While Iowa's size proved to be too much for the Big Green, Dartmouth never backed down and actually out-rebounded the much bigger Hawkeye front line.
Head coach Chris Wielgus was pleased with the way her team never backed down against the eight-time Big Ten champions.
"We competed until we ran out of gas," Wielgus said. "We contained their triangle offense, we out-rebounded their huge front line, and we contested every shot. We did everything humanly possible today, and Iowa was a great test. You can't expect an Ivy League team to be able to match up with the size of a Big Ten team in the first game of the season."
Dartmouth out-rebounded Iowa 40-37 in the game, despite the fact that the tallest Dartmouth frontline starter, Darcy Rose '09, at six feet two inches, was as tall as Iowa's shortest starting forward. The rebounds allowed the Big Green to stay in the game by limiting Iowa's second chance opportunities.
The first half was a dogfight between the Big Green and the Hawkeyes. Koren Schram '09 had the hot hand early, sinking two shots from beyond the arc to contribute to the offense. Point guard and co-captain Kristen Craft '08, playing in her home state, was also very effective offensively, creating opportunities for her teammates and running the offense.
With 2:20 left in the half, the score was knotted up at 25-25, but Iowa scored seven unanswered points to build a 32-25 advantage and capture the momentum.
In the beginning of the second half, Iowa continued to build on its strong first half finish by scoring seven unanswered points to open up a 39-25 lead. However, the Big Green responded with an 8-0 run of its own, including two three-pointers by Schram, to stop the bleeding at 39-33.
However, that six-point margin was as close as the Big Green would get to the Hawkeyes for the rest of the evening, as Iowa always seemed to be able to find the open player. Of Iowa's 25 field goals, 22 of them were assisted. In the second half the Hawkeyes were dialed in on the basket, sinking 60 percent of their field goals compared to 25 percent for the Big Green. In the end, Iowa's post players came through to give their team the victory.
"I thought Craft did a really good job running the offense, she responded very well to playing close to home," Wielgus said. "Schram did a great job out on the perimeter, and I was pleased with the way our post players were able to grab rebounds."
Aside from the size discrepancy of the front line, Dartmouth also turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 28 Hawkeye points. The Big Green created 16 turnovers of its own, but was only able to squeeze 10 points off of the Iowa miscues.
For the game, Schram led the Big Green with 19 points, including five from beyond the arc. Craft had seven assists to lead the team, while Margaret Smith '10 and co-captain Sydney Scott '08 hauled in nine rebounds.
"The shots were there, so I just stepped up and took them and they were going in for me," Schram said.
Dartmouth will look to pick up its first victory of the year when it visits the Black Bears of Maine on Thursday, Nov. 15. Maine is coming off of a 72-59 loss at the hands of Clemson.
"We're a very young team, so we just need to spend more time on the court and everything will come together for us," Schram said.
