Women’s Basketball Hosts Navy, Begins Three-Game Road Trip at Merrimack

Doreen Ariik women's basketball vs. UC Riverside

Doreen Ariik has statistically been one of the premier post players in the Ivy League so far this season

Photo by: Kyle Relf

Women’s Basketball Hosts Navy, Begins Three-Game Road Trip at Merrimack

12/7/2023 10:48:00 AM | Women's Basketball

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The Big Green prepare to play four games in seven days

By: Kyle Relf

GAME 7
Dartmouth (2-4, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. Navy (3-5, 0-0 Patriot League)
Date and Time: Friday, Dec. 8 | 5 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. | Leede Arena
All-Time Series: 1-1

GAME 8
Dartmouth (2-4, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. Merrimack (3-6, 0-0 NEC)
Date and Time: Sunday, Dec. 10 | 1 p.m.
Location: North Andover, Mass. | Lawler Arena
All-Time Series: 2-1

LAST TIME OUT
Dartmouth led early, but couldn't sustain in a 57-38 loss to UC Riverside on Monday afternoon. Clare Meyer led the Big Green with a season-best 13 points, but was outdone by Makayla Jackson, who dropped 18 and went 4-of-5 from deep for the Highlanders.

DEFENSE STILL STRONG
With six games in the books, Dartmouth still leads the Ivy League in scoring defense (and ranks 34th nationally), allowing 53.7 points per game. Only one opponent has scored 60 or more against the Big Green.

RIM PROTECTOR
Doreen Ariik leads the Ivy League in blocks per game at 2.00. She has multiple blocks in four different games so far (Bryant, Keene State, New Hampshire and UC Riverside). Four against New Hampshire stands as her career high. She also ranks second in the Ivy League in rebounds per game (9.7).

REMATCH OF LAST YEAR'S THRILLER
Last season's matchup with Merrimack was tied in the final seconds before Mia Curtis sank a 3-pointer to clinch Dartmouth's first win of the 2022-23 season. Curtis scored 18 in the victory and Mekkena Boyd joined her in double figures with 11.

ALL-TIME AGAINST NAVY
Dartmouth and Navy have only met twice before and have split those meetings. The Big Green and the Mids played a home-and-home series in the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons, beginning with a road loss in 1979. Dartmouth won the second meeting, which took place in Hanover, in 1981.

ALL-TIME AGAINST MERRIMACK
Dartmouth is 2-1 against Merrimack, which is in its fifth season as a Division I program. The Big Green's only loss to the Warriors came on the road during the 2021-22 season.

EIGHT STRONG
The Ivy League recently ranked seventh among all Division I conferences in conference RPI, trailing only the Power Six (Pac-12, ACC, Big 12, SEC, Big Ten, Big East).

SCOUTING NAVY
At 3-5, the Mids have already surpassed last season's win total. The 2022-23 squad was 1-29 with its lone win coming against Loyola (fellow Patriot League opponent). Navy has wins over Susquehanna, Binghamton and Quinnipiac to its credit so far this season. Zanai Barnett-Gay currently leads the Patriot League in scoring (20.1 points per game) and gets it done on the defensive end as well, ranking among the top 25 nationally in steals per game (3.12).

SCOUTING MERRIMACK
Sunday's game is the third in a three-game stretch that pits the Warriors against Ivy League opponents. Merrimack defeated Yale on Sunday and plays Penn on Friday. The Warriors wins over Siena and Bryant, which are common opponents with the Big Green. Merrimack suffered a 65-53 loss to UC Riverside, who went on to also defeat Dartmouth three days later.

EDUCATION DAY UPCOMING
After the Merrimack game, the Big Green remain on the road for two more (UAlbany and UMass Lowell), but are finally back in Leede Arena on Thursday, Dec. 21 when they host Lafayette for Education Day at 11 a.m. as students from a variety of local elementary schools pack the bleachers.