Women's Basketball Closes Non-Conference Action at Longwood

The Dartmouth women's basketball team closes out its non-conference slate with a trip to Farmville, Va., to take on take on the Longwood Lancers on Saturday (Jan. 15). The game is set for a 2 p.m. tipoff at Longwood's Willett Hall.

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Game 15: Dartmouth (2-12, 0-0 Ivy League) at Longwood (7-11, Independent)
Date: Saturday, January 21 (2 p.m.)
Location: Farmville, Va. (Willett Hall)
Series: First Meeting
Streak: First Meeting

Starting Five
1. Dartmouth closes out its non-conference slate when it travels to Virginia to take on Longwood. The Big Green is looking for its third non-conference victory this season after defeating Colgate and Vermont earlier in the season.

2. The Big Green will be facing Longwood for the first time in program history. The meeting marks Dartmouth's second first time opponent this season, as they also played Cal for the first time back in December. The Dartmouth men also played Longwood for the first time in Hanover last week.

3. Dartmouth is looking to snap its current 10-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 and that was during the 1984-85 and 2000-01 seasons.

4. Freshman center Tia Dawson picked up her first Ivy League Rookie of the Week award after posting a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Harvard. She is Dartmouth's first rookie of the week winner since Faziah Steen in 2009-10.

5. Dartmouth is looking for their second true road win this season after defeating Vermont on Nov. 22. Dartmouth also defeated Colgate in neutral site action at Vermont's TD Bank Classic.

Dartmouth vs. Longwood Notables
- Dartmouth and Longwood are meeting for the first time in Saturday's contest and it will also mark the first time the Big Green has faced an independent program in program history. There are four Independent teams that currently play women's basketball and they are Cal State Bakersfield, Longwood, Nebraska Omaha and Seattle University.

-The Big Green and Lancers have both played No. 17 Georgetown. The Lancers opened the season against the Hoyas and dropped a 56-45 contest on Nov. 11. Longwood also played Cornell defeating the Big Red, 68-61 on Nov. 13.

-The Lancers have one player that hails from the Northeast in Kacie Oliver who hails from Portsmouth, R.I. Both squads have an international players. Longwood's Mina Jovanovic calls Smederevska Palanka, Serbia home and Sasha Dosenko is from Ukraine. Also Milica Toskovic has Serbian roots and has dual citizenship, as both her parents are Serbian.

A Win Would ...
1. Snap Dartmouth's current 10-game losing streak and give the Big Green its first win in the New Year. It would also give the Big Green its first road win since defeating Vermont on Nov. 22.

2. Give the Big Green its first win over the Lancers. Dartmouth is 0-1 this season against first-time opponents after a loss to California on Dec. 20.

3. Move the Dartmouth men and women's teams to 2-0 against Longwood this season. The Big Green men defeated the Lancers in Hanover on Jan. 14 and a win for the women would make it a Dartmouth basketball sweep.

Scouting Longwood
Longwood enters Saturday's game with a 4-17 record after dropping a road contest at IPFW on Monday (Jan. 17). Entering Monday's game, the Lancers had won two of its last three contests including a 72-71 win over NJIT on a buzzer beater. The Lancers have a fairly balanced team and the offense is led by Brittani Billups who is averaging 9.8 points per game. Erin Neal is contributing 9.7 points while Crystal Smith is averaging 9.5 points per game. In all, the Lancers have seven players averaging at least seven points per game. Billups also leads the way on the glass and is pulling down 7.8 rebounds per game. Longwood, which competes as an independent, is 3-2 at home and is averaging 51.5 points per game and is pulling down 37.4 rebounds per game. Head coach Bill Reinson is in his second season at the helm of the program. He has a pair of assistants with impressive basketball backgrounds in Wanisha Smith, who played her college basketball at Duke, and Lindsay Shrader, who played at Notre Dame.

Dawson Named Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Week
Freshman center Tia Dawson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was named Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Week for her 10 points and 11 rebounds against Harvard on Jan. 14. Her double-double was the second of her career. She had been in double figures in four games this season and has reached double figure rebounds in two games. She also leads the Ivy League in blocked shots with 1.9 per game. Dawson's honor is the first Ivy League accolade for the Big Green this season and she is Dartmouth's first Rookie of the Week selection since Faziah Steen won the honor during the 2009-10 season.

Steen Earns Spot on Ivy League Honor Roll
Junior guard Faziah Steen (Detroit, Mich.) was named to the Ivy League honor roll for the second time this season after her 20 point outing against Harvard. Steen, Dartmouth's leading scorer, posted her seventh consecutive game in double figures and hit the 20-point mark for the second time this season.

Closing Out the Non-Conference Slate
Saturday's game marks the close of the 2011-12 non-conference slate for the Big Green. Dartmouth is 2-11 in non-conference action with wins over Vermont and Colgate. The Big Green has taken on some tough non-conference competition, including teams from BCS conferences in Kansas State, California, Georgetown and Providence.

Toskovic Has Career Night Against Harvard
Freshman Milica Toskovic (Santa Monica, Calif.) set several new career highs against Harvard (Jan. 14). Her 14 points were a career high as well as her 32 minutes. Toskovic has been in double figures in three of Dartmouth's last four games, including each of the last two games. Toskovic was lethal from long range and drilled four triples against the Crimson. All of her points from the floor came from long range.

Dawson Doubles Up
Dawson seems to be adjusting to the rigors and demands of collegiate basketball quite well. She posted her second double-double of the season against Harvard with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Of the three double-doubles from Big Green players this season, Dawson has two of them as she also recorded a double-double against Hartford with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Faziah Steen has the Big Green's other double-double with 32 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Vermont.

Schedules