Scenes from Michigan

Hi All,

We had a tough road trip to Michigan, losing both of our games (at Oakland and at #14 Michigan State) with a shorthanded lineup. But some people turned in some really tough performances, in particular senior Cassie Cooper and sophomore Kelsey Byrd. Cassie battled as our primary scorer and defender in the post both games and Kelsey was awesome off the bench. She had a career high nine points at Oakland and then topped it with 11 at Michigan State! I'm really proud of her as she's come back from surgery late in the summer to make a quick recovery and contribute. She's put in countless extra hours in the gym and with pool workouts.

Other than the losses, we did have some good times together on this trip and spent some quality time as a team. Our Michigan native, Faziah Steen's family hosted us for dinner at a local golf club on our first night. Below is a picture of the team along with Faziah's mom, younger brothers and uncles. We had a great time with her family and appreciated the event so much!

And thought I'd share some pics from the game at Michigan State. The Breslin Center is an impressive building.

Before the pictures, on behalf of the entire Dartmouth women's basketball family, I'd like to thank you all for your support so far this season. We've had some tough breaks and bumps in the road but I know we're getting stronger for it! As a wise follower commented on our blog last year: "When the Japanese mend broken objects, they fix the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful."

We will all go our separate ways tomorrow, as everyone flies home for the holidays. The players and coaches get a six-day break this year as they don't have to be back to campus until Dec. 26! I think everyone will benefit from the rest and some family time.

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday with your families and are looking forward to getting back on the court to continue getting stronger and better and showing you how great we can be!

- Dara

We're Still Here ... I Promise

Hi Loyal Fans,

Apologies for going WAY too long without a post on here. I hope we were doing a great job keeping up content as the games came fast and furious in the opening weeks and alas with the final exam break, so came a nap for the blog. Sorry we've been a little out of touch, but I hope you're still reading and we'll have some good updates this week.

We played our first game back from exams at Hartford last Sunday and as is typical of that first game back, it didn't go very well! Hartford is always one of the best teams in New England, often winning the America East and they have struggled a little early this season but we knew they were better than their record and very much hungry for a win. Unfortunately we were their prey! You can read about it here.

So we turn the page.

I'm actually writing to you from Newark Airport waiting for a flight to Detroit to meet the team. The rest of the group flew out from Manchester this morning and we'll all arrive in Detroit early this afternoon to start a nice 5-day trip in Faziah Steen's home state. We will be in Rochester, Mich. for the first half of the trip, taking on a solid Oakland University team on Dec. 16 at 6:30. Then its over to East Lansing to play Michigan State, who ranks 14th in the AP poll and 20th in the Coaches Poll, for a 1 p.m. tip on Dec. 18. We took the Spartans to overtime two years ago at Vermont's tournament.

As our regular readers know, this pre-holiday trip is my favorite part of the season! The main reason being that we're almost always bringing someone home and I love getting to see the great crowds that show up to support our players from their hometowns be it family, friends, former coaches or teams. It's so special. And it's great for all of us to get some better insight into where our Dartmouth basketball family members come from and learn to know them better. The other reason it's great fun is that without school in session, the players can and do focus completely on basketball and each other. It's a great time for team bonding.

I'll keep you updated throughout the trip to Michigan.

Thanks for reading, for your support and for bearing with us through this long break.

- Dara

Just a Quick Check In

Hi All,

Sorry I'm just getting to a quick Northeastern wrap up! The players started reading period and exams so that means catching up on some real life errands and a bunch of other stuff at work for the staff!

Anyhow, my game recap is here. We played a really solid game to beat Northeastern, 60-54. We were up 18-3 at one point in the first half! The Huskies used full court pressure and we really weren't fazed by it and were able to get a lot of layups off of it. Credit to Sasha Dosenko in particular for her work in the first half scoring as we broke the press.

It was a real team effort to win this one, which is always great to see. Brittney Smith had her third straight double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Other starters Nicola Zimmer and Louise Vanden Bosch scored nine points each. Nic had a HUGE three late in the game just as Northeastern was trying to make a run and Louise had a great second-half sequence scoring five straight points.

The biggest thing for us in this game was probably the play of our bench though. Sasha shot 6-of-7 from the floor en route to 13 points and four rebounds. Meghan McFee was huge for us too, scoring 10 points including hitting two three-pointers. Meg also got a big defensive rebound and was fouled with nine seconds left and coolly hit both at the line to help us ice the win.

It was really great to go into the exam break with three straight wins! Now the players just need to focus on their studies while getting into the gym to shoot when they can for the next couple of days. They're in the home stretch though!

Go Big Green

- Dara

To the Victor Go the Spoils

It's game day!! Just got back from pre-game meal at Molly's with the team. We tip against Northeastern in less than three hours - that's 7 p.m. at Leede tonight! Preview is here.

Congratulations to Brittney Smith who was named both the Ivy League Player of the Week and the Dartmouth Female Athlete of the Week for her efforts in wins over Vermont and Bryant. Those clickable links take you to the respective stories for each.

Make sure to check out the video interview that accompanies the Athlete of the Week story - just click on the picture at the top.

Hope to see you tonight or if you are a fan from afar, as I know many of you are, hope you'll be listening or watching.

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to sophomore guard Kylie Kufeld!! Of the players with in-season birthdays, she's the only one whose big day also falls on a game day!

Go Big Green

- Dara

Monday Check-In

Hi All,

Just a quick Monday morning update before I carry on with what is always the busiest day of the week!

We won a marathon game in overtime yesterday at Bryant, 75-72. Click here for the game story. The game tipped at 1 p.m. and didn't end until 3:15!! It was long even before we got to overtime. The teams combined for 51 fouls (29 for Bryant, 22 for us) and 65 free throws were taken (27 for Bryant, 28 for us). Unfortunately we only shot 65.8 percent from the line - ouch - which had we improved a bit might have ended the game in regulation. However, the team really locked down in OT and hit nearly 80 percent from the line, going 11-14, including the game-sealing free throws by rookie Nicola Zimmer.

Zimmer scored a career high 18 points, Brittney Smith continued a dominant week with a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double and Cassie Cooper set a bunch of new career highs including points (15), rebounds (18), steals (3), blocks (2) and minutes (38). It was one of those games with too many whistles on the easy stuff and not enough on the hard fouls! But sometimes you just have to scrap and pull out a W, which we did.

The team has the day off today and will be back to work tomorrow to prep for Northeastern at HOME on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Hope to see you there!

- Dara

What I'm Thankful For ...

Good Morning!

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family, friends, fans and followers out there. As we go through the ups and downs of the season your support means so much to us and we are thankful for you. We hope that you all have a wonderful day today!

If you saw the story on last night’s game, I think you’ll see that Dartmouth women’s basketball is thankful for it’s 66-51 win over Vermont! We really needed that win and the best part about it was getting there with a combination of tough, stifling defense and balanced offense. We had four players scored in double figures and four players had at least three assists. We shot 43 percent and had assists on 15 of our 25 field goals. The players really shared the ball well and showed just how much they want to see their teammates succeed. This is a particularly unselfish group.

Obviously the team is in Hanover this Thanksgiving but we will enjoy the day together. After a midday practice, we will have dinner at a local inn at 3 and will head back to Coach Wielgus’ house for dessert and some downtime, playing games and watching football!


So in the Thanksgiving tradition, I posed a question to our team, asking them to answer “What are you thankful for this year?” Here are their responses:

Cassie Cooper ’11: I'm thankful for all the loving and supportive people I have in my life. I feel so blessed every day.

Meghan McFee ’11: I am thankful for my friends and family, especially my parents, as well as for the incredible opportunities I've had throughout my life to become the person I am today.

Brittney Smith ’11: I'm thankful that I have great teammates and coaches that I don't mind spending Thanksgiving with. I'm also thankful that we got our first win of the season!

Louise Vanden Bosch ’11: I am truly thankful for my amazing family and friends — I could not have been more blessed. I am also thankful for the opportunity to play for a team with incredible people as well as so much tradition at such a prestigious institution.

Sasha Dosenko ’12: I am thankful for being done with classes until Monday!

Kelsey Byrd ’13: I am thankful for the family and friends who have supported me through good times and bad.

Kylie Kufeld ’13: I'm thankful for my family and friends, not only at home, but also here at Dartmouth, and the experiences I've had so far.

Faziah Steen ’13: I’m thankful for my caring teammates and supportive basketball staff.

Zakia Lghzaoui ’13: I am thankful to be able to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with my Dartmouth women's basketball family. Since we can't be with our families, we always make Thanksgiving Day fun and eventful.

Arianne Hunter ’14: I'm thankful for the progress I’m making on my knee recovery and those who are helping me and for my family back home.

Eve Zelinger ’14: I am thankful for my supportive family, my crazy fun teammates and friends, and Oreo mint ice cream.

Nicola Zimmer ’14: I'm thankful for my teammates!

Head Coach Chris Wielgus: I am most grateful for my family and my family of friends who have sustained me through all the twists and turns of my life. I am also thankful for my family of friends who have spent their college Thanksgivings with me. I am so fortunate to have all these special and fun people come in and out of my life.

Asst. Coach Leah Foster: I'm very thankful for my family. They are an amazing support system and I have no idea where I would be without them.

Asst. Coach Erin Rewalt: It's hard to limit my thankfulness to a sentence or two, because I feel immensely fortunate for everything. I'm most thankful for the people in my life, including my supportive and loving family and friends. I'm also thankful to be back at Dartmouth, living in Hanover, and working with these incredible and dynamic people on the team and in the program.

Koren Schram, Dir. of Ops: After spending last year in Iceland, I’m thankful for being in America where we have Thanksgiving!

Personally, I always get a little homesick as the holidays approach, but I am thankful that my family understands the time constraints of my job. I am thankful for their love and support. I’m also so thankful for these great players and coaches who have allowed me to be part of the Dartmouth women’s basketball family for the last five years. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

- Dara

Finally Home!

Hi Friends,

Well we are finally getting to host our first game at Leede Arena this season. While we certainly hoped to come home with a better record than 0-4 after the first two weeks, we know that this team has already been battle tested against some of the top athletes out there. That's especially true for our post players who have already been banging around with two of the top centers in the Big 10, Northwestern's Amy Jaeschke, and ACC, BC's Carolyn Swords. I think they have the bruises to prove it but they've stayed strong and tough.

Tonight we host Vermont at 7 p.m. in a little Thanksgiving Eve showdown. Dartmouth and Vermont were forced to renew their rivalry by the WNIT selection committee in 2008 and have since kept it up, playing each season since. This year each team is participating in the other's tournament, but won't meet again since they have been set up with predetermined opponents. It's become a good regional rivalry for both teams - in the fall of 2008, at Vermont's tournament, the game went to triple overtime before Vermont won.

My game notes/preview are available here.

The team will spend Thanksgiving together tomorrow with a morning practice and afternoon dinner out and back to Coach Wielgus' house for some relaxation, games and football on TV. We all miss our families at this time of year, but we've got something special here too and it makes up for it.

Check back tomorrow morning before your turkey for a little Thanksgiving edition of the blog!

-Dara