Women's Basketball Opens 41st Season With NJIT on Sunday

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DARTMOUTH
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Date: Nov. 16, 2014 | Time: 2 PM | Venue: Leede Arena (2,200) | Location: Hanover, N.H.

Live Stats: Dartmouthsports.com | Live Video: Ivy League Digital Network ($$$) | Belle Koclanes Report : ILDN

The Big Green will open the season at home for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign when they hosted Bryant, Temple and Hartford in a three-game homestand. This season, Dartmouth will host NJIT and Holy Cross before heading on the road to California for three games.

News, Notes and Storylines

• Sunday kicks off the 41st season of Dartmouth women's basketball. The Big Green have won the Ivy League Championship 17 times and have also qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times.

• Belle Koclanes enters her second season with the Big Green. The Pelham, New York native won five games in her first campaign.

• The Big Green return eight players from last season, while welcoming five newcomers to the roster.

• Sophomore Fanni Szabo returns as the team's leading scorer from last season. The quick-shooting guard averaged 13.2 points per game in her rookie campaign and will look to push the team on both ends of the court. Szabo also led the team in steals with 56.

• Junior Lakin Roland is coming off a breakout season, in which she doubled her offensive production from the previous season and led the team with five double-doubles. The All-Ivy Honorable Mention selection scored 10-plus points in 18 games and set a new career-best with 22 against Columbia.

• Senior Milica Toskovic is one of a few players that can lineup as a guard in a taller offense or move into a forwards spot in a smaller lineup. Last season, Toskovic started in all 24 games she played and averaged six points per game. Toskovic is one of three players along with Szabo to play 30-plus minutes per game. Defensively, Toskovic improved and had a career-best 57 steals and 4.7 rebounds per game.

• Freshman Amber Mixon is set to take over for graduated senior Nicola Zimmer at the point guard spot. Mixon, a top guard in the capital region was McDonald's All-American nominee. A defensive work-horse, Mixon is the all-time leader in steals at Forest Park High School and led her team in points, free throws and assists. If Mixon is not at the point, Szabo or Roland can bring the ball up.

• Dartmouth was chosen tied for sixth place in the Ivy League preseason poll, as announced by the League office on Oct. 28. Defending Ivy League champion Penn and previous league winner Princeton both received 123 votes for a share of the top spot. The Tigers though, were granted nine first-place votes, while the Quakers had seven. Harvard was chosen third and also received one first-place nod. Yale secured fourth place, followed by Cornell, Dartmouth and Columbia in sixth, respectively and Brown in eighth.

2014-15 IVY PRESEASON POLL

Rank	School	Points
1.	Princeton (9)	123
1.	Penn (7)	123
3.	Harvard (1)	106
4.	Yale	90
5.	Cornell	61
6.	Columbia	38
6.	Dartmouth	38
8.	Brown	33

• For her first constructed non-conference schedule, Koclanes has put together a nice balance of home and away games to build the team into a cohesive group come Ivy League play. The calendar features five squads who qualified for postseason tournaments, four 20-win teams and six non-Ivy rematches from last season. This balanced slate will prepare her squad for the 14-game Ivy League season, beginning in January.

• Dartmouth retained its coaching staff from last season, as assistant coaches Maria Noucas and Addie Micir join director of basketball operations Michael Motta on Koclanes' staff once again.

• Penn claimed the Ivy League title last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Harvard and Princeton both represented the league at the WNIT.

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