Big Green Welcomes Hartford to Leede Arena For Sunday Contest

The Big Green women's basketball team takes on America East foe, Hartford, in a Sunday afternoon matchup at Leede Arena. The Big Green and Hawks hit the hardwood at 2 p.m.

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Game 8: Dartmouth (1-6-0, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. Hartford (6-2-0, 0-0-0 America East)
Date: Sunday, December 9 (2:00 p.m.)
Location: Hanover, N.H. (Leede Arena)
Series: Hartford leads, 10-6
Streak: Hartford has won seven

Starting Five
1. Sunday's game will be the fourth consecutive meeting between Dartmouth and Hartford and will be the Hawks second consecutive trip to Hanover. Sunday's meeting will also be the second straight time the teams have meet prior to Dartmouth's annual holiday trip. Hartford owns a 10-6 advantage in the series and has won each of the last seven meetings.

2. Hartford is the second of three America East foes for the Big Green this season. Dartmouth took on New Hampshire in its last outing and has also faced Albany (N.Y.). Dartmouth is 0-2 against America East teams and is 51-72 overall against America East foes.

3. Dartmouth is looking for its first home win of the 2012-13 season. The Big Green, who only won two home games in 2011-12, have dropped home contests to BYU and Syracuse. Sunday's game will be just the third home game for the Big Green all season.

4. Dartmouth is looking to snap its current six-game losing streak. After winning its season-opener at Bryant (Nov. 10) Dartmouth has dropped six consecutive. Last season, Dartmouth had a 13-game losing streak, the longest in program history.

5.The Big Green are in a stretch of road games. The Hartford game is Dartmouth's lone home game from Dec. 2 until the Blue Sky Classic. The Big Green have played at Old Dominion (Dec. 2), New Hampshire (Dec. 5) and will close the stretch with games at Florida International (Dec. 15) and Marquette (Dec. 20).

Dartmouth vs. Hartford Notables
-The Big Green and Hawks are meeting for the 17th time in the series and Hartford will be making its second consecutive trip to Hanover after making the trek last season. Hartford leads 10-6 and Dartmouth is looking for its first win since the 2002-03 season.

-Dartmouth is the lone Ivy League team on the Hawks 2012-13 slate. The teams have common opponents in UMass, Albany (N.Y.) and New Hampshire. Hartford defeated UMass 71-65 on Nov. 21 in Amherst while Dartmouth dropped contests to both Albany (N.Y.) and New Hampshire. Dartmouth will take on UMass on Jan. 6.

-The Big Green are searching for their first win over an America East opponent since defeating Vermont in 2011-12. The Big Green are 51-72 against America East foes and are 0-2 this season.

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 six-game skid and give Dartmouth its first home win of the season. Dartmouth is looking for its first win of the season on its home floor and it first win since defeating Columbia, 87-52, on March 3 of last season.

3. Give Hartford its second consecutive loss and its first loss in Hanover since the 2002-03 season. It would also snap Hartford's seven-game win streak against the Big Green.

Scouting Hartford
Hartford enters Sunday's game with a 6-2 record after falling on the road to Vanderbilt, 67-45. The loss was just the second for the Hawks and was the first road loss of the season. Nikkia Smith leads the Hawks offense averaging, 10.6 points per game. Amber Bepko joins Smith in double-figures averaging, 10.1 points per game. Katie Roth leads the rebounding efforts with 5.0 per game. Teammates Ruthanne Doherty is also helping on the defensive end with 4.9 while Smith is grabbing 4.3 per game. Head coach Jennifer Rizzoti of Connecticut fame is in her 14th season and has led the Hawks to six NCAA Tournament appearances.

Home Sweet Leede Arena
The Big Green will be playing just their third game in Leede Arena this season when they take on Hartford on Sunday. The Big Green are 0-2 with losses to Syracuse and BYU but will be playing their first weekend home game this season. Last season, Dartmouth posted a 3-8 record in games played on the weekend. This will be the Big Green's last home game prior to the annual Blue Sky Classic Dec. 29-30.

Schmitt Picks Up Ivy League Rookie of the Week Honors
Fresh off her career-high 18 points against Syracuse, sophomore Abbey Schmitt picked up her second Ivy League Rookie of the Week honor. Schmitt posted a career-high against the Orange and added 11 rebounds against Old Dominion. She is averaging 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in her first collegiate season after sitting out with injury last season. Schmitt also won the award on Nov. 12 after posting a double-double in her collegiate debut. Schmitt is also leading the Big Green in rebounding with 8.7 boards per game.

Steen Moves Into 12th on Dartmouth's All-Time Scoring List
With her eight points against New Hampshire, Faziah Steen (Detroit, Mich.) moved into 12th place on Dartmouth's all-time scoring list with 1,104 career points. She is just 85 points from moving into the top 10. Steen scored her 1,000th career point last season and opened the 2012-13 season with 1,056 career points.

Sunday's Are Swell For Basketball Games
Dartmouth's Sunday matchup against Hartford is the second of three Sunday games for the Big Green this season. Dartmouth has played at Old Dominion on a Sunday and will also take on UMass in a Sunday matchup. Last season, Dartmouth only played one Sunday game, against Yale in January. The last time the Big Green played three Sunday games was during the 2010-11 season.

Schedules