After a week and a half of solid practice time, the Dartmouth women's basketball team resumes its Ivy schedule this weekend against Brown and Yale. The Big Green are currently ranked third in the Ivies with a 2-1 record, 10-5 overall.
With the Ivy title still in its reach, the team will rely on several key players to "up" the competitive style of play. Co-captain Jen Stamp '96 is the fifth leading scorer in the league, with 13.6 points per game.
The Big Green's last game was a 69-58 defeat of Lafayette College on Jan. 20, when Stamp racked in 20 points and averaged 5.9 rebounds for Dartmouth.
It is no surprise who leads the league in three-point shooting, however. Junior Sally Annis and Stamp, have formed the cornerstone of the Dartmouth three-point shooting system. The Big Green now stands at 16th in the nation for three-point field goal percentage.
Both Brown and Yale will be tough games. The Bears are now tied for first place in the Ivy League, tied with Cornell. Brown beat Yale last weekend with a score of 56-42, with help from star forward Liz Turner '98. Brown had 15 steals against Yale, seven different players recorded those steals.
"Brown likes to put up quick shots," Stamp said. "They also have some guards who love to drive, so we're going to have to stop their penetration. Yale is a very hard-working, disciplined team. It's going to be a battle."
The Bulldogs are looking to stop a two game slide, but the team has depth. Senior Jodi Brandt scored 19 points against Brown on Jan. 20 and went five for seven from three-point land. Also showing pizazz is Katy Grubbs '99, who had nine points against Brown on Jan. 27.
"We've had a lot of time to prepare for these games so we should certainly be ready to play," Stamp said. "I think our defense will be the key to both games. Brown and Yale both have a lot of height, so we're going to work extra hard to control the boards."
After a long break, however, the Big Green will be more than ready to get back into action.
"We're hoping to play some good solid basketball," co-Captain Kira Lawrence '96 said.
"It's nice to be back on the court and have an Ivy game at home. We're going to try and focus on our quality of play, and hopefully the winning will come along with that," she said.
The Dartmouth Class of '51 has donated one hundred free tickets, to be given to the first one hundred students at Friday night's game. Tip-off both nights is 6:30 p.m. in Leede Arena.