They had me worried there for a while. After starting the much anticipated season 5-1, the Dartmouth women's basketball team went into an impressive slump, dropping eight of the next nine games, a five-game losing streak included.
In what was supposed to be a "Return-to-Greatness" season for the Big Green, it seemed that, for the first time in the school's history, the team would suffer its third consecutive season with a losing record.
Following a 74-60 loss to Providence College on Jan. 18, the Big Green stood 5-9 overall, and 0-2 in only two games of league play. But Big Green's season had only begun. Of the 13 games that remained, 12 would be against league opponents, and Dartmouth still stood a chance to contend for a conference title.
Since then, the Big Green has gone on a roll, winning four of the next five games, improving their record to 9-10 overall and 3-3 in conference play. Crucial home wins against league rivals such as Princeton, Yale, and Brown have restored the players' confidence, and the team carries a three-game winning streak into the weekend, hoping to add on to that momentum.
The Big Green will travel to Ithaca, New York, to face the Cornell Big Reds, whose record stands at 7-12 overall and, more crucially, 1-5 against league opponents. Unlike the Big Green, which is coming off a four-game home stretch, the Big Red has just wrapped up a six-game road trip. The Cornell players will certainly be happy and energized to finally play in front of a home crowd, although exhaustion from the traveling cannot be overlooked. The road factor is a big challenge for Dartmouth, as well, as the Big Green has won seven of 11 games played at home, but has only managed to win two of seven played away from Hanover. Dartmouth will need to win this game to prove to everyone, and themselves, that they are true winners that can win no matter where the game is being played.
Cornell's offense, ranked last in the league, is marshaled on court by junior point guard, Karen Force, who leads the team in both points and assists at 14.4 and 3.8, respectively. Senior forward Lynelle Davis, who is averaging 10.7 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds, will battle Dartmouth's Katharine Hanks '03 inside. Although not an explosive scorer, Davis is efficient with her shots and boasts a team leading .479 field goal percentage, tops in her team. But Davis' true talents are on the defensive end. Davis had already broken her school's career record for blocked shots at the end of her junior year. She is the focal point of Cornell's inside game, which, as the only bright point of their season, is ranked second in the league in both rebounding and blocks, with 39.2 rebounds per game and 3.98 bocks per game. Cornell also leads the league in offensive rebounds, and the Big Green will have to step up on the boards to not allow the Big Red any second chances. Cornell is also ranked last in the league in shooting percentage, connecting on only 36.2% of the shots.
Dartmouth has been stepping up their defense in recent games, forcing bad shots and dominating on the boards. With an excellent inside-outside combination of Hanks and Jean Cullen '06, and a mature-beyond-her-years court general Angela Soriaga '06, who is second in the league with 4.74 assists per game, Dartmouth will continue its rejuvenation, and a run to the league title.
