Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Brown on February 13, 2026 , Loss , 51, to, 58
Final
Women's Basketball
at Brown
51
58
Women's Basketball Outlook 2006-07
9/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
After winning two consecutive Ivy League titles and nearly upsetting Rutgers in the NCAA tournament last season, this year's Dartmouth women's basketball team still has two goals in mind. They hope to become the first Big Green team to win three straight Ancient Eight crowns since the 1989-90 team won four in a row and they hope to become the first team in Dartmouth women's basketball history to win an NCAA tournament game. They are lofty goals, but with the return of Ivy Player of the Year candidate Elise Morrison from injury and the experience of All-Ivy candidates Ashley Taylor and Fatima Kamara in the backcourt, Dartmouth should once again be among the top teams in the Ivy League and the Northeast.
Frontcourt
Ivy Player of the Year candidate Elise Morrison is the focus of the Big Green attack up front. She played in only three games last season before suffering an injury against Maine that sidelined her for the rest of the season. Now healthy, Morrison should once again return to the form that she displayed as a sophomore when she was a first team All-Ivy pick.
“Elise is one of the premier players in the Ivy League,” said Dartmouth head coach Chris Wielgus. “We're looking forward to having her back healthy.”
Joining Morrison up front is junior power forward Sydney Scott, who enjoyed a breakthrough season last year. Scott stepped in admirably when Morrison went down and averaged 9.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg last season.
“Sydney has established herself as a force inside. We rely heavily on her rebounding and defense. The more she played last season, the more she scored. She now has a great deal of experience going into this season,” said Wielgus.
Sophomore Darcy Rose, a 6-2 forward, enjoyed a strong rookie campaign, playing in all 30 games.
“Darcy grew tremendously right before our eyes last season,” said Wielgus. “She is a great athlete with strength and agility. She filled a key role for us off the bench last year.”
Junior Frances Kalich saw limited playing time last season and continues to improve.
“Frances has worked hard to develop her game. She has improved her strength and like all of our forwards, she has a great deal of versatility,” said Wielgus.
Sophomore Amanda Young, a 6-3 center, is perhaps the best outside shooter among the post players.
“Amanda is a unique post player with three-point range. She showed a great deal of progress in acclimating to our system last year,” said Wielgus.
The lone newcomer to the frontcourt is Margaret Smith, a 6-1 power forward from Ft. Worth, Texas.
“Margaret comes from a strong AAU program and is a great athlete and a great defender,” said Wielgus. “She is an unbelievable rebounder and will be a force on the boards this season.”
Backcourt
Dartmouth lost one of the greatest backcourt combinations in school history with the graduation of Angie Soriaga and Jeannie Cullen, but is fortunate to still have seniors Ashley Taylor and Fatima Kamara returning to the fold.
Taylor is a shooting guard who can do it all. She has earned All-Ivy honors in each of her first three seasons and ranked tenth in the conference in both scoring and assists last season. She was also sixth in the Ancient Eight in free throw percentage, seventh in three-point field goal percentage and seventh in blocked shots.
“Ashley is just a fierce competitor,” said Wielgus. “She loves the game of basketball and it shows. She has an uncanny ability to score. She is a skilled offensive player who reads the game well, and often draws the toughest defensive assignments.”
Kamara can play either guard position and has been a strong contributor since her freshman year. An unselfish player, she ranked fourth in the Ivy League in assist-to-turnover ratio and sixth in assists and is also a strong rebounder from the guard position.
“Fatima is extremely athletic and gifted. She works hard and doesn't give up. She is quick, athletic and can get to the hoop to score,” said Wielgus.
Junior point guard Kristen Craft and sophomore combination guard Koren Schram both saw limited playing time last season behind Soriaga and Cullen, but will be expected to fill more prominent roles this season.
“Kristen has worked hard on her game,” said Wielgus. “She has a good handle and has the ability to run the point. Koren is a tremendously gifted offensive player with three-point range and a great deal of speed.”
Two newcomers, Betsy Williams and Michelle Meyer, will challenge for playing time in the backcourt. Williams is a 6-0 point guard who hails from nearby Norwich, Vt. and played her high school basketball at Hanover High School. Meyer, a 5-9 shooting guard from Covington, Ohio, is the younger sister of Jason Meyer, a senior captain on the Big Green men's basketball team.
“Betsy is a tall guard with great vision and the skills to distribute the basketball, ” said Wielgus. “Michelle is a slashing guard who can get to the hoop and is also sound defensively.”
Outlook
With three starters and eight letterwinners returning from a championship team plus the return of Morrison, most pundits would label Dartmouth as a heavy favorite to be among the top two or three teams in the Ivy League and highly likely to bring a third straight championship banner to Hanover.
“I never really look at it as three in a row,” said Wielgus. “We're just trying to win one. This is a new season with new players involved and new challenges. We will never rest on our laurels. The Ivy League race is always going to be competitive and we will do everything in our power to be ready for it.”
The road in preparation for the Ivy League season, however, could be perhaps the most difficult one that Wielgus and her staff has ever assembled. The Big Green will play in the Preseason WNIT against Hartford and follow that up with a trip to Vanderbilt and Marist. All three of those squads made the NCAA tournament last season and the Commodores are predicted to be a top 10 team this year. Perhaps the highlight of the season will come in December when national runner-up Duke comes to Hanover for the Blue Sky Restaurant Group Classic.
“This is how we get to be good,” said Wielgus. “This type of schedule isn't an anomaly. This is a common practice in our program. We're not going to pad our schedule to get some extra wins. We want to face the best competition and the best players so that we can become better ourselves.”
Frontcourt
Ivy Player of the Year candidate Elise Morrison is the focus of the Big Green attack up front. She played in only three games last season before suffering an injury against Maine that sidelined her for the rest of the season. Now healthy, Morrison should once again return to the form that she displayed as a sophomore when she was a first team All-Ivy pick.
“Elise is one of the premier players in the Ivy League,” said Dartmouth head coach Chris Wielgus. “We're looking forward to having her back healthy.”
Joining Morrison up front is junior power forward Sydney Scott, who enjoyed a breakthrough season last year. Scott stepped in admirably when Morrison went down and averaged 9.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg last season.
“Sydney has established herself as a force inside. We rely heavily on her rebounding and defense. The more she played last season, the more she scored. She now has a great deal of experience going into this season,” said Wielgus.
Sophomore Darcy Rose, a 6-2 forward, enjoyed a strong rookie campaign, playing in all 30 games.
“Darcy grew tremendously right before our eyes last season,” said Wielgus. “She is a great athlete with strength and agility. She filled a key role for us off the bench last year.”
Junior Frances Kalich saw limited playing time last season and continues to improve.
“Frances has worked hard to develop her game. She has improved her strength and like all of our forwards, she has a great deal of versatility,” said Wielgus.
Sophomore Amanda Young, a 6-3 center, is perhaps the best outside shooter among the post players.
“Amanda is a unique post player with three-point range. She showed a great deal of progress in acclimating to our system last year,” said Wielgus.
The lone newcomer to the frontcourt is Margaret Smith, a 6-1 power forward from Ft. Worth, Texas.
“Margaret comes from a strong AAU program and is a great athlete and a great defender,” said Wielgus. “She is an unbelievable rebounder and will be a force on the boards this season.”
Backcourt
Dartmouth lost one of the greatest backcourt combinations in school history with the graduation of Angie Soriaga and Jeannie Cullen, but is fortunate to still have seniors Ashley Taylor and Fatima Kamara returning to the fold.
Taylor is a shooting guard who can do it all. She has earned All-Ivy honors in each of her first three seasons and ranked tenth in the conference in both scoring and assists last season. She was also sixth in the Ancient Eight in free throw percentage, seventh in three-point field goal percentage and seventh in blocked shots.
“Ashley is just a fierce competitor,” said Wielgus. “She loves the game of basketball and it shows. She has an uncanny ability to score. She is a skilled offensive player who reads the game well, and often draws the toughest defensive assignments.”
Kamara can play either guard position and has been a strong contributor since her freshman year. An unselfish player, she ranked fourth in the Ivy League in assist-to-turnover ratio and sixth in assists and is also a strong rebounder from the guard position.
“Fatima is extremely athletic and gifted. She works hard and doesn't give up. She is quick, athletic and can get to the hoop to score,” said Wielgus.
Junior point guard Kristen Craft and sophomore combination guard Koren Schram both saw limited playing time last season behind Soriaga and Cullen, but will be expected to fill more prominent roles this season.
“Kristen has worked hard on her game,” said Wielgus. “She has a good handle and has the ability to run the point. Koren is a tremendously gifted offensive player with three-point range and a great deal of speed.”
Two newcomers, Betsy Williams and Michelle Meyer, will challenge for playing time in the backcourt. Williams is a 6-0 point guard who hails from nearby Norwich, Vt. and played her high school basketball at Hanover High School. Meyer, a 5-9 shooting guard from Covington, Ohio, is the younger sister of Jason Meyer, a senior captain on the Big Green men's basketball team.
“Betsy is a tall guard with great vision and the skills to distribute the basketball, ” said Wielgus. “Michelle is a slashing guard who can get to the hoop and is also sound defensively.”
Outlook
With three starters and eight letterwinners returning from a championship team plus the return of Morrison, most pundits would label Dartmouth as a heavy favorite to be among the top two or three teams in the Ivy League and highly likely to bring a third straight championship banner to Hanover.
“I never really look at it as three in a row,” said Wielgus. “We're just trying to win one. This is a new season with new players involved and new challenges. We will never rest on our laurels. The Ivy League race is always going to be competitive and we will do everything in our power to be ready for it.”
The road in preparation for the Ivy League season, however, could be perhaps the most difficult one that Wielgus and her staff has ever assembled. The Big Green will play in the Preseason WNIT against Hartford and follow that up with a trip to Vanderbilt and Marist. All three of those squads made the NCAA tournament last season and the Commodores are predicted to be a top 10 team this year. Perhaps the highlight of the season will come in December when national runner-up Duke comes to Hanover for the Blue Sky Restaurant Group Classic.
“This is how we get to be good,” said Wielgus. “This type of schedule isn't an anomaly. This is a common practice in our program. We're not going to pad our schedule to get some extra wins. We want to face the best competition and the best players so that we can become better ourselves.”
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballSunday, March 01
Saturday, February 28
Monday, January 19
Sunday, January 18
