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
Monday, January 24, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
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!
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
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 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
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
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
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
Saturday, December 4, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
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
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, November 29, 2010
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
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
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