Big Green Tackles #14 Michigan State on Saturday Afternoon

Complete Dartmouth Game Notes (PDF)

The Dartmouth women's basketball team continues its pre-holiday trip to Michigan this Saturday with a showdown at #14 Michigan State, who is currently riding an eight-game winning streak. The Big Green comes in on the heels of a tough loss at Oakland, for which Dartmouth was missing a pair of starters. Saturday's game is the second of the homecoming trip for sophomore Faziah Steen, who hails from Kalamazoo, Mich.

Dartmouth is playing its second Big 10 opponent of the season in Michigan State and its first ranked opponent, though Boston College was receiving votes at the time of its game with the Green and has since entered the top-25. The players will enjoy a six-day break for the Christmas holiday before returning to campus to prepare for Dartmouth's own Blue Sky Classic on Dec. 29-30. The Big Green welcomes Big 12 foe Kansas State, Vermont and Wagner.

GAME 10: DARTMOUTH (3-6) at #14 MICHIGAN STATE
Date: Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010 • 1:00 PM
Location: East Lansing, Mich. • Breslin Center
Dartmouth-Michigan State Series: MSU leads, 1-0
Streak: MSU +1
Last Meeting: MSU, 60-52 (OT), 11/22/08, Burlington, Vt.
Of Note: The Big Green and the Spartans have met just once before on the basketball court, playing at the 2008 Vermont Tournament. Dartmouth stormed out to a 9-0 lead in that game and ultimately battled back from a six-point halftime deficit to force overtime.

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STARTING FIVE
1. Today's game is number 917 in the 38th season of varsity women's basketball at Dartmouth.

2. The Big Green is on a two-game losing streak and will look to snap it today with a tall test against the 14th ranked Spartans. This is Dartmouth's second trip to a Big 10 arena this season after opening the campaign at Northwestern.

3. Dartmouth blocked a season-high eight shots at Oakland but was also punished by one of the NCAA's top shot blockers as the Grizzlies blocked 14 shots led by Brittany Carnago's seven swats.

4. Sophomore Kelsey Byrd let it fly at Oakland last time out, scoring a career-high nine points on three three-pointers. It was Byrd's second game back from preseason surgery and she showed off the three-point shot she added to her game in the off-season.

5. Sophomore Faziah Steen hails from Kalamazoo, Mich. and is playing in a homecoming trip to her home state. She played her high school ball at Detroit Country Day where she earned all-state honors and won a pair of state championships.

WELCOME HOME
With a roster of 13 players hailing from 10 states and two countries, Dartmouth's team is truly diverse and just one state, California, is home to more than one player. The program has a tradition of bringing their players back to play in their home state. This week's trip (at Oakland, 12/16 and at Michigan State, 12/18) marks a return home for Kalamazoo native Faziah Steen. Steen was an all-state guard for Detroit Country Day, winning state championships as a junior and senior.

BYRD FOR THREE
Dartmouth's own #33, Kelsey Byrd, did a pretty good impression of the most infamous #33, Larry Bird, against Oakland on Dec. 16. Dartmouth's Byrd, a 5-10 guard, scored more than 1,000 points in high school without the three-point shot in her arsenal. She spent countless hours in the offseason developing a long-range shot and it paid off in her second outing of the season when she scored nine points on three triples. Byrd had missed the first seven games of the season recovering from preseason surgery.

A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
Dartmouth did not shoot the ball well against Oakland — connecting on just 31 percent of attempts — but the Big Green did share the ball well. Dartmouth recorded a season-high 15 assists on its 18 field goals. Seven players had at least one assist, five recorded two or more and senior Cassie Cooper led the team with four.

HUSTLE STATS
The Big Green's defense made some key plays against Oakland filling up the hustle stats in forcing 16 turnovers, blocking a season-high eight shots and grabbing nine steals.

AGAINST THE BIG 10
Dartmouth is 1-6 all-time against Big 10 teams, with its lone win coming against Wisconsin in Hanover in 1989. The Big Green played Michigan State to overtime in 2008 and lost at Northwestern earlier this season.

A LITTLE MORE ON MICHIGAN
Michigan is one of Dartmouth's more frequently visited states, with the Big Green making its fourth trip here since 1997. Current assistant coach Erin Rewalt '99 hails from Richmond, Mich. and had a homecoming game at Detroit in 1997. Dartmouth played at Oakland as part of a trip for All-Ivy star Katharine Hanks '03 in 2001 and played Michigan and Central Michigan for former player Elise Morrison '07 in 2006.

FAST BREAK BLUES
Perhaps the determining factor in Dartmouth's loss at Oakland was the Grizzlies' ability to capitalize in transition. Oakland scored 26 fast break points in the game including 18 in the first half.

OFFENSE - DEFENSE, THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE
Dartmouth's numbers in wins versus losses are pretty clear cut this season. If the Big Green scores more than 60 points, it is 3-1 and is 2-0 when shooting better than 40 percent from the floor. If Dartmouth allows fewer than 60 points, it is a victory and the team is 3-0 when allowing the opponent to shoot worse than 39.9 percent. These numbers were particularly apparent in the 60-54 win over Northeastern on Dec. 1. The Big Green shot a season-best 46 percent from the floor while allowing just 32.9 percent shooting from the Huskies.

BENCH COMING UP BIG
The Big Green has not shown great depth this season, with just seven players seeing action on average. However, the bench was the difference-maker in the win over Northeastern. Senior Meghan McFee scored 10 points and added three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 21 minutes of action. Junior Sasha Dosenko scored a season-high 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbed four rebounds in 22 minutes.

COOPER THRIVES AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
Senior Cassie Cooper set career-highs in five statistical categories during the win at Bryant including: 15 points, eight rebounds, three steals, two blocks and 38 minutes. Not a natural shot blocker, Cooper finally broke through with two blocks after having posted one 15 times. Ironically, Cooper's previous career highs in points, rebounds and minutes played had all come against Bryant in the 2009-10 opener before her season-ending injury. The 6-2 forward might not like to play Bryant again, however, as she was fouled hard all day in the 2010 meeting, a 75-72 win, resulting in a 9-of-10 effort at the free-throw line.

WORTH THE WAIT
Senior Louise Vanden Bosch moved into the starting lineup in the win over Vermont on Nov. 24 and has been there since. Prior to this season, the guard had started just one other game in her career. In her first three starts, she averaged 9.3 points and 4.0 rebounds, shooting 52.6 percent from the field. Against Vermont on Nov. 24, Vanden Bosch scored 11 points and played a then career-high 33 minutes. In the next game, the senior added eight points, four rebounds and three assists, playing 44 of a possible 45 minutes to top Bryant in overtime.

AT LEAST SOMEONE TAKES CHARITY
It's no secret that the free throw line has been unkind to Dartmouth as the Big Green is shooting just 59.6 percent, making 99-of-166 attempts. Fortunately its opponents are also connecting on just 66.9 percent of shots from the charity stripe. Senior forward Cassie Cooper is the exception as the only Dartmouth player shooting better than 80 percent from the line, hitting an impressive 82.6 percent. The team did shoot a season-best 83.3 percent from the line at Oakland, going 10-of-12, on Dec. 16.

Schedules