Women’s Rugby Ready for Quinnipiac in NIRA Semifinal

MATCH 8 | NIRA SEMIFINAL
Dartmouth (7-0) vs. Quinnipiac (5-3)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 12 | 1 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H.
All-Time Series: 5-2
Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2022 (W, 41-10)

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SATURDAY SHOWDOWN
Only Quinnipiac stands between Dartmouth and a spot in the Division I NIRA Championship, which will feature the winner of Saturday's match, along with Harvard or Army West Point.

WE MEET AGAIN
Dartmouth doesn't have the same kind of history with Quinnipiac that it does with some other NIRA programs (only seven meetings, eight counting Saturday's), but these two New England foes have squared off twice this season. Dartmouth bested Quinnipiac 41-10 in the 2022 home opener and it feels like the Big Green, winners of 16 straight dating back to last season, are a different team now than they were then, especially with the return of fifth-year senior Ariana Ramsey.

BACK-TO-BACK 85-POINT WINS
Winning by 85 has become a habit for Dartmouth, who beat Princeton 95-10 before downing Brown on Senior Day, 85-0. That was the second shutout of the season for the Big Green with the first being a 79-0 shellacking of Mount St. Mary's on Oct. 8.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Dartmouth has the best scoring offense and the best scoring defense in the NIRA. They've scored 384 points on the season and have allowed only 58. Army is close to Dartmouth defensively with 76 points allowed, and Harvard is second-best in points scored with 365. Despite leading the nation in points, Dartmouth doesn't lead in tries scored - that's Harvard (62), and it's a feather in kicker Kristin Bitter's cap for racking points on conversions.

A LOOK AT THE OTHER SEMIFINAL
Harvard and Army West Point are set to square off in Cambridge in the other semifinal match. It's the second of back-to-back matches between those two teams as the Black Knights actually beat the Crimson by two (just like Dartmouth did) on Oct. 29. Dartmouth defeated Army West Point fairly comfortably at Brophy Field, but needed a considerable comeback to defeat Harvard.

SCOUTING QUINNIPIAC
Quinnipiac has the third-highest scoring offense in the NIRA and the fifth-best scoring defense. Dartmouth held Quinnipiac to a season-low 10 points in the regular season meeting of the two semifinal participants. That was the last of three straight losses (all at the hands of NIRA postseason contenders) and since that Saturday in Hanover, Quinnipiac has gone undefeated with wins over Princeton, Sacred Heart, LIU and Mount St. Mary's. Kat Storey and Addison Walker scored Quinnipiac's two tries against Dartmouth. Storey's score was the first try allowed by the Big Green this season. Quinnipiac is averaging more than 53 points over its four-match win streak.

CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
The Division I NIRA Championship, which will feature the winner of Saturday's match along Harvard or Army West Point, will take place on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 4:30 p.m. at Burnham Field on the campus of Dartmouth College.

Schedules