Women's Basketball Welcomes Syracuse To Leede Arena on Thursday

The Dartmouth women's basketball team returns to Leede Arena to take on Big East foe Syracuse in a non-conference matchup on Thursday (Nov. 29). The Big Green and Orange tipoff at 7 p.m.

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Game 5: Dartmouth (1-3-0, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. Syracuse (6-0-0, 0-0-0 Big East)
Date: Thursday, November 29 (7 p.m.)
Location: Hanover, N.H. (Leede Arena)
Series: Syracuse leads, 3-0
Streak: Syracuse has won three

Starting Five
1. Today's game is the first meeting between the Big Green and Orange since the 2009-10 season and marks just the second time Syracuse has made the trek to Hanover. The last time Syracuse traveled to Leede Arena was during the 2000-01 season.

2. Syracuse will be the second Big East foe the Big Green will play this season. Dartmouth will also travel to Milwaukee, Wis., to take on Marquette and could face Villanova in the Blue Sky Classic. The Big Green has a 5-23 record against Big East foes.

3. The Big Green are looking to snap its current three-game slide. After winning its opener against Bryant (Nov. 10), Dartmouth has dropped contests to BYU (Nov. 13), Albany (Nov. 24) and Northeastern (Nov. 27). Dartmouth is also looking for its first win at Leede Arena this season.

4. Dartmouth will hit the road for its next two games and four of its next five. Leading up to the Syracuse game, Dartmouth played back-to-back road games and has already played three road games this season. The Big Green will host Hartford on Dec. 9 and that will be its last home game until the Blue Sky Classic held Dec. 29-30.

5. The Big Green are looking for their first home win this season. Last season, Dartmouth went 2-10 at home and didn't pick up home wins until the final Ivy weekend of the year. The two home wins were the fewest for the Big Green since the 1976-77 season.

Dartmouth vs. Syracuse Notables
- Dartmouth and Syracuse are meeting for the fourth time in Thursday's contest. The Orange lead the all-time series, 3-0 and last defeated the Big Green 56-42 in Syracuse during the 2009-10 season.

-Dartmouth is the second Ivy League opponent for Syracuse this season. The Orange defeated Cornell, 80-25, on Nov. 26. Other opponents the teams have in common are Marquette and Villanova, who could be a possible Dartmouth opponent in the Blue Sky Classic.

-This is the second consecutive season and the fourth time in the last five seasons that the Big Green have taken on at least one Big East team. Last season, Dartmouth played Providence and Georgetown. It is also the second consecutive season a Big East team has traveled to Hanover. Last season, the Hoyas made the trip to Leede Arena.

A Win Would ...
1. Give Dartmouth head coach Chris Wielgus her 389th win at Dartmouth. She entered the 2012-13 season needing 13 wins to claim her 400th victory as head coach of the Big Green.

2. Snap the Big Green's three-game skid and give Dartmouth its first win over a Big East team since defeating Providence in 2003-04 in Leede Arena. It would also improve Dartmouth to 6-23 against Big East teams.

3. Give Dartmouth its first win at Leede Arena this season and its first home win since defeating Columbia, 87-52, on March 3

Scouting Syracuse
Syracuse enters Thursday's game with a perfect 6-0 record after defeating Georgia Tech and Virginia at the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico. The Orange topped Georgia Tech, 75-72, in overtime in its first game and posted a 74-73 win over Virginia to close the tournament. Kayla Alexander leads the Orange offense with a team-best 19.5 points per game and 8.8 rebounds. Carmen Tyson-Thomas is the other Syracuse player in double-figures, averaging 11.2 points per game while Elashier Hall is nearing double digits with 9.0 points per contest. The Orange are making their second trip to Hanover and first since the 2000-01 season.

We're Playing ... Again
The term "no rest for the weary" adequately describes the Big Green's schedule for the last several days. After playing Albany on Saturday, Dartmouth traveled to Northeastern for a Tuesday game and then turned around and are hosting Syracuse on Thursday. That's three games in six days and not to mention the Northeastern game was a noon tip. Dartmouth will have a similar stretch next week, as they will play three games in eight days starting with a road game at Old Dominion on Sunday.

Schmitt Ruling the Glass
Sophomore Abbey Schmitt (Winnetka, Ill.) has been an important piece for the Big Green this season, especially on the defensive end. She is averaging 10.0 rebounds and has pulled down double digit rebounds in Dartmouth's last two games and in three games this season. She's also averaging 10.3 points per game as the lone Dartmouth player averaging a double-double. She is the first Dartmouth player to average a double-double since Brittany Smith during the 2009-10 season.

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