WEB UPDATE, March 17, 4:12 p.m.
Dartmouth's women's basketball team is headed back to the Big Dance.
After last year's 95-47 trampling by the University of Connecticut Huskies, the women in green are ready to give the NCAA tournament another shot. Dartmouth will be making its sixth appearance in the tournament as a No. 14 seed in the Cleveland region bracket.
"We look forward to redeem ourselves after being routed last year by Connecticut," Angie Soriaga '06 said. "We have the experience of being in the tournament so hopefully we will not get too caught up in all the hoopla and just play the best that we can."
The tournament bid was a hard-earned accomplishment for the Big Green. Earlier in the season, many skeptics predicted that Dartmouth would be unable to pull through and win the league after losing precocious center Elise Morrison '07 to a season-ending knee injury.
However, the women's team proved competent in two domineering playoff victories over Brown and Princeton and advanced to the NCAA tournament a true champion.
"I am so excited about winning the playoff games," center Sydney Scott '08 said. "I think that they were a testament to our team's abilities. I am excited about the NCAA tournament and I am just really proud of the way that everyone stepped up these last few games."
"Words can't express how I feel right now," Soriaga said. "It was an amazing week for us beating both Brown and Princeton, two very good teams, to make it to the tournament. And it was a solid team effort."
"I really could not have asked for a better way to end my career at Dartmouth than to get these two wins and a tournament bid," she added.
For the first time in league history, there was a three-way tie for the women's Ivy League title. The men's league had a three-way tie in the 2002 season. Dartmouth, along with rivals Brown and Princeton, finished 12-2 in conference schedule and suffered its only losses to the other tri-champions.
The trip to Yale proved lucky for the Big Green as the women in green left New Haven with two more wins under their belt. Dartmouth first defeated Brown in a 73-62 victory before devastating Princeton in a 63-48 win.
"In both games we had key contributions from every single player that went out on the floor," Soriaga said. "It was a complete team effort and that is what I love most about this team. We enjoy playing with each other and we make the extra pass on offense and help each other on defense."
On Thursday, March 9, Dartmouth overcame the Bears in a rough victory.
Brown built an early 17-8 lead over the Big Green before Dartmouth went on a 9-0 run and tied the score at 17-17 with a Soriaga basket. The two teams were deadlocked nine times in the first stanza and finished the half at 36-36.
The Big Green completed one-third of all field goal attempts compared to a 51.7 percent clip for the Bears.
In the second half, Brown opened the scoring but Dartmouth was able to build a six-point edge over the Bears with 17:04 left on the clock. However, four minutes later, Brown was able to capture the lead again. The two teams struggled for the lead until the Big Green went on a 13-3 run in the last two minutes of the game and took the win.
"Ashley [Taylor '07] had a great game coming off the bench with key baskets," Krista Perry '06 said. "But it was our defense that stood out and provided our offensive spark."
Taylor led four Dartmouth players in double figures with 18 points and seven boards. Soriaga added 14 points while Scott and Fatima Kamara '07 each chipped in 12 points to the win.
"Against Brown, we played well together," Scott said. "Ashley played very well that game and everyone else pretty much followed suit."
Colleen Kelly led Brown in scoring with 20 points while teammate Sarah Hayes had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the game.
"We're delighted to be a part of March Madness," said Dartmouth head coach Chris Wielgus. "I'm proud of our kids with their tenacity. Hats off to Brown, though. It was a great game."
On the afternoon of Sunday, March 12, the Big Green won its second NCAA playoff in as many years with a compelling victory over the Tigers. Although the two teams were evenly matched in the first 12 minutes of the first half, Dartmouth went on a 15-3 run to finish the half 31-20.
However, the Tigers opened the second half scoring six unanswered points to cut the gap to 31-26. Although Princeton got within three points of the Dartmouth lead at the 9:56 mark, the Big Green took a 55-42 lead after a 14-4 run with 3:04 remaining in the game. The Tigers retaliated with another six points before Dartmouth put the game away by completing eight-of-nine attempts from the charity stripe.
"Princeton was the epitome of team basketball," Perry said. "Becky Brown was hurting us early inside the key but the guards -- Jeannie [Cullen '06], Angie, Ashley and Fatima -- stepped up, got aggressive and took it to their guards so they couldn't even dribble, let alone see the posts."
Three seniors scored in double-figures for Dartmouth and finished their last Ivy League games on a high note. Cullen led the way with 17 points, while classmates Perry and Soriaga contributed 14 and 13 points respectively to the win.
Dartmouth has participated in each of four playoffs that have been in Ivy League history, winning three of them. Dartmouth defeated Princeton in 1999, defeated Harvard last season and overcame both Princeton and Brown this season. The women in green suffered their only loss in the playoff games against Brown in 1994.
Prior to the tournament selection show, the Dartmouth women were hoping to leave the Northeast region for sunnier weather.
"We just really want to be able to fly to our location, so we would be pretty excited if we played anywhere away from the Northeast region," Soriaga said on Sunday after the team defeated Princeton.
"We'll play anytime, anywhere," Perry said that night. "But to be honest, we really don't want to be in Trenton, N.J."
"I am hoping for Arizona State University at Arizona. I love the Southwest and I think they play a style of basketball that we are used to," Scott said. "But I think that we'll be happy as long as we get out of the Northeast.
Unfortunately for Soriaga, Scott and Perry, the Northeast is exactly where they would end up. The ESPN NCAA women's tournament selection show on Monday night revealed that the Big Green had been pitted against No. 3 seed Rutgers University in their home state at Trenton, N.J.
"It was a shock, almost surreal at first, [to have received the bid]," Perry said. "Then I feel blessed to be here and have the chance to go to the NCAA's twice in my career. Not many people get that chance."
The No. 9 Scarlet Knights are the Big East regular season champions and hold a 25-4 overall record. Rutgers and Dartmouth have competed twice before, including a match in the 1999 NCAA tournament. At the tournament in Piscataway, N.J., the Scarlet Knights defeated the Big Green 84-70 despite current Dartmouth assistant coach Courtney Banghart's 19 points in the game.
Rutgers also defeated the Big Green once in 1981 in a 77-50 decision at the Dartmouth Invitational in Hanover.
Dartmouth will look to impress its competition on Sunday evening at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, N.J. The Dartmouth Athletic Department has organized a fan bus to Trenton for Sunday. The tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
