Despite an unwavering effort, the Big Green were unable to capture a win against No. 25 North Carolina State on Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum as it succumbed to the Wolfpack in the 78-43 loss.
"The team played very hard against NC State. We all tried our best," forward Sydney Scott '08 said. "Coach asked us to make adjustments, try new things throughout the contest, and I think we stepped up to the plate. We took good shots; they just didn't fall like we would have liked."
The Wolfpack came out firing and built an early 23-4 lead. Dartmouth did not help its cause by suffering from ice-cold shooting in the first half. The Big Green was able to sink only five of 21 attempts from the field in the opening stanza. At the half, the Big Green trailed 32-13.
Dartmouth managed a 10-3 run in the second half to cut the deficit to 12 but could not hold off a Wolfpack offense that completed nearly two-thirds of its attempts.
The Big Green improved significantly in the second half and made 41.4 percent of all field goal attempts but it was not enough to overcome a physically intimidating N.C. State squad.
"It was a great effort, but there is nothing that we can do to simulate the athleticism of N.C. State," said head coach Chris Wielgus. "Dartmouth basketball is about excellence and challenging ourselves. We played much better in the second half than the first half once we adjusted to the level of play. This experience can only be a positive."
Point guard Angie Soriaga '06 led the Green in scoring with 17 points and tallied her 1000th career point in the game. Recently, the senior was also added to the 2006 Player Buzz list for the Nancy Lieberman Award -- given by the Rotary Club of Detroit to the nation's best point guards in collegiate women's basketball.
"I was really pleased with her performance," Wielgus said. "For her to be able to score like that with the amount of pressure they put on her was amazing. I thought Fatima Kamara also had a great game for us."
Guard Fatima Kamara '07 added seven more points for the Big Green while Scott contributed seven rebounds to the effort.
Marquetta Dickens led four Wolfpack players in double figures with 13 points. Overall, N.C. State was 31-for-64 from the field and 26.3 percent accurate from behind the arc.
"The pressure defense [N.C. State] played was unbelievable but it was a good test for us so we will be even better for our Ivy games," Kamara said. "As a team, we did good things that will definitely help us in the long run."
After posting dramatic comeback victories against UNH and Siena, the ladies in green were perhaps starting to become too comfortable with slow starts. The loss to NC State might have provided exactly the wake-up call that Dartmouth needed before resuming the Ivy season.
"The NC State game was a really good game for us to have in the middle of the season," Kamara added. "It made us physically and mentally tough."
"I thought it was a good experience," Scott said. "It's always fun to play in a huge gym with lots of people."
The Big Green return to action this weekend with back-to-back home games against Ivy League opponents, taking on the Brown Bears on Friday evening. Dartmouth lost the last contest against the Bears 68-64, but leads the all-time series record 38-18.
The Big Green will also challenge the Yale Bulldogs on Saturday night and look to extend their winning streak against the Bulldogs to three.
"I just look forward to the start of the Ivies," Scott said. "It is a dog fight. The competition is great and they fuel rivalries like you see in big time conferences. I am ready to just start on our quest for another championship. We're ready!"
