season. (36 days until the season-opener at Kansas State:)

I haven’t been at Dartmouth or in Hanover very long, 39 days to be exact, but I do know that the folks at Dartmouth and in Hanover take their women’s basketball very seriously; and honestly who could blame them, 17 Ivy League Championships is quite impressive! I’m very excited to get the season underway and I’m very grateful to Dartmouth and the women’s basketball team for welcoming me with open arms.

I’ll be checking in with you all from time-to-time with the SID’s point of view and we’ll even have some of the Big Green players make guest appearances on the blog this season!

Make sure to keep up with the women’s basketball team by “Liking” our Facebook Page (Dartmouth Women’s Basketball) and following us on Twitter (@Dartmouth_WBB).

Until next time,

Jess Poole

Dreams Can Come True

Dreams Can Come True

Dreams come true at Dartmouth when the vision of the administration and the passion of the alumni join forces. What was once wishful thinking about enhancing the future of the basketball program has been transformed into REALITY.

The locker room has been expanded and (thank goodness) ventilated!! The walls of the team room, reception area and offices are up and painted and the arena itself got a facelift this summer with new lighting, new paint and a new sound system. Leede Arena looks and sounds great and the players and staff will be moving into our new digs in a matter of weeks.

The renovations are awesome and exciting enough, but the icing on my cake is the people that surround me each and everyday. They are a blessing. I have a great staff!!!  Director of Basketball Operations Koren Schram ’09, Assistant Coach Erin Rewalt ’99 TU’04 and basketball legend Yolanda Griffith (WNBA All-Star and Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist) bring passion, enthusiasm, knowledge and energy to work everyday.

Then there are the players. There are a lot of new faces and it will take time to get to know them, but I can’t wait to get into the gym with them.  They love the game and it shows!  So we have a lot in common :)

Finally, there are the alums.  Their passion for Dartmouth is legendary.  They have always been there for me, for the program and for Dartmouth.  They paved the way as undergrads and sustain the program from their perches in the “real world” 

I think its safe to say, I am perhaps the luckiest person in the world because I live my dream each and every day!

Until next time,

Chris

Derby

The Derby

And we are off.  It’s July and basketball’s annual summer recruiting derby has begun.   Out of the gates I am in the southeast (Atlanta and Orlando) and my staff is on the west coast.  We are neck in neck with other division I schools as scour the country for that very special student athlete.

 The track conditions have changed over the years.  Cell phones, computers, iPods, iPads,  GPS and small Star Track type of devices stuck in your ear are now standard derby equipment.  Coaches madly tap messages into their electronically enhanced hand about the latest happening on the “stud du jour.”

Yesterday, I was sitting next to one of division I’s more famous (and needy) coaches.  She could not figure out who was on what court and there was no assistant in sight, so she kept asking me.  I had a small hand made game chart  (on paper) that I had done the night before.  Since I was trying to watch 3 games at once, I had each playing team marked in my book with a colored paper clip.  That way I can just flip to the proper roster via the proper colored paper clip thus avoiding the hassle of going page by page through the enormous and alphabetically challenged roster book. 

After a few game had passed and many questions answered, the famous coach asked me what I was using to keep track of all the games.  I told her I used a pencil and some paperclips.  She thought I was clever and I laughed and said not clever…just not electronically savvy.    She did not know that I had been running in this derby for over 25 years and knew many different track conditions.  Despite all the changes on the track the new ways are not always the better ways.  I gave her some colored paper clips and a pencil.  Then asked her to not tell any other Ivy about my cleverness.

Chris 

Greener Pastures

Dartmouth assistant Leah Foster has been named an Assistant Coach at University of Houston.  U of  H is a top 25 program in TEXAS, a state she loves.  This is a good professional move for Leah and one that puts her closer to her family.

Leah's departure marks the fifth assistant in 6 years to leave the Big Green for even greener pastures.  I am proud that my assistants are able to further their careers.  I will miss Leah, but I am grateful for all she did for us.

A Blogger's Farewell

All,

It is a bittersweet moment as I type up this post, my final entry into the Going Green Dartmouth Women's Hoops Blog. After five years as the assistant sports information director and women's basketball contact  at Dartmouth, I will be leaving the Big Green to pursue other professional options.

For the past two years I have been the behind the scenes eyes and ears, often updating you on the intricacies, ups and downs of the team and its seasons. Overall I've spent five years as the SID, reporter, blogger, and number one fan of Dartmouth women's basketball. Though this past season, my last, was the toughest one we've endured together on the court, I think everyone involved learned a lot about loyalty and finishing what we started together, despite the great adversity. And of course in my five years there have been many, many more great moments - winning two Ivy Championships, two WNIT's and of course the NCAA Tournament in 2009. And so many more moments when it has been just the team, on the road, laughing and enjoying the shared experience together. Those are some of the best memories for me.

First I will thank you readers and fans for engaging us in this blog but also for your unyielding support of the program. Knowing you are reading and watching here and on DartmouthSports.com has given my job an extra purpose and meaning. And your support means the world to the program.

I am incredibly grateful to Coach Wielgus and her assistants throughout the years for giving me the opportunity to be an integral part of their staff. They always made me feel like I had a job and insight that truly mattered to the team's success and that was very special to me. Chris has a way of making people feel welcome and once she knows she can trust you and that you are in it to see the team succeed, you become part of her family. I was fortunate to build that relationship quickly and have enjoyed experiencing it flourish and evolve.

Lastly, and perhaps most of all, I am grateful to the student-athletes — 26 women — that I have worked with at Dartmouth, who have allowed me to be a part of their college basketball experience. You are an incredibly diverse group and I learned more from each of you than you could ever imagine. Again, thank you for sharing the better part of your college years with me. Be it one, two, three or four years together at Dartmouth, I have enjoyed maintaining friendships with you beyond Hanover and for those who are still wearing the Green and White, I look forward to cheering you on from afar. And actually being able to cheer without being unprofessional! :)

So again, thank you to everyone who makes Dartmouth women's basketball so special and Go Big Green. I will miss you all!

- Dara

Dara Ely
Assistant SID, 2006-2011

Professional Development

A bright light shone through my office window. Upon further investigation I saw blue sky and yes the sun was shining!! GONE were the clouds and the downpours. Mother Nature was cutting us a break. It was going to be a nice day.

I immediately convened a staff meeting and told everyone to quickly prepare for a professional develop seminar at the Ledges. The Ledges is simply a beautiful natural wonder formed by True Brook cutting into the rocks. This favorite swimming hole is about 10 minutes from campus.

The seminar was an interactive event involving an investigative study on the art of skipping rocks into rapids, the challenge of balancing and wading through the stream to get to a sunny rock and the drama that ensued when my sandal raced toward the waterfall by itself.

It was an informative seminar with all participants understanding how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place!

- Coach Wielgus

A Hoosier of Our Own

Hoosiers are passionate about their basketball. They know it; they play it; they love it. High school basketball dominates the sports scene in towns throughout Indiana. So it is with great pride that we congratulate Ute Bowman Otley’90 on her induction into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Silver Anniversary Team. The Silver Anniversary team honors the top players in the high school class of 1986.

Ute’s basketball prowess carried over to her Dartmouth career where she was named Ivy Rookie of the Year; earned all Ivy honors twice and played on four Ivy League championship teams. It comes as no surprise that Ute found a home in the Dartmouth Women’s Basketball program. After all… Hoosiers are not the only ones passionate about basketball.

Check out the full release about Ute's award here.

Looking Ahead to 2011-12

There always seems to be a bit of a let down at the end of the season — players, coaches and staff going from spending every minute together and working toward winning games and improving — to suddenly being on your own and left to reflect.

This past year is one we certainly would like to put behind us. I don't think it's one to forget though, because there were many valuable lessons to be learned about perseverance when things don't go your way (ahem, down to nine healthy players) and also the importance of team. There are 13 women on the team and every single one of them learned that she had to be ready at a moment's notice, whenever called upon by her coach.

A big part of that preparation starts just a few weeks after the season ends. The team is already well into its spring workouts, getting faster, stronger and more skilled for the 2011-12 season. Here's an update from Coach Wielgus:

Our season was over, but you would not know it from Mother Nature. Clearly, she has favored winter by nudging spring into summer. Despite the outward appearances of campus our basketball spring has begun. Our strength coach, Bob Miller, athletic trainer, Mike Derosier, and the basketball staff have tweaked the program to include a variety of new training regimens.


What is most remarkable about this spring is the enthusiasm of the six players on campus. They are relentless in their effort to improve their game. I am so excited and invigorated by their love of the game and their commitment to becoming better basketball players. They are working on their game and it is beginning to show. I can’t wait until next year. The best is yet to come…

So Much to Say - And Worth the Read

Hi All,

So much has gone on with the Big Green in the last few weeks - we've been really busy with our Ivy weekends. This has been a tough winter for us injury-wise, we were actually down to just nine players in uniform last weekend, including missing starters Brittney Smith and Nicola Zimmer. It's been frustrating for everyone, knowing the potential for greatness we had at full strength but also knowing that we should not be 1-4 in the Ivy League even without those players.

However, I have so much respect for our players because they have not backed down and have continued to work so hard even without reward. That made our 68-65 win over Penn last Friday night at Leede Arena so special. First of all, Penn is MUCH improved from last season. They have played really tough competition including Temple and Virginia to 10-point games and the night after losing to us, took first-place Harvard to double-overtime before falling. Secondly, it was a great team effort for us to get that win. Sophomore Faziah Steen is playing out of her mind - she scored 28 points in that game after also scoring 28 the previous game at Columbia! She also had a pile of assists and steals and hit seven three pointers, one shy of the school record. Our seniors really led us down the stretch too. Cassie Cooper (15 points, nine rebounds) scored six straight points, including the go-ahead three-point play to lead 64-63 late. Classmate Meg McFee then went 4-of-4 at the line to seal it, finishing with 17 points and five assists, including the ling pass to Cooper before the go-ahead play. Poor Coop seems to always get stuck on nine rebounds, missing out on the glory of the double-double! But as long as the team wins, she truly doesn't care.

We are back on the IVY ROAD this weekend, heading to Brown for Friday night and Yale for Saturday. I love a good road trip with this crew, it's a fun group! Also, check out a feature on senior Louise Vanden Bosch here.
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Off the court, our program lost a dear friend this week, as former associate head coach Sharon Dawley's father, David, passed away on Monday. After 10 years with us in Hanover, Sharon became the head coach at Vermont and after a successful tenure moved on to be the head coach at UMass this past summer. That move put her back in her home state of Massachusetts and closer to her family.

Coach Wielgus wrote the following reflection on a loss that reminded all of us that there's so much more to our lives than basketball, something we often lose sight of.

It’s been a long week. Former assistant coach Sharon Dawley’s father, David passed away on Monday. He and his wife Ginger were super fans. They attended most of our home weekend games and were front row at our NCAA games regardless of whether or not Sharon was coaching with us still. They were great supporters of Dartmouth, Sharon and Lou’s restaurant. Whenever they passed through town, I would meet them at Lou’ s for a good meal followed by a wrestling match with Dave for the check.

When Dave arrived at Mass General Hospital last Wednesday, the nurses had to remove his rings. He wore two — his wedding and one Dartmouth Ivy championship ring, which Sharon gave him years ago. His cardiologist noticed his championship ring. He told the family he was a Dartmouth grad and fraternity brother to Bob Ceplikas, Deputy Athletic Director. The Dartmouth connection is never ending. He was a remarkably good doctor and very kind to the family.

Please keep Sharon and her family in your thoughts and prayers. They make a difference.

Wish us luck this weekend and we'll have some more updates next week.

- Dara

Ivy Play is Finally Here!!

Hi All,

Well our Ivy League season didn't get off to the start we wanted, taking a lopsided loss at Harvard. We'd won the first meeting in each of the last three seasons and the Crimson definitely remembered that and took it to us. The first 15 minutes of the game were a classic Ivy battle, but we got into running and gunning at Harvard's pace and could not sustain that when they went to their deep bench. To contrast, they had 15 players dressed and we had 10.

So following the Harvard game we've had a long 13-day break to regroup and work on Dartmouth basketball. While we never like to go that long without playing — something we can't help bc Ivy play can't start in earnest until Princeton finishes exams — I think this stretch has still been good for our team. Perhaps the biggest change has been the arrival of an awesome and complete new scrimmage squad! We were struggling without the guys during break and now we have one of the best groups ever. Since we have been depleted by injury, it is imperative that we have these extra numbers to go against in practice. There are actually seven men on the squad which is the most we've had and they do a great job. They are selfless, take the job seriously, and I think enjoy helping us get better. It's a great thing.

Anyhow, this week it's finally down to the true business and pace of an Ivy League week. We get the worst, longest road trip over first when we head to Cornell and Columbia this weekend. Since we have back-to-back games, we'll settle into the rhythm of the Ivy season, planning for each opponent throughout the week and then hitting the road for a Friday-Saturday marathon.

I'll link to an official preview when it's up.

Go Big Green!!

- Dara

Whirlwind Weeks

Hi All,

Whew ... we're all finally getting a chance to take a deep breath after a whirlwind couple of weeks. Following the trip to Michigan, we all went our separate ways, taking us home to places from California to Montana to Washington, D.C. to New Jersey and more!  It was a much-needed break for all of us, players and staff alike.

Turned out, some of us got to extend that break a little when a massive snowstorm hit the Northeast. All three of the New York City area airports were closed for multiple days and Philadelphia, Boston and Manchester also had cancellations and serious delays. Almost half of the players and one of our assistant coaches, Leah Foster, all got back to Dartmouth later than the scheduled date of Dec. 26, but everyone made it in time for the tournament.

Once we all arrived back, we hosted the 34th annual Blue Sky Classic on Dec. 29-30 - the longest running uninterrupted tournament in Division I women's basketball! We're really, really proud of that feat and I believe we consistently put on one of the best and classiest events in the nation. As for the team, we played a solid game against Kansas State out of the Big 12. We trailed by just five at halftime and though we let the Wildcats pull away in the second half, the team made some strides. Unfortunately, we ran out of gas the next day against Wagner in what was a real disappointment for us. This time, we led by five at halftime but let Wagner, who is much improved since the last time we met, go on a 14-0 run in the second and had no answer. After the tournament, freshman point guard Nicola Zimmer, who made a big impression on fans and the other coaches, was named to the Blue Sky Classic All-Tournament team.

There wasn't much time for anyone to dwell on the losses in the tournament as we were hosting Holy Cross on Jan. 2 for our third game in five days! This one was much more like what we want to see from the team. It was a true team effort with four players in double figures as we won 66-57 after being tied, 26-26, at halftime. Cassie Cooper had an awesome second half, really willing us to the win - she had just two points and one rebound and halftime and finished with 11 points, 12 boards. Faziah Steen scored all 15 of her points in the second half.

Our schedule continued to be brutal as we closed out the week with our fourth game in seven days at Rhode Island on Jan. 4. This was a tough, 69-66, double-overtime loss. We did overcome a lot of adversity in the game, however, as we trailed 16-5 early and had both Cassie and Nicola on the bench with two fouls after six minutes! But we persevered and trailed by just four, 25-21, at halftime. The second half was back and forth and ultimately, Cassie sent the game to overtime after a perfectly executed drive, scoring at the buzzer to tie it. She also sent the game to double-overtime with an offensive rebound and putback to tie it with about 12 seconds to go and then we got a stop on the other end. We took an early lead in double-OT and held URI defensively, but couldn't get any buckets ourselves, allowing them to keep the door open and they ultimately hit free throws to seal the win.

Freshman Janelle Ross cracked the starting lineup  against Holy Cross and Rhode Island and did really well, scoring 12 points in each game. Since we were trying that bigger lineup, Louise Vanden Bosch came off the bench and really responded with seven points and seven boards against HC and eight points against URI.

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So, for a few explanations ....

We had to cram all those games in because Princeton's final exam schedule, taken in January, doesn't allow the Ivy League to start conference play in earnest until Jan. 29-30. It's a real problem for the rest of the teams because the other leagues in the nation all start conference games this week and most will not play non-league games. So we're left with a long break before our game at Harvard on Jan. 15 and then another long break before the Columbia-Cornell trip on Jan. 29-30.

Also, a reader commented on a previous post asking why we don't talk in depth about injuries on here. This person also asked if there was an "unwritten code" against it. To be honest, there are actually written rules that prohibit us from revealing details about a student-athlete's injury without her permission. So that's one reason why we don't go into detail on here. The other is honestly that this is a public forum and while we don't expect to keep everything about our team a secret, there are some things that we like to keep to ourselves. We enjoy giving our fans, friends and family insight into the program on here but that also means we're giving insight to our opponents.

Thank you all again, as always, for reading and supporting us! We're going through some adjustments and growing pains right now, but we've finished up non-conference play and have our sights firmly set on the long Ivy League road ahead! It's a whole new season come Jan. 15!