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The Dartmouth
July 23, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Duke downs women's hoops

The Dartmouth women's basketball team drew record-breaking crowds to the annual Dartmouth Blue Sky Classic tournament Dec. 29-30. They placed third overall, losing to Duke University, 77-40, but coming back the next day to defeat the University of Dayton in a consolation game, 76-71.

Dartmouth (2-8) began the tournament with a difficult first half against the undefeated and nationally third-ranked Duke team.

Duke (13-0) pulled ahead quickly, taking a 48-17 lead to the locker room.

Sophomore guard Abby Waner led the Blue Devils with 18 points, with 14 points scored in the first half.

"We had a lot of turnovers in the first half against Duke that they capitalized on and had we cut down on them, judging by our play in the second half, we could have had a ball game with Duke," forward Sydney Scott '08 said of the game.

The Big Green played Duke more evenly in the second half, opening with an 11-4 run in the first ten minutes. Guard Koren Schram '09 matched Waner with 18 points, including four three-pointers. Guard Ashley Taylor '07 finished the game with nine points and four assists.

"We played Duke in the first round because if they are going to be in Hanover we want to play them," Dartmouth coach Chris Wielgus said. "Our team showed a lot of grittiness, they didn't back down, they didn't give in, and they did a great job of playing as hard as they could for as long as they could."

The game against Duke, which took place on Dec. 29, drew a crowd of 2,153, breaking Dartmouth's record for women's basketball attendance.

"We have the most unbelievable fans, we really are the envy of the Ivy League," Wielgus said, "The crowd against Duke was unbelievable, people were spilling into the aisles. It was a real experience."

The next day, the Big Green came back to defeat Dayton in a consolation game, recovering quickly from an initial 25-17 deficit to lead the Flyers 35-30 at the half.

"I think we did a great job in meeting our tournament goal, which was to compete in back-to-back games, especially given the emotions that come out of playing a top team like Duke," Wielgus said.

Four other Dartmouth players scored in the double digits, with Schram and forward Darcy Rose '09 scoring 14 each, closely followed by guard Fatima Kamara '07 with 12. Guard Kristen Craft '08 came off the bench to score 10 points.

"As a team we played fairly well," Schram said, "Once we all get on the same page with offense and defense, that's when we are a really hard team to beat."

Both Schram and Taylor were selected for the all-tournament team.

The Blue Devils went on to defeat Boston University 71-43 to win the championship.

This year marks the 27th time that Dartmouth has hosted the Blue Sky Classic tournament. The tournament is among the oldest women's basketball tournaments in the country.

The Big Green came off the tournament to defeat Colgate 68-48 at home on Jan. 2.

"We came out without fear and without hesitation and with a lot of energy that we haven't had in previous games," Scott said, "We got a lot of momentum coming off of the tournament, especially coming off of our game against Duke."

Dartmouth kicks off the Ivy League season against Harvard at home this coming Saturday.