After coming off disappointing losses Wednesday night, the Dartmouth men's and women's basketball teams are both looking to rebound Saturday.
In a back-to-back doubleheader, the Big Green will travel to Lafayette to take on the Leopards. The women tip off at 1:00 p.m. followed by the men at 3:30 p.m.
Women look for consistency
Wednesday, the Big Green, slipping their season record to 9-5, rallied against Boston University but came up just short, falling 63-61 in the final seconds.
"It was a tough game because it came down to the last shot where it could have gone either way," Captain Jen Stamp '96 said.
Despite the close loss, the senior point guard was overall very happy with her teammate's performance Wednesday, with the exception of a few breakdowns.
"We still have our little lapses ... [but] we came from behind and we played some of the best defense we've played all year."
The women have continuously relied on strong performances from younger players. Guard Nicci Rinaldi '99 and forward Erin Rewalt '99 made big additions to the team effort Wednesday, both scoring 11 points.
With a fast start, and a young and talented team that still hasn't completely jelled at this stage of the season, the women should look for even greater success to come.
"We still are a young team, and we've been up and down all season," Stamp said. "But hopefully now we'll start to have more ups."
Last year, the Big Green demolished the Leopards 53-28 and will look to do the same tomorrow, but they must be ready for Lafayette's two returning letterwinners -- Serena Brooks and Dana Gould.
Men need to regroup
A closely contested loss to an in-state rival, the University of New Hampshire, will be on the minds of the men's basketball team as they travel to Pennsylvania with an overall record of 8-6 (2-1 Ivy) and an off week from Ivy League play.
After blowing an eight-point second-half lead against UNH on Wednesday night, the Big Green will be looking to defeat the Leopards with the key ingredient that was missing in Manchester.
"We got ahead, and we were unable to find that killer instinct to put the game away," Sea Lonergan '97 said. "Against Lafayette, if we get ahead, then we need to put them away. If we can learn from out mistake against New Hampshire, then the loss should benefit us in future games."
Lonergan emphasized that although the loss to UNH was not an Ivy League loss, it was still a game that the Big Green wanted to win.Lafayette is currently in last place in the Patriot League and has an overall record of 2-12.
