The Big Green open their season on Saturday at Boston University
By: Justin Lafleur
The Dartmouth women's basketball team won its first two Ivy League games last season, both on the road.
The Big Green look to recapture that magic in 2025-26, aiming to continue the strong growth the program has made in the first two seasons under Linda Cimino, the Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and Family Head Coach of Women's Basketball.
Dartmouth lost its leading scorer, Victoria Page, to graduation, but return plenty of depth in its second through seventh leading scorers.
"We have some big shoes to fill, losing Victoria as well as Doreen Ariik, who was a big inside presence for us," said Cimino. "We lost two vocal leaders. Trying to figure out our identity also comes with who's going to be our vocal leader. I also believe we're going to be scoring more by committee. On any given day, anybody can step up and lead, whether our points are coming from the inside or from shooting threes."
Let's take a closer look…
Backcourt Zeynep Ozel is the Big Green's returning point guard from a season ago when she finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 7.3 points per game, while leading Dartmouth with 59 assists. She reached double-figure points in nine games.
Zeynep Ozel
First-year Jacalyn Myrthil and junior Nina Minicozzi have facilitated the offense throughout preseason practice as well.
"Zeynep can really shoot the ball," said Cimino. "Jacayln is a really strong on-ball defender and facilitator, and she's really quick, and has the ability to push the ball in transition."
Minicozzi was a key bench contributor last season, also starting three games. Among her strongest efforts, she scored 16 points against Brown and 15 at Harvard.
"Nina started as a point guard her first year, but then became more of our shooter last year," said Cimino. "This year, we're going to rely on her to run our offense a little bit more, and rely on her great 3-point shooting."
At the wing, the Big Green return Alexandra Eldredge who started all 24 games she played last season while averaging 6.1 points and 2.6 rebounds.
"Alexandra worked very hard this summer," said Cimino. "She's shooting the ball really well right now. She had an injury in Ivy League play, but has rehabbed and done a great job for us."
Also at the wing is first-year Emma Olausson, who Cimino said is shooting the ball well in practice. Junior Sierra Carson also provides a spark to the lineup.
"Sierra comes in off the bench and provides a lot of energy, offensive rebounding and defensive stops," said Cimino. "She takes charges and is probably our scrappiest player."
Also in the mix is sophomore Tahira Muhammad, who played in 25 games and had plenty of strong moments as a first-year. Among them was 14 points against UAlbany and eight vs. UMass. Senior Brooke Hollawell brings veteran experience.
Tahira Muhammad
"Tahira is an athletic wing," said Cimino. "Brooke has battled injury throughout her career, but she's a really good leader for us, on and off the court. And she's a good 3-point shooter."
Frontcourt
Senior Clare Meyer anchors the Big Green in the middle, having started every game since her sophomore season. Last year, she finished third on the team in scoring, averaging 6.7 points per game, while finishing second in rebounding (4.8). Meyer had an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double in last season's road victory at Lafayette.
"Clare gives u a big inside presence," said Cimino. "She gives us a scoring option and is rebounding the ball well. We will also look for her to help protect the rim defensively."
Sophomore Olivia Austin and junior Cate MacDonald are also key returnees, after averaging 6.2 and 4.2 points per game, respectively.
"Olivia is a tremendous athlete and rebounder, who is capable of scoring in different ways," said Cimino. "She worked hard this summer to develop a more consistent shot, and we are looking for her to have a big sophomore campaign.
"Cate is probably our most improved player from the last two years; her player development has been off the charts," Cimino continued. "She's shooting the ball really well from the three. She continues to be aggressive on both sides of the ball and is a blue collar type of player who gets a lot of rebounds. Offensively, she has really turned the corner, and she's going to really help us this year."
Cate MacDonald
"Debra has really good footwork, and she has the ability to score inside, and finish the 15-footer," said Cimino. "And then we got Liv Lawlor back, who missed all last year due to injury, but she's been a steady presence inside for us. She also helps run the offense. She's a good screener, a good passer and rebounds the ball."
Yufei (Mimi) Zou is a 6-foot-4 first-year from Tianjin, China.
"Mimi is a really good defensive presence for us right now," said Cimino. "She's long and athletic, and she's challenging our post players every day, making them better in practice."
Sophomore Annika Jiwani also provides strong depth and competition at the forward position for the Big Green.
Outlook
Lawlor, Hollawell and Eldredge are the Big Green's captains in 2025-26.
"They're players who have really held their teammates accountable and put the team first," said Cimino. "I've seen great growth in them. We do have a lot of people stepping up and leading, but we felt these three earned this position. I can really trust them in my absence to do what I would do if I wasn't there and to be that voice."
Cimino, the entire Big Green coaching staff and student-athletes, know building a program doesn't happen overnight.
"We saw some growth last year; we were in games, even if it was just for a half," said Cimino. "We won one more conference game than we had in the past. And we're not going to just throw up our hands in defeat. We want to be more competitive, which I believe we'll be."
The Big Green are focusing on the process, knowing if they do, the results will come.
"We will challenge ourselves within each game," said Cimino. "We're going to try to shorten the game to five-minute segments. We want to win every five minutes until we get to the next media timeout. This is a game of runs and we will focus on stringing together as many successful scores and stops as possible. We will focus on winning shorter segments that will eventually lead to us winning more games."
The team is internally focused.
"It's not really worrying about what the other team is doing," said Cimino. "It's more focusing on us and what we can do as a program to improve, run our offense and get stops defensively."
Last year, the Big Green finished fifth nationally in fewest fouls, this after leading the nation in Cimino's first season.
Defense has been strong.
"We have been pretty good defensively in this league," she said. "Our biggest problem and hurdle in the last couple years has been our turnovers and allowing points off turnovers — along with our rebounding and allowing second-chance points — those are two areas that we really have to focus on and improve."
Dartmouth begins its 2025-26 season on Friday, Nov. 7 at Boston University. Alongside Cimino, a strong diverse coaching staff brings a variety of perspectives.
"Happy to have Anh-Dao (Tran-Lagado) back and welcome new assistants who have done a great job," said Cimino. "AD is really good with film breakdown and analytics. Shelby (Boyle) is a veteran recruiter, who has primarily worked with the post players. Novi (Walker) has done a great job working with our point guards and does a great job with our guards.
"We have a well-rounded staff," Cimino continued. "Michaela (Nsubuga), a 2025 alumnae of Dartmouth, transitioned from our head manager to our director of operations following graduation. I rely on her for her organizational skills, knowledge of the college and to handle everyday operations."
Cimino knows continuing to build a foundation is critical for the 2025-26 season.
"We're still young, as we lost our leading scorer and our most vocal leader," she said. "I believe we can turn a corner. This year, we're going to lay our foundation and teach, learn and do things right."
