It is the biggest weekend of the year for the women's basketball team as the Big Green look to break out from a three-way second-place tie in the Ivy League as they take on the Penn Quakers and the Princeton Tigers at Leede Arena tonight and Saturday.
A Dartmouth sweep over the southern Ivies would be especially sweet considering Penn and Princeton share the second-place slot in the standings. Dartmouth, Penn and Princeton all boast 6-3 Ivy records and remain two games behind the two-time Ivy champions Harvard (8-1).
To add to the excitement, the Crimson will also have a shot at sweeping the Tigers and the Quakers this weekend in Cambridge since Harvard and Dartmouth are travelling partners.
History tells us close to nothing.
When these four teams met two weeks ago, the results were inconclusive and only adding to the mystery of which teams were within striking distance of the Ivy crown.
All four teams went 1-1 on the weekend matchup in Princeton and Philadelphia.
Dartmouth beat Princeton and lost to Penn, while the Crimson topped the Quakers but fell to the Tigers.
This time, all the teams are slightly more seasoned and they are more familiar with the tasks which lay ahead.
Heading into this weekend's clash among titans, the Big Green is in good shape. Last weekend, they travelled to the Big Apple and to Ithaca where they clobbered the Ivy bottomfeeders -- Columbia and Cornell.
But what's most encouraging about the Big Green's performance was the fact that talents came from all parts of the Dartmouth roster.
Guard Courtney Banghart '00 remained the team's deadliest shooter as she led Big Green scoring in both games on route to setting a new Dartmouth record for three-point buckets in a season -- she currently has 46 to her name.
Nicci Rinaldi '99 remains a double-threat on defense and offense -- she grabbed a career-high 8 rebounds and sank 10 points against Cornell.
Junior center Katie O'Connor '99 had a big weekend as well, as she recorded her first double-double against Columbia as she drained 14 points and pulled down 10 boards.
Two underclassmen were especially critical in sparking the Big Green victories against Columbia and Cornell.
Guards Liz Martin '00 and rookie Samantha Berdinka '01 dazzled the scoreboard as they stuffed baskets into the hoop like compulsive gamblers stuffing quarters into the slots.
But the real story behind Dartmouth's latest success lies in its defense. This past weekend, the Big Green forced 54 turnovers and collected 24 steals, while allowing their opponents to shoot a combined 32 percent (33 of 101), including a scant 19 percent (8 of 42) from downtown.
So that's what the Quakers and the Tigers have to look forward to this weekend.
Not so good for two teams who have struggled to find consistency lately. In their last two Ivy weekends, Penn and Princeton have only split. Those are not the sort of results which carry teams to an Ivy title.
Most recently, Penn and Princeton are still recovering from tough double-digit losses from this past weekend. Princeton fell to Brown in Providence, 71-56, while Penn lost to Yale in New Haven by the embarrassing score of 66-43.
In all, Princeton, Penn, Brown and Yale all finished the weekend with a 1-1 split.
The Big Green will be looking to help the Quakers and the Tigers sink deeper into the holes they have dug for themselves as they hit the hardcourt this weekend.
Both games tip-off at 6:30 pm at Leede Arena.
