Women's Hoops Hosts Temple in Non-Conference Tilt Tonight

Dartmouth Complete Game Notes

Fresh off a season-opening win against Bryant, the Dartmouth women's basketball team welcomes the red-hot Owls of Temple to Leede Arena for a 7 p.m. tip tonight.

Game 2: Dartmouth (1-0) vs. Temple (2-0)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14 • 7:00 PM
Location: Leede Arena • Hanover, N.H.
Multimedia:
Livestats • Live Video ($) • Radio (Scroll to WUVR Link)

Dartmouth-Temple Series
Series Record: Temple leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: 12/3/08
Result: Temple W, 65-29
Streak: Temple +2
This is just the third-ever meeting between Dartmouth and Temple, with the Owls having won the previous two. The teams began a home-and-home series last year after their only other meeting came back in 1983. Temple caught Dartmouth on a bad day last season, taking a 65-29 win in December.

This Time Out: Game Number 885. Dartmouth continues the three game homestand to open the 2009-10 campaign, hosting the first of three Atlantic 10 teams it will play this winter. The Owls will prove a very formidable opponent, having already knocked off Auburn and Illinois this season.

Last Time Out: The Big Green won its season-opener for the first time since 2005, taking a 57-47 victory over Bryant. It proved a team effort all the way, with three players scoring in double figures led by Cassie Cooper's 14 points. Dartmouth led from wire to wire, up by as many as 14, but had to stave off Bryant's three-point shooting down the stretch.

Next Time Out: Dartmouth hosts New England rival Hartford, a perennial America East favorite. The Hawks hold a 7-6 edge in the all-time series that Dartmouth would love to even out. This marks the first time since the 1984-85 season that the Big Green has had three straight home games to start a season.

Dartmouth Probable Starters (2008-09 Stats):
*#10 Margaret Smith • SR • G • 6-1, 6.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 29.6 mpg
*#20 Brittney Smith • JR • F • 6-1, 14.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 35.6 mpg
*#21 Meghan McFee • JR • G • 5-10, 5.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 26.6 mpg
#24 Cassie Cooper • JR • F • 6-2, 4.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 15.9 mpg
#32 Betsy Williams • SR • G • 6-0, 5.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 25.1 mpg
*Returning starter

Quick Hits
• In recent seasons, Dartmouth's schedules have been frontloaded with strong opponents to prepare the team for the season. This year is no exception with Temple and Hartford this week and Vermont, Cincinnati and Syracuse looming before dates at USC and Boston College. However, the win over Bryant gives the team the chance to start the season at 2-0 for the first time since 2005.

• Junior Cassie Cooper made her first career start against Bryant while senior Betsy Williams returned to the starting five for the first time since Jan. 4, 2009. • Despite playing only 25 minutes with first half foul trouble, Brittney Smith still neared a double-double on 12 points and nine rebounds against Bryant. Her sister, Margaret Smith, stole the show on the boards, however, hauling in 12 caroms from her position as a guard.

• Dartmouth opens the 2009-10 season on the heels of yet another Ivy Championship season in which the team went 18-11 overall and 13-1 in Ivy play. The Big Green played a non-conference schedule rated as high as fourth in the nation in strength of schedule and it paid off down the stretch when the team won 15 of its last 16 games.

• The Big Green returns nine letterwinners and three starters from the 2009-10 squad, almost identical to last year at this point. Dartmouth must replace the All-Ivy duo of Koren Schram '09 and Darcy Rose '09. Junior forward Cassie Cooper is poised to step into Rose's role in the post while senior guard Betsy Williams has plenty of experience under her belt, having started nearly half of her career games played.

• Dartmouth's seniors, Michelle Meyer, Margaret Smith and Betsy Williams, have won two Ivy League Championships and made the postseason in each of their three seasons in Hanover.

STARTING ON THE RIGHT NOTE
Dartmouth opened its 37th season of varsity women's basketball with a 57-47 victory over Bryant on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Big Green moved to 19-18 all-time in season openers, and 4-6 since 2000. It was the first season-opening victory since a 90-42 win over Quinnipiac in 2005. Being at home to start the season for the first time since 2005 helped as Dartmouth is now 13-4 all-time when opening the season at home, but 7-14 on the road.

HOME SWEET HOME
Dartmouth is in its 23rd season of play at Leede Arena and since opening the doors in 1987, the Dartmouth women are 13-10 in home-openers and 175-84 overall at home. The Big Green went 9-3 including a perfect 7-0 in Ivy play at Leede in 2008-09. Including earlier games not played at Leede, Dartmouth is 24-13 all-time in home-openers.

CRACKING THE STARTING LINEUP
Junior forward Cassie Cooper did not disappoint in her first collegiate start against Bryant, matching her career high with 31 minutes played. She scored a career-high 14 points and hauled in seven rebounds and commanded the inside game when classmate Brittney Smith was sidelined with first-half foul trouble.

MAKING HER COLLEGIATE DEBUT
Freshman guard Kylie Kufeld was the only Dartmouth rookie to appear in the season-opener against Bryant, logging 13 minutes with a rebound, an assist and a steal.

BACK IN UNIFORM
Senior guard Michelle Meyer was the first player off the bench in the win over Bryant, making her return to the court for the first time since March 20, 2008. She tallied two points, three boards, an assist and a steal in 12 minutes of work against the Bulldogs. Last year, Meyer started off preseason in solid form, but was sidelined just after the first game with a knee injury that eventually cost her the entire season.

FAMILY TIES
Dartmouth currently has sisters on its squad in senior Margaret Smith and junior Brittney Smith. Margaret has consistently sacrificed for her team and endured the transition from forward to guard, where she is now comfortable as a shooter and a matchup nightmare at 6-1. Other players with family ties to Dartmouth include Betsy Williams' five alumni family members including father, Bruce '73; Michelle Meyer's brother Jason '06, a men's basketball captain; and Meghan McFee's cousin, Brian Otley '89 and his wife, Ute Bowman Otley '90, an All-Ivy basketball player.

RARE HOMESTAND TO START
Dartmouth opens the 2009-10 campaign with three straight home games for the first time since the 1984-85 season. Such a homestand is so rare that the Big Green has only opened with two home games twice in that span, in 1985-86 and 2002-03. The homestand includes last weekend's win over Bryant, tonight's game against Temple and a date with Hartford on Sunday, Nov. 22.

BEFORE HITTING THE ROAD
The Big Green should enjoy the homestand while it lasts because the team won't be home again until it hosts the annual Blue Sky Classic on Dec. 29-30. Dartmouth has quite a road swing ahead, traveling to defending America East champ Vermont on Nov. 25 then a quick turnaround to Big East foe Cincinnati on Nov. 29. Dartmouth faces Stony Brook and Syracuse on the road after exams before heading west to the University of Southern California's pre-holiday tournament. The Big Green plays the host USC in the opening game.

Schedules