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2019-20 Ivy League preview: Will it be Penn and Princeton again for the title?

By Matt Ward

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 11: Bella Alarie #31 (C) of the Princeton Tigers elates with her teammates with the win over the Harvard Crimson during an Ivy League semifinal matchup at The Palestra on March 11, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Princeton won 68-47. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 11: Bella Alarie #31 (C) of the Princeton Tigers elates with her teammates with the win over the Harvard Crimson during an Ivy League semifinal matchup at The Palestra on March 11, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Princeton won 68-47. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /
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Dartmouth rebuilds

Dartmouth

Last season: 13-14 overall (6-8 in Ivy League)

Predicted finish- 7th

Key Returners (Last season’s stats)

G- Annie McKenna, 5’5, Sr- 7.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 31% FG, 24% 3FG, 30.8 MPG

F- Anna Luce, 6’2, Jr- 6.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 43% FG, 32% 3FG, 18.9 MPG

F- Paula Lenart, 5’11, Sr- 6.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 55% FG, 25% 3FG, 23 MPG

Biggest Losses (Last season’s stats)

F- Isalys Quinanes, 6’3- 14 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 45% FG, 39% 3FG, 31.7 MPG

G- Cy Lippoid, 5’2- 10.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 36% FG, 36% 3FG, 30.2 MPG

G- Kealy Brown, 5’8- 6.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 48% FG, 41% 3FG, 19.9 MPG

Newcomers

G- Emma Koch, 6’0

G- Karina Mitchell, 5’8

F- Kaiyah Corona, 5’11

G- Allie Harland, 5’11

Head Coach- Belle Koclanes (7th season)

Key Non-Conference Games

Dec 7– at Northwestern

Dec 10 – at. Maine

Dec 21– at Boston University

Outlook

Dartmouth was on the wrong end of a three-way tie at the end of last season, losing to Cornell on the last night of the season, which ultimately sent the Big Red to Ivy Madness in New Haven, Connecticut. While the defeat was a difficult one to take, head coach Belle Koclanes looks to established veterans Annie McKenna, Anna Luce, and Paula Lenart to get the Big Green back into the mix for postseason play.

Joining those veterans in Hanover this year is a strong group of incoming freshmen, led by Kaiyah Corona and Australian guard Allie Harland. Koclanes might look to her newcomers early in the season, following the departure of top two leading scorers, Isalys Quinanes and Cy Lippoid.

Dartmouth truly excelled on the defensive end of the floor last season, where they finished third in the league in scoring defense. They held eight teams to under 50 points, while holding 13 teams to 60 points or below. The issues for the Big Green came on the offensive end, as they finished seventh in the league in both scoring offense and FG%. They mustered just 47 points in that end-of-season home loss to Cornell. Dartmouth may need to see scoring from their freshmen, early and often, to improve on these numbers.

What Will Happen?

Coach Koclanes can really coach. She’s one of the best X’s and O’s coaches I’ve seen at work, and her ability to get her team to really defend and buy in defensively, will keep them in most games. The concern is on the offensive end. Being that they already struggled offensively last season, and lost their top two scorers, they are going to need significant contributions from their freshmen, along with marked offensive improvement from their returners.

As previously mentioned, this is a deep league. Their struggles to score the ball in this league could hurt them, especially this year, with so many teams returning top scorers. I believe Dartmouth will take a step back in the win total this season.

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