Women's Basketball Home for Ivy Foes Brown and Yale on Pink Zone Night

Complete Dartmouth Game Notes (PDF)

The Dartmouth women's basketball team hosts two major promotions when Ivy foes Brown and Yale come to town with National Girls & Women in Sports Day on Friday against Brown and Pink Zone breast cancer awareness night on Saturday against Yale. Both games tip at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Youth Jersey Night - $1 Admission for youth wearing a team jersey • Free raffle for team autographed basketball
SATURDAY NIGHT: $1 Admission for ANYONE wearing PINK • Free raffle for team autographed PINK basketball • Prizes from Norris Cotton Cancer Center & Dartmouth Bookstore

GAMES 20 & 21: DARTMOUTH (8-11 3-2 Ivy) vs. BROWN & YALE

GAME 20: DARTMOUTH (8-11, 3-1 Ivy) vs. BROWN (6-14, 3-3 Ivy)
Date: Friday, Feb. 12, 2010 • 7 PM
Location: Leede Arena • Hanover, N.H.
Dartmouth-Brown Series: Dartmouth leads, 46-19
Last Meeting: 3/7/09 • Hanover, N.H.
Result: Dartmouth W, 64-43
Streak: Dartmouth +7
Dartmouth has won the last seven meetings and 10 of the last 12 against Brown. The Big Green has actually clinched the Ivy Title on the past two Ivy Championships with wins over the Bears.

GAME 21: DARTMOUTH (8-11, 3-1 Ivy) vs YALE (9-11, 4-2 Ivy)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 • 7 PM
Location: Leede Arena • Hanover, N.H.
Dartmouth-Yale Series: Dartmouth leads, 50-14
Last Meeting: 3/6/09 • Hanover, N.H.
Result: Dartmouth W, 61-51
Streak: Dartmouth +5
The Big Green has won nine of the last 10 outings against Yale and lost three times since 1999. Dartmouth and Yale have had some close battles of late despite a +9.4 scoring margin in the last five.

MULTIMEDIA
Brown Livestats • Yale Livestats
Brown Live Video ($) • Yale Live Video ($)
Dartmouth Radio (WUVR 1490 AM) (Both Games)

THIS TIME OUT
Games Number 903 & 904. Dartmouth is back at Leede Arena for a big Ivy League weekend, looking to break out of a four-way logjam of teams with two losses. Dartmouth has split its last two Ivy weekends and could use a sweep to get back on track. The Big Green hosts two special events this weekend, with National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Friday and the WBCA Pink Zone breast cancer awareness game on Saturday.

DARTMOUTH PROBABLE STARTERS
*#10    Margaret Smith   G • SR • 6-1 • 5.8ppg, 5.4 rgg, 79.6 FT Pct.
*#20    Brittney Smith    F • JR • 6-1 • 12.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.2 bpg
#25    Faziah Steen      G • FR • 5-8 • 8.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.0 spg
#32    Betsy Williams   G • SR • 6-0 • 6.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg
#34    Sasha Dosenko   F • SO • 6-3 • 6.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg*Returning starter

QUICK TAKE ON THE BIG GREEN

• According to the Sagarain RPI ratings, Dartmouth has played a whopping eight teams in the RPI top-50, more than twice the next closest Ivy school at three.

• Brittney Smith recorded her seventh double-double of the season, and fourth straight, in the win over Penn and moved her streak of 10+ rebounding games to six against Princeton.

• Not known for her scoring prowess, Margaret Smith has reached double-figures in two of the last three contests, and scored nine points in the third. She has also converted a team best 90.5 percent from the free throw line in Ivy play (19-of-21).

• Seven of Dartmouth's wins have come when either holding a lead at the half or tied, standing at 7-0 with a halftime advantage. The win over Cornell marked the first time this season that the Big Green has rebounded from a halftime deficit.

• Dartmouth committed a season-low of 12 turnovers in consecutive games against New Hampshire and Cornell.

PINK IS THE NEW GREEN
On Saturday night, Dartmouth hosts its annual WBCA Pink Zone breast cancer awareness game. Dartmouth players will don pink shooting shirts and shoelaces, while all fans wearing pink will receive $1 admission to the game. The Big Green is teaming up with the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at our own Dartmouth Hitchcock Medial Center to sponsor the event. The Women's Basketball Coaches Association has sponsored the Pink Zone (formerly Think Pink) for the last three years, with upwards of 1,500 schools participating the last two years.

NEW YEAR, BIG NUMBERS
Junior forward Brittney Smith had a particularly strong January and overall, is averaging 13.6 points and 11.0 rebounds in 2010. Smith has pulled in 10+ rebounds in Dartmouth's last six games, and recorded double-doubles in four straight contests. She poured in 22 points against Cornell and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds against UNH.

STEEN HOLDING STEADY
Freshman Faziah Steen has really upped her numbers since the start of Ivy League play, averaging 10.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.9 steals per game. She has also reached double-figures in scoring in the last three contests. Not a point guard by trade, Steen is running the point at least half-time for the Big Green this season.

SENIORS STEPPING UP
Steen isn't the only one upping her game lately, as senior guards Margaret Smith and Betsy Williams have also increased their season averages in Ivy play. Smith has been impressive, averaging 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in conference including scoring in double figures against Columbia and Penn, and nine points at Princeton. Williams has asserted herself as a lockdown defender, using her 6-0 frame to harass opposing ball-handlers and take valuable time off the shot clock. She is averaging 7.4 points and a career best 4.6 rebounds in Ivy play.

KEEPING IT CLEAN
Dartmouth currently ranks first in the nation in fewest personal fouls committed per game, with an average of just 12.4. Undefeated UConn ranks second with 12.8 per game. A big part of the Big Green's disciplined defense is not giving up points when the clock is stopped. Dartmouth was whistled for a season-low five fouls against Boston College and had only 10 in the win over Harvard on Jan. 16. Dartmouth has only had a player foul out once this season.

GLASS CLEANERS
Dartmouth has outrebounded five of its last six opponents, and every Ivy opponent thus far. The Big Green has a rebounding margin of +5.3 in the last six games and +7.0 in Ivy play. Dartmouth outrebounded Penn by 17 on Feb. 5.

MINUTE WOMEN
In Ivy play, four Dartmouth starters rank in the top 10 for minutes played, led by Brittney Smith with a league-high 37.6 minutes per game. Betsy Williams is fourth at 34.8 with Faziah Steen (31.8) and Margaret Smith (31.0) ninth and tenth.

POINT GUARD BY COMMITTEE
Dartmouth does not have one player as its standout point guard, with several players bringing the ball up at different times. As a result, four players have at least 25 assists with a fifth dishing out 22. Forward Brittney Smith actually leads the team with 37 assists and had five in the win over Penn. Junior Meghan McFee, who ran the point last season, has filled in more at shooting guard, led the team with four against Harvard and six against UNH. Rookie Faziah Steen, also not a point guard by trade, has 32 assists and has dished out 16 in Ivy play.

STREAK SNAPPED
Dartmouth's loss to Columbia marked the end of a 15-game Ivy home winning-streak. The Big Green had not lost an Ivy game at Leede Arena in more than two years, including a perfect 7-0 mark at home last season. The school record is an impressive 20 straight home league games.

SCHEDULING UP
Don't let the 8-11 record fool you. Dartmouth has played by far the most challenging non-conference schedule in the Ivy League. The Big Green's strength of schedule ranked as high as eighth in the nation this season and has maintained in the top-100 even as Ivy play began. Dartmouth has played as many as eight teams in the RPI top-50 and 11 in the top 125.
The teams that Dartmouth has lost to have a staggering combined record of 147-75 overall this season. In addition to #25 Syracuse, three of the first four opponents on the schedule were receiving top-25 votes and Dayton ranked as high as 20th and was just the second team out of the top-25 when it played Dartmouth.

IVY LEAGUE ELITE
Dartmouth has won 17 of a possible 33 Ivy League Championships since 1976-77. The Big Green owns at least a share of four of the last five Ivy Championships including the last two, with an outright title last season in 2009.
Dartmouth leads its all-time series against every Ivy team except Harvard, who holds a 35-31 edge. Only one other Ivy team, Penn, has more than 20 wins against the Green with 21.

GETTING TO THE LINE ...
And keeping opponents off it. The Big Green has picked up where it left off last season by getting to the free throw line often and keeping its opponents away from it. In 19 games, Dartmouth has taken 360 free throws to its opponents 227. On the season, with 232 made free throws, Dartmouth has made more freebies than its opponents have taken. The Green could stand to improve on its 64.4 percentage but opponents are also only connecting on 63.4 percent. Last season, Dartmouth nearly doubled up its opponents by taking 602 free throws to their 345 attempts.

Schedules