WEB UPDATE, March 18, 9:51 p.m.
The Dartmouth women's basketball team will look to break new ground on Sunday in its fifth NCAA tournament effort under head coach Chris Wielgus.
Advancing to the second round will not be easy, though -- the Big Green drew a first round match-up against the defending national champions. The 14th seed Lady Green (15-12) will face the third seed University of Connecticut Huskies (23-7) on Sunday in Storrs, Conn., on the Huskies' home court.
The College's past four tournament runs with Wielgus as coach have ended with first-round losses.
This year marks the first time since 1998 that the UConn women have not gone into the tournament as a number one seed, although that is unlikely to discourage the Huskies from attempting to win their fourth-straight women's basketball national championship.
The Dartmouth women pose the first hurdle in the Huskies' national championship quest. But the team already had to survive one elimination game just to get to the tournament. The Lady Green locked up the Ivy League last week after a triumphant 75-61 victory over Harvard in a one-game playoff that gave the Big Green an automatic bid to the national tournament.
"I'm so proud of these kids," Wielgus said after the Harvard victory. "I'm delighted with their effort, their poise and their teamwork. They never lost focus."
After a grueling week of final exams, the women found out that they were set to take on the Huskies, who finished the season ranked No. 9 in the country, in the opening match of the tournament at UConn's 10,167-seat Gampel Pavilion.
The winner of the first round will advance to the second round game on March 22 and play the winner of a Florida St. (6) vs. Richmond (11) match-up. While the Huskies have won four of the last five NCAA titles, it is not impossible for a lower-seeded team to win in the first round. In 1998, Harvard, a No. 16 seed, defeated number-one seeded Stanford.
The Lady Green is 2-1 against the Huskies in team history, winning its first two contests 68-63 and 68-52, respectively. Under Wielgus, Dartmouth is 2-0 against UConn. The Huskies' only win against the Lady Green came with a 89-72 win in 1989.
Huskies' head coach Geno Auriemma appeared unimpressed with Dartmouth's prospects. In a recent interview with UConn's sports publicity, he expressed early expectations of playing against second-round rivals as though his team had already won against the Big Green.
"We play Dartmouth and, then we play the winner of the winner of Richmond/Florida State," Auriemma said.
UConn junior Barbara Turner, however, was not overlooking the challenge her team faces on Sunday.
"I'm not thinking about Michigan State. We've got Dartmouth to play first so I'm thinking about Dartmouth."
Auriemma and company may be in for a big surprise if the Lady Green can stay on top of its game.
Dartmouth is the most represented team in All-Ivy honors this season, boasting five All-Ivy selections: Jeannie Cullen '06, Elise Morrison '07, Sydney Scott '08, Angie Soriaga '06 and Ashley Taylor '07. Cullen is an Honorable Mention All-Ivy pick, while Soriaga and Taylor earned second-team honors. Scott is a member of the All-Rookie team and Morrison became the only sophomore on the first-team this season.
Dartmouth is also one of only two teams in the NCAA tournament without a single senior on its roster. Canisius, a No. 15 seed, is the other.
In its last NCAA appearance in 2000, then No. 13 seed Dartmouth almost upset Purdue, a No. 4 seed, in a 77-60 effort. In 1999, the No. 14 seed Big Green fell 84-70 to No. 3 Rutgers. And, in its first NCAA tournament in 1995, the No. 14 Lady Green played a close 71-68 match against No. 3 Virginia.
The game against the Huskies will be broadcast live on ESPN2 at 7:00 p.m. and by Dartmouth's student radio station, WDCR 1340 AM.
