The two-time defending Ivy Champion Dartmouth women's basketball team has its sights set on an 18th Ivy League Championship this winter and it all begins this Saturday night at Leede Arena. For the first time since the 1984-85 season, Dartmouth opens the slate with three home games. First up is Bryant this Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. followed by Temple on Thurs. Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. and Hartford on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m.

Year after year, the Dartmouth women’s basketball team has proven that it can never be counted out nor taken lightly. The Big Green showed that again last season, turning around a 2-8 start to win 16 of its last 18 regular-season games. Among the tough early losses were late heartbreakers against Michigan State and Arkansas, teaching the lessons that would eventually help Dartmouth to a 13-1 Ivy record and its 17th Ivy Championship. The title was the Big Green’s fourth in the last five years and the team returned to the NCAA Tournament for its fifth straight postseason appearance.

The Big Green has been picked by the Ivy media to win this year’s league title. Entering her 25th season, Chris Wielgus is always one for the unexpected — be it a game strategy, the development of an unknown player or her postgame press conference. But there’s always one predictable element — her Dartmouth team will be well-prepared and willing to face any challenge. A question and answer session with Coach Wielgus offers some insight, but no promises, about the 2009-10 Big Green.

Once again, your players voluntarily returned to campus early for conditioning and captains practices. Has that paid off so far?
That shows a huge commitment on their part. It’s honestly not coming from me, it’s coming from them, and much of our success comes from that ­— the ground-up commitment by the players and not the coach down. It’s just another indication of the tradition we have here of working hard and sacrificing for the program.

It’s impossible not to notice the graduation of Darcy Rose ’09 and Koren Schram ’09, All-Ivy seniors who combined for 21 points per game last season. How do you fill that void?
I don’t know how we’re going to replace them, but that’s me. This is a cyclical business, and every year I don’t know how we’re going to replace seniors and this is no exception. But my experience tells me that somebody will step up to the plate and that we will find a way. We may have to reinvent ourselves a little bit, but somebody is going to come out of somewhere to contribute and make a big difference for us. Last year it was Darcy Rose stepping up in her final season and, of course, Koren performed consistently. You just don’t know who or when, but that somebody will rise up.

A common figure is the number of starters returning versus those lost. Dartmouth’s ratio this year is 3/2, but is there more to it than that?
I think there is definitely more to it. The kids coming off the bench like Cassie Cooper and Betsy Williams have enormous experience. It’s their turn now to see what they can do and see how they can fill that gap.

On the subject of starters, Dartmouth is traditionally a team that has very few changes to the starting lineup during the season. How hard will it be to make that initial starting five?
I don’t think there will be too many questions on the top five to begin with. However, this year we are more fluid than we were last year because we have freshmen that I hope will be able to contribute. They have to learn the system though, and our motion offense is such that they have to be able to read each other. In order to do that they have to play together. I don’t have a preconceived number in my head, but if you don’t get the system, it’s going to be hard for you to play. I’m not doing the thinking for them ­— it’s not one pass to two and cut to the corner. It’s not done by numbers. You have to play to each other’s strengths and it takes time to get used to it.

So about that freshman class comprised of four guards, how are they coming along?
I’ve been really pleased with them. They arrived in good shape and they’ve played competitively in high school. Once they get used to our style I think they’ll be able to contribute. It’s just a matter of how quickly they learn the system and they are getting it.

Kylie Kufeld is very athletic, has good size and is very competitive. She’s shown us some good work so far. Coming out of a nationally competitive high school program at Detroit Country Day, Faziah Steen is a prolific scorer who does so in many ways and just has that scorer’s mentality. I think she has even more untapped potential. Two of the freshmen have missed some time in preseason but are on their way back soon. Zakia Lghzaoui is an athletic point guard and defensive specialist, and Kelsey Byrd we know is a good player. She’s so steady, a great scorer and a hard-nosed competitor. We have enormous hopes for these freshmen. We need this class to step up.

The backcourt is an area with a lot of experience and fresh faces, with all the seniors and freshmen at the guard position. What’s the scoop?
Betsy Williams, who has starting experience, has athleticism, is in good shape and is a bit more fluid this year. Her play will be a key to our success. I am exceptionally pleased with Margaret Smith, who completed the transition to our starting three-guard last year. She’s stronger than she has ever been, proficient from three-point land and fighting for rebounds. We scrimmaged recently and it was great to see Michelle Meyer back on the court after more than a year out. I need to be patient with her because it's been so long, but her shot looks good, she is working hard and certainly wants it.

Junior Meghan McFee came out of nowhere last year when we had a void at point guard and was smart enough to step up. She’s not a natural point, she’s more of a two-guard that likes to score, but she did a good job for us and I have enormous respect for her. She’s improved her pull-up game and is stronger than she was; I expect her to continue to contribute. As always, Louise Vanden Bosch is in great physical shape but has missed some time with a concussion. What I saw before that, she was nailing the three, fighting for rebounds and bringing a tough mentality to the court.

How about the big guns in the post?
Junior Brittney Smith has come back stronger and better than she was and is working on her outside game. My main concern with Brittney is with her success at a young age, including the Ivy Player of the Year award last season, she’ll have to handle the pressure of being the focal point. But despite just entering her junior year, she has experience with that and lots of strategies have been thrown at her. She’s maintained her head and keeps on working hard. I am very excited for her classmate Cassie Cooper who has persevered and really waited her turn. She has come back in good shape and with a little more playing time under her belt, she’s the X-factor for our team. She’s capable of doing a great deal and just needs to let the game come to her; she’s come so far in one year and is a scorer inside and out.

The sophomore posts Sasha Dosenko and Jalea Moses are also going to be critical and we’ll look for them to step up this year. Jalea has been working hard on the fundamentals inside and she is stronger. Sasha has a real scoring knack to her and she seems much more comfortable this year on the team and in the system. Margaret Smith used to be a forward and can post up if we need it.

Leadership is always an intangible but critical factor - it certainly was last season. Where have you seen it so far?
Michelle Meyer is really a natural leader and along with Margaret and Betsy, all three of those seniors have their hearts in the right place. It all comes down to heart and soul ­— if they have it in their heart and if they are willing to put it in their sneaker soles. If they can do that we’ll be all right. They’ve worked hard and done a good job keeping the group together. Margaret and Michelle especially have to provide us with the inner strength that comes from having to persevere. With injuries and position changes, they’ve faced adversity and stuck with it and never gave up — sitting there and watching others play and working hard only to be disappointed again. They clearly love the game and it’s their turn.

Take us through this year’s tough schedule and the motive behind it.
This year we have a few more home games and we open with three games at home against Bryant, Temple and Hartford. It’s exciting to be home early, and remembering what the atmosphere was like for our last home game against Harvard, the team will be ready to go. Top to bottom the schedule is difficult, and we have some really good teams at the beginning, including those three and Vermont. We are playing some bigger-name programs in guarantee games on the road like Boston College, Syracuse, Cincinnati and USC, which help bring in revenue for the athletic department. We’re looking forward to going to the tournament at Southern California because we have been expanding our recruiting base and it’s getting our name out there. We’ll also host our 33rd annual tournament, hosting Dayton, Rhode Island and Vermont in the Blue Sky Classic.

We play a tough, diverse non-league schedule for no reason other than respect for the players on my team. I know how much the game means to them and what they are capable of doing. We can’t worry about the win-loss record early on because if you want to be good you have to play the best. It’s the same thing in the classroom – you have to take the classes where you will be challenged. I believe in a team getting outside its comfort zone — that way we grow much faster than if we just got wins against average teams. I’d rather play good teams because right away you find out what’s wrong. We’ll find out what we’re good at and not good at and we’ll work on it. All of that prepares us for what I know is going to be an extremely competitive Ivy League race.