In an unsuccessful opening weekend of basketball, both the Big Green men's and women's basketball teams took to the road and lost their season openers to Providence College (1-0) by a score of 87-52 and Northwestern University (1-0) 66-37, respectively.
In Providence, the Big Green men's team (0-1, 0-0 Ivy) was outplayed by an overpowering Friars squad, who jumped out to a quick 19-3 lead and never looked back, taking a 25 point lead into halftime.
The Friars shot 56 percent from the floor, including knocking down eight shots from behind the arc. Dartmouth, however, shot 25 percent from the floor, going a mere three for 20 from long range.
Guard R.J. Griffin '13 led all scorers for the Big Green with 12 points, while Lithuanian-born Gediminas Bertasius '14 added in 10.
As the game continued, the Big Green was never able to pull close in the second half and was unable to piece together consistent offensive play to try to cut into Providence's lead.
"We are struggling to score offensively," head coach Paul Cormier said. "We played hard, did a decent job to get them to turn the ball over, but ultimately we have to take advantage of the opportunities we have to score."
Dartmouth forced 20 turnovers from the Friars but was outrebounded 52-28, allowing Providence to push the basketball in transition and ultimately score some easy baskets at the rim.
"We started off the game missing open shots that we normally make every day," captain Clive Weeden '11 said. "Because our shots were not falling, they were able to grab rebounds and push the ball right back at us. Even when our offense was flowing the shots just would not fall."
Playing its opening game in the Dunkin' Donuts Center with a capacity of 15,000 people against a Big East Conference team likely added to the Dartmouth players' nerves as well, he said.
"It's always hard to go into an atmosphere like the Dunkin' Donuts Center," Weeden said. "Providence has great fans, which made it very hard to hear plays and communicate on the floor. This at times made it virtually impossible to run our offense."
Cormier said that the atmosphere was exciting, but that this was only one game, opting to focus on the lesson to be learned rather than the game itself.
"It was a game that we were obviously outmanned, but it is a little bit tough in trying to glean too much from that game, because Providence is not indicative of most of the opponents we will be playing," he said. "We need to take a deep breath, look at it, learn from it, and then move on. We need to take everything one game at a time."
The Big Green's inability to score the basketball is not a new problem. Last year under a different coach they were the lowest-scoring team in all of NCAA Division I basketball.
In Evanston, it was a similar story for the Dartmouth women's team. With three new additions to the starting lineup, the Big Green was outsized by a strong Northwestern team out of the Big 10.
Dartmouth was led by captain Brittney Smith '11 with 12 points and 14 rebounds, her 25th career double-double.
The 6'5" All-Big 10 senior center Amy Jaeschke from Northwestern proved too physical inside, however, going for 20 points and 10 rebounds, and influencing nearly every offensive possession for the Big Green forcing a mediocre shooting performance of only 26 percent from the field.
"It was our first game and we missed a lot of easy shots that we normally would make," Smith said. "I think we will play better in the coming games because we won't be as anxious."
The Big Green was outrebounded 44-34, and turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 21 points off turnovers for the Wildcats.
Smith said she saw potential in the way the team played, however, and focused on the fact that this loss has no effect on their post-season aspirations.
"We learned that we have to do more of the little things like boxing out, rotating and being aggressive offensively," Smith said. "There were moments in the game when we played very well so I think the game also allowed us to see our potential."
The Big Green was picked in the preseason to finish third in the Ivy League this year.
"We're going to try and get better every day and compete against the bigger schools," Smith said. "Everything we do is to prepare us to win the Ivy championship, but we have to take it one game at a time."
The Dartmouth women's team will continue its road trip this Tuesday in Durham, N.H., when they take on in-state rival University of New Hampshire, who also enters the game without a win. The men's team will play its home opener Tuesday evening, also against in-state rival University of New Hampshire.
