Women's Basketball Opens Ivy League Action with Harvard

The Dartmouth women's basketball team opens Ivy League action with a primetime matchup with rival, Harvard, on Saturday (Jan. 14). The Big Green and Crimson will tipoff the Ivy League slate at 7 p.m. at Dartmouth's Leede Arena.

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Game 14: Dartmouth (2-11, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. Harvard (7-6, 0-0 Ivy League)
Date: Saturday, January 14 (7 p.m.)
Location: Hanover, N.H. (Leede Arena)
Series: Harvard leads, 38-30
Streak: Harvard has won three

Starting Five
1. Dartmouth opens its 36th season of Ivy League action on Saturday. The Big Green has won 17 Ivy League titles and has a 295-121 all-time Ivy League record. Dartmouth's last Ivy League title came during the 2008-09 season.

2. Tonight's game is Dartmouth's first game since a 63-65 loss to Holy Cross on Jan. 3 - an 11-day layoff for the Big Green. Dartmouth will have a week in between games after tonight's game with its next game coming on Jan. 21 at Longwood to close the non-conference slate.

3. Dartmouth is looking to snap its current nine-game losing streak, which is the longest of the season to date and is currently the longest losing streak in program history. Prior to Dartmouth's current streak the longest losing streak was seven games.

4. In Dartmouth's last outing against Holy Cross, there were several "firsts" for the Big Green this season. Dartmouth had three players in double figures (Steen, Zimmer and Toskovic) and had a season best 16 assists, which marked the first time this season with 15 or more assists.

5. The Big Green is looking to stop Harvard's current three-game winning streak. The Big Green last defeated the Crimson during the 2009-10 season. Prior to the loss to close the 2009-10 season, Dartmouth had won four straight over Harvard.

Dartmouth vs. Harvard Notables
- Dartmouth and Harvard are meeting for the 69th time in Saturday's contest. The Crimson owns a 38-30 series advantage and has won each of the last three meetings. The game is also a matchup of the Ivy League's longest tenured head coaches in Wielgus and Delaney-Smith. Wielgus has been at Dartmouth for 26 seasons while Delaney-Smith is in her 30th season at Harvard.

-The Big Green and Crimson have several common non-conference opponents this season. Both squads have taken on Providence, Holy Cross and Hartford in the non-conference slate. Both squads dropped games to each of the common opponents.

-There are several high school teammates that will be squaring off against one another in Saturday's contest. Dartmouth junior guard Faziah Steen played high school basketball at Detroit Country Day with Harvard's Emma Golen while sophomore guard Nicola Zimmer played with Harvard's Marissa Brock at St. John's College High School. The Crimson also has three players from California while Dartmouth has two players that call California home.

A Win Would ...
1. Snap Dartmouth's current nine-game losing streak and give the Big Green its first win at Leede Arena this season. The last time Dartmouth started the season 0-5 on its home court was during the 2001-02 when they opened the home slate 0-7.

2. Snap Harvard's three-game win streak over the Big Green. Harvard swept the season series from Dartmouth last season but prior to that, its rival hadn't swept the Big Green since the 2006-07 season.

3. Give the Big Green its first win in the month of January. The Big Green went winless in the month of December for the first time since the 1984-85 season and is currently 0-1 in January.

Scouting Harvard
Harvard enters Saturday's game with a 7-6, 0-0 Ivy League record after picking up a crucial, 56-44, road win at TCU on Saturday (Jan. 7). The Crimson has won each of its last two games and has won seven of its last nine contests. A trio of players in double-figures leads Harvard with Christine Clark leading the way with 15.5 points per game. Brogan Berry is contributing 12.7 points per game while Victoria Lippert is adding 11.5 points per game. Miriam Rutzen leads the way on the glass with 6.2 rebounds per game while teammates Golen and Clark are pulling down 5.7 rebounds per game. The Crimson is averaging 65.8 points per game and 40.2 rebounds per game. Head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith is in her 30th season on the Harvard sideline.

Let's Get it Started
Saturday's game marks the first Ivy League game for both Dartmouth and Harvard. Entering the 36th season of Ivy League competition, Dartmouth has a 295-121 Ivy League record and has won 17 of the possible 35 Ivy League titles. Harvard is next with 11 titles. Dartmouth is looking for its sixth Ivy League opening win in the last eight seasons.

The Granddaddy of Them All...
Dartmouth and Harvard have a very dominant history on the hardwood. Dartmouth has won 17 of a possible 35 Ivy League crowns while Harvard is on its heels with 11 Ivy League titles. At least one of the two squads has finished in the top of the Ivy League standings in the last 26 seasons. You have to look back to the 1984-85 season to see the top of the standings without Dartmouth or Harvard. The teams have shared the title five times.

Home Sweet Leede Arena
Dartmouth is back at home for the first time in 2012 and is looking to start a winning streak to erase it's 0-5 month of December at Leede Arena. The Big Green has a pretty good record in Ivy League home openers winning each of its last three. Dating back to the 2003-04 season, the Big Green have a 6-2 record in Ivy League home openers with its two losses coming to Harvard.

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