Women's Basketball Opens 2011-12 Campaign at Kansas State

Game 1: Dartmouth (0-0-0) at Kansas State (0-0-0)
Date: Saturday, November 12 (9 p.m. ET)
Location: Manhattan, Kan. (Bramlage Arena)
Series: Kansas State leads 1-0
Streak: Kansas State has won one

The Dartmouth women's basketball team opens the 2011-12 campaign on Saturday (Nov. 12) with a primetime game against the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan, Kan. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. (ET) at Kansas State's Bramlage Arena. Fans can follow the action with livestats, live audio and live video at DartmouthSports.com.

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Starting Five
1. Dartmouth opens its 39th season of varsity women's basketball at Kansas State on Nov. 12, 2011. The Big Green fielded a non-varsity team for one season prior. Today's game is number 936 since the first varsity season in 1973-74 and the programs all-time record is 528-407.

2. The Big Green is a young squad this season with just two upperclassmen in senior Sasha Dosenko and junior Faziah Steen. In all, Dartmouth has nine underclassmen and welcome five freshmen to the squad this season.

3. Opening the season on the road is common practice for Dartmouth. The Big Green last opened the season at home during the 2009-10 season but has started the season on the road in seven of the last nine seasons, including this season.

4. Today's game marks Dartmouth's first season-opener against a Big 12 squad. The Big Green has a 1-6 record against teams from the Big 12 with its lone win coming against Kansas during the 2003-04 season.

5. Dartmouth returns the services of junior captain Faziah Steen. Steen is the Big Green's leading returning scorer and was an All-Ivy second team selection last season.

Dartmouth vs. Kansas State Notables
This will be the second consecutive season that the Big Green and Wildcats meet. The Wildcats came to Hanover, N.H., last season for the Blue Sky Classic. The Wildcats won that meeting, 69-48.

The Wildcats last played an Ivy League school during the 2009-10 season when they faced Yale in Manhattan, Kan. Kansas State won 78-59. Prior to the 2009-10 season, the last Ivy League opponent Kansas State faced was Princeton during the 2000-01 season.

Dartmouth is making its second trip to the Sunflower State in program history. The Big Green traveled to Lawrence, Kan., to take on Kansas during the 2004-05 season.

A Win Would ...
1. Give Dartmouth its first season-opening win since the 2009-10 season when they defeated Bryant in Hanover, N.H.

2. Improve Dartmouth to 21-19 all-time in season opening games and move the Big Green to 8-12 in season-opening road games.

3. Move the Big Green to 8-63 all-time against schools from BCS conferences and give Dartmouth its first win over a BCS opponent since the 2003-04 season when the Big Green defeated Providence and Kansas.

Scouting Kansas State
Kansas State returns their two leading scorers, Brittany Chambers (16.0) and Jalana Childs (12.8), from last year's 21-11 squad that finished third in the Big 12 and reached the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Deb Patterson is in her 16th season as head coach and returns a roster with eight letterwinners and four starters. The Wildcats registered an overall record of 21-11 and a 10-6 mark in Big 12 action, which resulted in a tie for third in the league. During the 2010-11 season, K-State became the 13th program in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to reach the 800-win plateau.

Let's Get It Started
Dartmouth opens its 39th season of varsity women's basketball against Kansas State. The Big Green is 20-19 all-time in season openers and 4-7 since the 2000 season. Tonight's game marks the second consecutive opener against a BCS opponent but Dartmouth's first opener against a team from the Big 12. Dartmouth is 1-6 in games against opponents from the Big 12 with its lone win coming against Kansas during the 2003-04 season.

On the Road Again
The Big Green will open the 2011-12 season on the road for the second consecutive season and for the seventh time in the last nine seasons. In season opening games played on the road, Dartmouth has a 7-12 record. Dartmouth last won a season-opener on the road during the 2001-02 season when they won at Colgate.

Youngsters
The Dartmouth women's basketball team is very young this year with just one senior in Sasha Dosenko (Kiev, Ukraine) and one junior in Faziah Steen (Kalamazoo, Mich.). That means that on the Big Green's 11-woman roster, there are nine underclassmen and five freshmen. Of Dartmouth's underclassmen only three have seen significant playing time as Nicola Zimmer (Chevy Chase, Md.) went down with injury 13 games into last season and Arianne Hunter (Oklahoma City, Okla.) only saw action in one game before sitting out with injury.

Schedules