With three minutes left in the second quarter of Dartmouth women’s basketball’s season opener against Boston University on Friday, guard Alexandra Eldredge ’27 found an open Cate MacDonald ’27 at the top of the key. The junior forward launched a 3-point attempt, which rattled around the rim before dropping in to give the Big Green a 21-14 lead. BU head coach Melissa Graves was forced to take a timeout, and her squad went into halftime down by seven points. The Big Green’s multi-faceted offense continued to thrive throughout the game, with five players getting on the scoresheet. Despite 16 Terrier points in the last four minutes of the game, Dartmouth held on to start their season off with a 52-50 victory.
“It was awesome. I’m so proud of our team,” Big Green head coach Linda Cimino said. “It’s just really exciting to start the season off with a big ‘W.’”
Dartmouth established an early 8-2 lead thanks to five quick Eldredge points. In the second quarter, BU grabbed their only lead of the game with a layup from forward Anastasiia Semenova to bring the score to 11-10. The Big Green quickly retaliated, with Eldredge hitting a free throw followed by a 3-pointer to make the score 14-11. The guard and co-captain was a key reason for the victory with 14 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal.
The Terriers made a last-ditch run in the fourth quarter, hitting three triples and 16 points in less than four minutes. Their efforts were held off once again by key Big Green free throws, including two each from Cate MacDonald ’27 and Eldredge.
Eldredge, MacDonald, and Zeynep Ozel ’28 all scored in the double-digits, reflecting the vast array of offensive talent that the Big Green has at their disposal. The team also held BU to a 34.5% field goal percentage on the day through aggressive team defense.
“We played team basketball today,” said Cimino. “We defended when we needed to [and] we executed sets out of timeouts.”
Eldredge praised the instrumental role of the coaching staff during the offseason. The “confidence” in her play was in large part thanks to “a lot of encouragement from coaches.”
MacDonald spearheaded the Big Green’s defensive effort with two steals and two blocks. The forward also had a strong all-around performance offensively, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out an assist to add to her 14 points.
“When I’m in the game defensively, that’s when I can kind of let my offense flow,” MacDonald said. “So I tried to play that way today, and it really did work.”
The team entered the 2025-26 season looking to rebuild from within. They added four first-years and two new assistant coaches to a returning core committed to depth and defense. After a strong start to last season with two conference wins against Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania, the team lost 12 Ivy League games in a row to finish the season.
This season, the team also lost last season’s leading scorer, Victoria Page ’25, who averaged 15 points per game in her senior year and graduated with 1001 career points. Page’s departure opened the door for scorers like MacDonald, Eldredge and Ozel to make an impact. In the preseason, Cimino continuously emphasized “sharing the basketball a lot,” which was highlighted by different leading scorers in each of the two scrimmages Dartmouth played behind closed doors.
The focus on teamwork was echoed by team co-captain Olivia Lawlor ’26, who anticipated a “team effort offense, with team effort scoring.” Alongside Lawlor, Eldredge’s focus as captain has been developing her vocal presence on the court, leading by example and holding both herself and her teammates accountable. Her commitment to “stepping up and being what her teammates need” during the rebuilding phase was showcased right away against the Terriers.
Cimino has emphasized that the key to the program is “patience,” as there is no “quick fix” in a rebuild. Compared to other college basketball programs that can bring in “a new team every year” of transfers, Dartmouth has “continuity,” bringing players back to allow them to grow and develop.
In their off-season, the team participated in several team-building activities and engaged with other athletic teams on campus, including rowing with the men’s rowing coach as well as attending a session at the equestrian farm. The sessions contributed to the rebuilding process by developing a tighter team culture and improving their communication.
“If you’re not talking on the [rowing] boat, and if you’re not getting into a rhythm, you’re not going to go anywhere,” Lawlor said.
These skills and energy have been directly translated onto the court, where, according to Eldredge, “the communication is definitely applicable in practice.” In the season opener, MacDonald said the team also “did a good job of talking when switching” to put pressure on the Terriers’ shooters.
The win is a positive step towards the team’s final goal of attending Ivy Madness, the Ivy League’s postseason tournament. Cimino says there is currently a “big separation” between Princeton University, Harvard University, Columbia University and the five other Ivy League programs. While Dartmouth is one of those five, the coach is confident that the Big Green can contend.
“There is no reason why we can’t compete with those schools,” she said.
The Big Green will look to take this momentum and energy to a Monday evening matchup against the University of Albany Great Danes, who are 1-1 on the season thus far.
