02.10.20
Fouls, turnovers plague men’s basketball in losses to Brown and Yale p. 5 From the Bleachers: Younger Brothers Shouldn’t Gamble, and other Lessons from Super Bowl LIV p. 6 Women’s basketball drops to 1-5 in Ivy play after four home losses p. 7
Squash teams turn to postseason after weekend wins at Brown p. 4 LORRAINE LIU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
The weekend Roundup
M Hockey
Compiled by THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS STAFF
W Basketball The women’s basketball team had another tough weekend at home, losing to both Brown University and Yale University to drop to 1-5 in the Ivy League. On Friday night, Brown — which coming into Hanover was 0-4 in Ivy play and ranked at the bottom of the league — started out with a bang, creating a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter that the Big Green could not recover from. A stellar performance from Annie McKenna ’20, who despite going 0-6 from 3 tallied 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, was not enough to carry her team to victory. Even a 27-point fourth quarter could not lift the Big Green over the
Bears, and Dartmouth ended up losing 71-83. On Saturday, the Big Green went back to Leede Arena seeking victory against Yale, which the Big Green beat last year at home on a buzzer beater by Paula Lenart ’20. This time around, however, the Big Green had no such luck and lost 67-47. Anna Luce ’21 and Jimena Abejon ’22 led the way for Dartmouth, scoring 16 and 10 points respectively off the bench in a solid effort against a good Yale squad. Next weekend, the Big Green will face Columbia University and Cornell University in Dartmouth’s first road weekend with back-to-back games this Ivy season.
Zachary ZacharyBenjamin Benjamin’19 ’19
Debora Hyemin Han ’20 Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief
Hanting Hanting Guo Guo ’19 ’19
Aidan Sheinberg ’20 Publisher Publisher Publisher
Ioana IoanaSolomon Solomon’19 ’19
02.10.20 Vol.CLXXV CLXXVI No. 4.30.18 4.23.18 Vol. Vol. CLXXV No. No. 27 21132
Amanda AmandaZhou Zhou ’19 Alex Fredman ’20 ’19 Executive Editors Executive Editors Executive Editor
Addison Dick ’22 Mark Cui ’19 Justin Kramer ’21 Justin Samantha Hussey Lili Kramer Stern ’22’21’20 Associate Sports Editor Sports Editors Divya DivyaBhalla Kopalle Kopalle ’21 ’21 Naina ’22 Michael MichaelLiu Lin Lin’22 ’21 ’21 Lorraine Photography PhotographyEditors Editors Editors Photography Jaclyn Jaclyn Eagle Eagle ’19 ’19 Grant Pinkston ’23 Templating Templating Editor Editor Templating Editor
LONA GIRARDIN/THE DARTMOUTH
Men’s hockey fell to Harvard on Friday, 6-2.
On Friday, Harvard University used a late flurry of scoring to defeat the Big Green men’s hockey team by a score of 6-2. The Crimson, ranked No. 17 in the country, started the scoring just over three minutes into the first period with an unassisted goal by Jack Badini. Drew O’Connor ’22 kickstarted the scoring for the Big Green less than five minutes later. The tie held for another seven minutes before a power play goal was scored by Harvard’s Austin Wong after captain Brendan Demler ’21 received a major penalty for charging.
Harvard had the only goal of the second period. Goaltender Adrian Clark ’20 helped hold the score at 3-1 until the third period, when a goal from Daniel Warpecha ’20 brought the Big Green within one goal of tying the Crimson. Harvard was able to take advantage of Dartmouth’s high press, however, scoring three more times within the last five minutes of the game to solidify the victory. The Big Green, now seventh in the ECAC standings, will host two important conference games this upcoming weekend against Brown University and Yale University.
Skiing This weekend, the ski team hit the Maine slopes as Dartmouth competed in the Bates Carnival. The Big Green finished third in a 15-team field, losing only to ski powerhouses Middlebury College and the University of Vermont. The Big Green finished with 801 points to Middlebury’s 850 and UVM’s 848, with 478 of its points coming in alpine skiing. Dartmouth saw team wins in both the men’s and women’s slalom on Friday after weather conditions forced a switch to the slalom from the giant slalom. Kipling Weisel ’20 led the charge in the men’s slalom for the Big Green, claiming the only top-three spot all day for Dartmouth with his third place finish. Andrew Miller ’22 and David Domonoske ’20 were not far behind, claiming fifth and sixth place finishes in the slalom. Even without Tricia Mangan ’19 and Stephanie Curry ’20 available for the slalom Friday, the Big Green pulled off a team win with three top-10 finishes, highlighted by Stephanie Lebby ’20’s fourth-place effort. The Nordic teams were not quite as successful on Friday in the men’s 20k and women’s 15k, with the men finishing seventh and the women in fourth. Adam Glueck ’21 had the Big Green’s best race, skiing to eighth place in 59:30.7.
Katharine Ogden ’21 and Lauren Jortberg ’20 did not compete for the women, making the fourth-place finish particularly impressive behind three top-20 races from Abby Drach ’20, Molly Gellert ’22 and Rena Schwartz ’22. Dartmouth entrenched itself firmly in third place on Saturday — over 100 points ahead of fourth place University of New Hampshire — with both alpine teams taking first in the rescheduled giant slalom. On the women’s side, Abi Jewett ’22 and Gwen Wattenmaker ’23 took center stage, pacing the competition with times of 2:18.88 and 2:19.46 to earn second and third in the giant slalom, respectively. Miller teamed up with Drew Duffy ’21 to take second and third in the men’s giant slalom as well. Drach and Gellert starred again to help Dartmouth earn third in the women’s 5k, finishing in fifth and 10th, and Jortberg returned Saturday for a ninth-place effort. The Nordic men’s team did not have the same success at the top in the 10k, but did see solid top-25 finishes from Cameron Wolfe ’23, Walker Bean ’21 and Glueck to earn sixth place. Next weekend, the ski teams head to Hancock, MA and Lake Placid, NY to race in the Williams Carnival.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
tennis The men’s tennis team continued its undefeated start to the season, defeating the University of Minnesota and St. John’s University at home this weekend to advance to 8-0. On Friday, the Big Green narrowly defeated Minnesota by a score of 4-3. The Gophers struggled in the doubles matches, failing to pick up any wins. When singles play started, the match became close as the Big Green dropped three of the first four matches completed. At the No. 2 position, Dan Martin ’21 brought the match to a 3-3 tie with a three-set victory. With the match against the Gophers on the line, the Big Green turned to Charlie Broom ’20 at the No. 1 singles position. His match went into a final set tiebreak, which he won to clinch the match. During Saturday’s match against St. John’s, the Big Green had to rely on its singles play to win by a score of 4-1. Trailing after doubles play, the Big Green cruised to victory by winning four straight singles matches. That win moved the Big Green to 8-0 this season, while the Red Storm dropped to 8-2. The Big Green will not play another home match until April. Looking to build on the undefeated start, the team will travel to Columbia University next weekend for the ECAC Indoor Championship.
The women’s tennis team competed in the ECAC Championship at Columbia University this weekend, finishing in fifth place. On Friday, the Big Green, seeded seventh in the tournament, opened play with a 4-1 loss to the University of Pennsylvania. Chidimma Okpara ’23 earned the point for Dartmouth with a 6-1, 6-0 win. On Saturday, the Big Green swept the sixth-seeded Minutewomen of the University of Massachusetts. Dartmouth won two doubles matches, dropping just one game across the two contests. In singles, the Big Green built on that momentum, and Ashley Hess ’23 clinched the victory for Dartmouth with her 6-1, 6-1 win. On the final day of the tournament, the Big Green played Ivy League foe Brown University for fifth place and won 4-1. After a strong start in doubles, the Big Green extended the lead to 3-0 in singles. Hess clinched the match again for Dartmouth with a come-from-behind three-set victory. The Big Green, with a 4-4 record this season, will see the Minutewomen again when it hosts UMass on Friday. The Big Green will also host Michigan State University on Sunday in its final home match until the last weekend of March.
m Basketball It was another tough weekend for the Dartmouth men’s basketball team (7-14, 0-6 Ivy). On Friday, the Big Green dropped a close effort at Brown University, falling 67-65. James Foye ’20 missed a game-winning three with under two seconds left, but the main story was a 12-0 Brown run late in the half that sealed the deal. On Saturday, Dartmouth again played tough on the road against what is the best team in the conference, Yale University. They entered halftime down just four, but went on to lose 75-57. In another offensive dry spell, the team scored just two points in an eight-minute stretch during the
second half, allowing the Bulldogs to build an 18-point lead. Dartmouth struggled with turnovers and fouls in both games. The Big Green committed 25 fouls in each contest during the weekend slate after doing so just once in their first 19 games. Dartmouth also turned the ball over 18 times versus the Bears, their second-highest team turnover mark this year. As the men in green hope to right the ship after starting 0-6 in Ivy League play, Dartmouth now turns its attention to Columbia University on Friday, as it begins a stretch of four straight games at home after playing five of its last six on the road.
W Hockey
The women’s hockey team had a busy week, taking on the University of New Hampshire on Tuesday on the Wildcats’ home ice before heading back to Hanover to host Colgate University and Cornell University over the weekend. Despite having three opportunities, the Big Green was unable to earn a victory this week, losing 3-1 to UNH, 4-2 to Colgate and 3-0 to Cornell. In Tuesday’s matchup, Catherine Trevors ’23 continued her stellar freshman campaign, netting the Big Green’s only goal to keep a blank off of the Big Green’s side of the scoreboard. Goaltender Kayla Wormsbecher ’21 kept 30 shots out of the net, but the Big Green offense was unable to produce on the other end, resulting in a loss.
Against Colgate, Trevors produced again, earning two points with an assist to Gabby Billing ’22 and a goal of her own. This marked Trevors’ seventh goal of the season, good for second on the team. Wormsbecher also nearly eclipsed the 30-save mark again, tallying 29. But in a scoreless game against No. 2 Cornell on Saturday, Wormsbecher shined, recording a career-high 36 saves. However, a stagnant Big Green offense got off only 13 shots to the Big Red’s 39, ultimately resulting in a shut-out loss. The Big Green will hit the road for more conference hockey next weekend as the team takes on Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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track and field Men’s track and field dominated the competition in Leverone Field House this weekend, running, jumping and throwing brilliantly en route to a season-high 186 points, more than doubling second-place Merrimack College. The Big Green had a few dynamic duos in the 60m, 200m and 3000m, securing first and second place in all three events. Donovan Spearman ’21 and Myles Epstein ’23 led the way in the 60m with respective times of 6.83 and 6.87 seconds. Charlie Wade ’22 won the 400m in 51.08 seconds followed by teammate Myles Holt ’20 in 51.31 seconds. In the 3000m, Brian Mass ’21 won a race for the first time in his collegiate career with fellow junior Ben Majetka ’21 right behind him. Will Baginski ’23 also won his first career race, taking home the title by running the 800m in 1:53.89. Dartmouth swept the
metaphorical podium in the weight throw, with Andrew Palermo ’22, Jake Dalton ’23 and Myles Schreck ’22 carrying the weight. A pair of track wins also helped propel the Big Green to victory, with Corbin Mayes ’21 winning the pole vault and Ahria Simons ’22 winning the long jump with a personal-best 6.98m jump. The women’s track and field team also hosted its final home meet of the indoor season this weekend and cruised to victory. Cha’Mia Rothwell ’20 won the 60m hurdles in 8.40 seconds as well as the long jump with a mark of 5.89m, more than a foot better than the second-place finisher. Lily Lockhart ’21 won the shot put and weight throw, and the Big Green finished first and second in the 1000m and 800m races. Next weekend, the teams will travel to Boston for a Valentine’s Day weekend meet hosted by Boston University.
SQUASH
On Friday, the men’s squash team fell to Yale University on its senior day by a score of 7-2. The Big Green received victories from Sam Supattapone ’21 and Lucan White ’23, who both won their matches in five games. White came back from a 2-0 deficit to win the final three games. The Big Green concluded its regular season with a 6-3 win over Brown University on Sunday. Dartmouth won in the No. 1 through No. 5 positions and was aided by four five-game victories. Men’s squash finished the regular season with a 6-7 record and a 2-5 record in Ivy League play. The team will now focus its attention on the College Sq u as h A s s o c i at i o n M e n’s Championships, which will start on Feb. 28 at the campus of Harvard University.
The women’s squash team lost to Yale on Friday by a score of 8-1. Jesse Brownell ’23 secured the only win for the Big Green during its final home match of the season. After dropping the first game 11-7, she won the next three games. The Big Green finished its regular season with a trip to Brown for a match on Sunday. Dartmouth won a nail-biting 5-4 match to finish with a 6-6 record on the season. Emma Supattapone ’23, Claire Aube ’23 and Sandra Reiss ’21 all won their matches in three games. The win over Brown was the second conference victory for the Big Green in seven matches, and Dartmouth finished the season with a 6-6 record. The team will compete in the College Squash Association Women’s Championships next weekend at Yale University.
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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020
Squash teams turn to postseason after weekend wins at Brown B y ETHAN STRAUSS The Dartmouth
The Dartmouth men’s and women’s squash teams, both ranked No. 9 in the nation, wrapped up their regular seasons this weekend and will be competing in the postseason at the end of the month. The men’s team, after a 7-2 loss at home against Yale University on Friday, stormed back against Brown University to earn a 6-3 win on Sunday. The No. 9 women’s team also lost to Yale on Friday 8-1, but came back two days later to beat Brown, 5-4. The men’s team started the season with the goal play in the top division of the College Squash Association championship tournament. To make this division, the team would need to be ranked within the top eight teams in the country at the close of the season. With an increased level of Ivy League competition over the past few years, this goal has been a challenge. H e a d c o a ch H a n s i Wi e n s attributed much of this increased play level to an improvement of teams’ training regiments across the league. The Big Green has followed this trend by working with the Dartmouth Peak Performance program and taking a training trip down to Atlanta during the off-season. The Atlanta trip also allowed the team to bond together as a cohesive unit. “Training, practice and fitness levels have all gone up,” Wiens said. “Team bonding activities are the most important, we need to fight not only for ourselves but for the whole team.” The team started its season with a record of 2-4 before playing then No. 5 Drexel University at home. After Drexel picked up wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, the Big Green won six of the last seven matches to secure the win at home. The day was highlighted by a number of close matches, including a five-game victory by Tucker Martino ’22. “We knew that we had to beat either Drexel or Columbia, we had a good day and played well together,” Wiens said. “Things had to come
together, and we had to be in the right mindset to play that day.” Most of the team’s close wins this season came as a result of its depth, with some matches coming down to wins at the lower half of the ladder. Jack Bell ’22 and Lucan White ’23 often brought in important wins at the lower two spots of the roster. Our strength is that we are very deep and strong from top to bottom,” Wiens said. “Most of our wins are at the bottom of the roster.” Seniors Brandon De Otaduy Nam ’20 and Drew Monroe ’20 will be missed by the program next year, but the team itself has a bright future ahead with plenty of underclassmen talent. “Everyone on the team has done such a great job of making everyone included,” De Otaduy Nam said. “It’s definitely been my favorite part of my time at Dartmouth.” Despite picking up two more victories against St. Lawrence University and Cornell University, the team finished 6-7 on the season and will likely play in the B division of the CSA championships as the top seed. The women’s team also sought to make it to the top bracket of the CSA championships this postseason, and to do so, the team needed to have at least one upset win during the season with a schedule filled with some of the best players in the world. “This is one of the strongest teams we’ve had in my four years here.” said captain Annie Blasberg ’20. “We really wanted to break into the top eight and that meant beating some teams ranked above us.” That upset win finally came in Hanover against No. 6 Drexel University on Jan. 24. The Big Green kept it close throughout the first eight matches, with three of its initial four victories coming in four games or more. Drexel picked up wins at the first, second and fourth spots, but at the end it came down to Julia Potter ’20 at the ninth spot in the lineup. Potter clinched the upset after taking the match in four games. “It was a huge effort from everyone across the ladder,” Blasberg
LORRAINE LIU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
The squash teams lost at home to Yale on Friday but both earned victories against Brown on Sunday.
said. “The big crowd at home and the atmosphere and energy made it a big win.” Freshman players made a huge impact on the team’s performance this year, filling out high spots in the roster. Emma Supattapone ’23, Jesse Brownell ’23 and Claire Aube ’23 filled out the second, third and fifth spots in the lineup respectively. The strength of the class bodes well for the future of the program. “The freshman class is exceptional to me,” Wiens said. “I really look forward to working with them over the next few years.” But for seniors Blasberg, Potter and Junnat Anwar ’20, it will be a bittersweet goodbye to a program that has benefited so much from their commitment and persistence. “It’s been a great run, and I wish them all the best,” Wiens said. “I look forward to seeing what they do out there in the world in the future.” With other key wins coming over George Washington University and Cornell, the Big Green finished the season with a record of 6-6.
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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020
Fouls, turnovers plague men’s basketball in losses to Brown and Yale B y DEVAN FINK
The Dartmouth Staff
At some point, the Dartmouth men’s basketball team is going to have to turn its bursts of success into wins. The Big Green exited its most recent Ivy League weekend slate the same way it entered: winless. With a nail-biting 6765 loss at Brown University on Friday and a much-less-close 75-57 defeat to Yale University on Saturday, Dartmouth now finds itself 7-14 on the season, 0-6 in Ivy League play and on a nine-game losing streak. That is not to suggest that the Big Green has not had success, however. At Brown, the team opened up to an eight-point lead at halftime on the back of an offensive spark, shooting 60 percent from the field while making five-of-seven 3-pointers. A combination of fouls and turnovers led to the team’s downfall in the second half, however. The Bears forced 18 Dartmouth turnovers and drew 25 fouls; they shot 26 free throws to the Big Green’s five. “They’re a very athletic group,” Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin said about Brown earlier last week. “They’re a potentially explosive group. You can’t give them live ball turnovers because they’ll turn those into points.” On Friday, Brown scored 20 points off of turnovers, including 13 in the second half. A 12-0 run with under six minutes to go sealed the deal, even in spite of a furious and seemingly-quite-common late Dartmouth comeback attempt. “We watched that sequence as a team,” said James Foye ’20. “They made a couple tough shots, a couple really, really good plays. Basketball, as we know, is a game of runs. A team can get momentum so quickly. It’s basically just knowing that they’re going to make some great plays that you can’t control as much, and then being able to respond quickly and not let it snowball.” Down 10 with 2:18 remaining, the Big Green cut Brown’s lead to as little as one, as the offense regained its bearings. In a stretch of just over two minutes, Taurus Samuels ’22 and Chris Knight ’21 scored five points each, and a Trevon Ary-Turner ’22 3-pointer cut Brown’s lead to 66-65 with just eight seconds
on the clock. When Brown’s Brandon Anderson went one-for-two from the line, Dartmouth had an opportunity to tie the game with a two or go for the win with a three. Foye took the latter option, getting off a quick 3 with just under two seconds left. It clanked off the front of the rim as time expired. “The original play was to get a pass going towards the rim,” Foye said. “They actually zoned up the middle, so we had to change the play on the fly. It’s great to get the two, that was our plan, but in the moment, I think going for the win — going for the jugular — was the play. Obviously, it’s something you think about, especially me. I think about how great it would have been to make it, but hopefully we can get a couple of those to fall later.” The decision to get the ball into Foye’s hands made sense. He’s been one of the most reliable shooters on the team since he became a full-time starter last season, but his night was rather quiet, scoring just five points on two-of-five shooting, while being charged with four fouls. Regardless, it wasn’t that shot that doomed the Big Green. The four-minute offensive dry spell loomed large. “When a team is trying to come back, you need to be able to extend the lead a little bit,” Knight said. “And in that stretch, we weren’t able to score, and they came back. We fouled them a lot, and they were slowly chipping away. They made a few big plays that got their energy up. It’s definitely a mental thing. Because we’ve been on a losing streak, we are all like, ‘This isn’t going to happen again.’ And then it happens.” At Yale on Saturday, Dartmouth again had stretches of success intertwined with offensive sputtering. The Bulldogs opened to a fast start, building a 14-point lead nine minutes into the game. Dartmouth climbed back into it, however, actually tying the game at 35 about 10 minutes later, again thanks to successful shooting across the score sheet. Eight different players made a bucket in the first half, and this multifaceted attack allowed the Big Green to play toe-to-toe with the Bulldogs, down 40-36 at the intermission. The team had nine assists in the first half, their
LONA GIRARDIN/THE DARTMOUTH
Men’s basketball dropped to 0-6 in conference play after two losses this weekend.
most in a half since Dec. 18, when they had 11 in the second versus Central Connecticut State University. Perhaps not coincidentally, that was Dartmouth’s last victory. “That first half is something we’ll watch a lot to see where those assists are coming from,” Foye said. “[We’ll] try to build on that going forward. I think it’s definitely frustrating that that is not always there, but it’s better that it can be there than that it’s never there. Hopefully that’s something we can springboard off of and learn where the difference is.” Yale cruised to victory in the second half, as Dartmouth once again found itself in foul trouble and offensive disarray. In a roughly eight-minute stretch near the beginning of the second half, the Big Green scored just two points. In the process, the Bulldogs built an 18-point lead, going on to win by that margin. Despite scoring 17 points and adding six rebounds against Brown, Knight had eight turnovers and four fouls versus Yale. In total, the team had 25 fouls to Yale’s 11. Prior to this weekend, Dartmouth had rarely found itself in foul
trouble; in their first 19 games, the team only picked up 25 fouls once, but did so in both games against Brown and Yale. “I think there’s a little bit of frustration, a little bit of the refs,” Knight said. “I think the refs were calling a lot of ticky-tacky fouls on us. We fed into it through frustration. We would get more of these touchy fouls. At this point, we just need to stay mentally tougher. Sometimes, I also buy into the frustration part and commit a foul for no reason. I think it’s important for me to stay on the floor, so I think I just have to be more mentally aware.” Perhaps Dartmouth’s only saving grace is that they’ve “had a tough schedule,” as McLaughlin noted last week. Following games on Saturday, only two of the 353 Division I schools have played fewer home games than the Big Green, which just ended a stretch of five of six games on the road. “It’s always a little harder to play on the road than it is to play at home,” Knight said. “You’re playing in someone else’s environment, and you’re adjusting to — they have a crowd, the refs are being peer pressured by their crowd a
little bit. You’re playing against a few factors. And then, this is the gym that they’re comfortable in, that they practice in, that they shoot in all the time. You’re also traveling, while the other team is able to [sleep in their own] bed.” The schedule will improve, as six of Dartmouth’s eight remaining Ivy League games will be at home, but it could already be too little, too late. Into games on Sunday, they are three-anda-half games behind the University of Pennsylvania for the crucial fourth spot in the Ivy League standings. Nearperfection will be necessary for the Big Green to earn a spot in the four-team Ivy tournament. Its next test comes Friday, when the team returns home to face Columbia University at Leede Arena. “We want to be a group that’s tough and together and that competes and executes,” McLaughlin said. “Individuals are going to have up times in games, down moments in games, and you have to pick each other up. The communication has to be together, and you’ve gotta be tough. And then, through that, you have to compete, no matter the scenario [or] the situation.”
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From the Bleachers with Baily Deeter ’22
From the Bleachers: Younger Brothers Shouldn’t Gamble, and Other Lessons from Super Bowl LIV Through this column, I’ve been fortunate enough to teach my faithful readers some life lessons. A few weeks ago, I went straight to my social psychology textbook and discussed the power of the situation. Last week, I gave my East Coast audience an introduction to California culture — and probably shocked any investment banker readers by proposing the notion of going to work in khaki shorts and polo shirts. I don’t need to check the records to know that my dad rocked such a combination Monday morning. Or he might have hit the gym in the morning to blow off steam and then gone straight to the office in workout clothes. Those are the only two possibilities. After experiencing Super Bowl LIV, I have a new lesson for this week: Gambling is bad. Unless you’re very good at it. But my younger brother Logan is not very good at it. He is also not good at it at all. In fact, he is terrible at it. Thanks to his incompetence, I was able to profit off the Chiefs (at his expense) for a third straight week. Kansas City’s 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers marked the Chiefs’ third straight comeback of 10 or more points, and marked the third straight Sunday of soul-searching for Logan. I’m sure my dad lectured him about the dangers of gambling, but Logan probably couldn’t take him seriously because he was wearing a polo shirt and khaki shorts to work. Hopefully, I
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
finally got through to the kid. If you’re going to gamble, at least bet on the best quarterback in the game over the J Crew model who completed three of 11 passes in the final quarter. Also, my sister was mad that I haven’t given her a shout-out yet, so I want to give her some props for not placing any ill-advised bets on the Super Bowl. While I was going all in on Mecole Hardman for Super Bowl MVP before watching him finish the game with –4 yards, she was probably doing her math homework like a champion. Stay the path, Skylar. Now let’s get to the action. The strange thing about the game was that its best player didn’t look the part until the last few minutes. Patrick Mahomes has started 36 games in his career, and according to Pro Football Focus individual game grades, the Super Bowl was his fifth-worst career performance and by far his worst in the postseason. He missed throws all night, threw two second half interceptions, and had no passing touchdowns until late in the game. Meanwhile, while the Bay Area’s golden boy never had to make any heroic throws, he was doing his job effectively during the game’s first three quarters. After an ugly interception, he responded with a methodical touchdown drive, finding Kyle Juszczyk for a touchdown that made Spelling Bee contestants around the world grin. By the end of the third quarter, he was 17-of-20 for 183 passing yards, a touchdown and a 10-point lead. Mahomes was 16-of26 for 145 yards and an interception, and he was about to throw another five minutes later. But the Chiefs have been known to score in waves, and once they opened the floodgates, there was no stopping them. To prop said gates open, it took one heroic play: a 44-yard completion from Mahomes to Tyreek Hill on 3rd and 15. The play’s greatness wasn’t obvious to me upon watching it in real time, but after further review, it put Mahomes’ greatness on full display and completely changed the script of the game. The play called for a double move from Hill, and while he may be the fastest receiver in the game, the route took about four seconds to develop. That meant Mahomes needed his offensive line to keep him upright for
four seconds, which was no small task against Nick Bosa, DeForest Buckner and a ferocious San Francisco pass rush. So Mahomes, who was already in the shotgun, took a whopping nine-step drop to buy himself time, ending up 14 yards behind the line of scrimmage when he unloaded the pass. Off his back foot and with Buckner rapidly approaching, he somehow unleashed a 57-yard bomb before Hill had even made his second break, knowing exactly where his star receiver was going to end up. In a game chock full of mediocrity, the Chiefs quarterback sprinkled in a dose of Mahomes magic. Kansas City capped off the drive with a Travis Kelce touchdown reception, which shifted the momentum drastically. Once the Chiefs got the ball back, a second touchdown felt inevitable. Sammy Watkins burning Richard Sherman to make it happen, however, was not inevitable. The oftinjured receiver was clutch throughout the playoffs, and he used a nifty inside release to burn Sherman for a 38yard gain and set up shop in the red
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020
zone. Damien Williams’ receiving touchdown put Kansas City on top, and after the Chiefs defense held once again, Williams’ second touchdown put the icing on the cake — or the cheeseburger if you’re Andy Reid. Once the Chiefs were crowned kings, the overreactions came flooding in. Kyle Shanahan was chastised for blowing another double-digit lead in the Super Bowl, which was ridiculous. He should’ve called a timeout at the end of the first half, but he also had a great fourth-quarter challenge and stellar play designs all game, especially the ones that got the ball in Deebo Samuel’s hands. He turned a 4-12 doormat into an NFC champion in 12 months, and deserves enormous praise for a tremendous season. On the flip side, Mahomes got heaps of praise for willing his team to victory with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes. His deep completions to Hill and Watkins were phenomenal, but if it weren’t for those drives and great late-game defense from the Chiefs, we might be calling him a choker for his
turnovers (plus two fumbles that the Chiefs recovered) and his inaccuracy throughout the game. Mahomes has the potential to be the greatest quarterback the league has ever seen, and he may walk away with a ring for each finger on his throwing hand by the time all is said and done. But he was far from his elite self on Sunday. Overall, it was a solid game, a great comeback and a good way to ease my never-ending pain of picking a Patriots-Saints Super Bowl. With the NFL season in the books, this column has reached a crossroads. We’re going to be shifting gears to the offseason plus some NBA and college basketball action, which will keep February exciting before March will hit us with an NFL free agent frenzy and March Madness. I can’t tell you exactly what next week’s column will offer, but I can tell you that I will be following my own lesson and will not be gambling on any basketball in the meantime. Unless my brother wants to make some more bets.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020
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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
Women’s basketball drops to 1-5 in Ivy play after four home losses B y BOYD BRAGG AND JUSTIN KRAMER The Dartmouth
The Big Green had a challenging weekend at home against Brown University and Yale University, getting down early in both games and falling short in its comeback attempts. After opening Ivy League play with a win against Harvard University, Dartmouth has now lost its last five conference games, including the last four at home, and eight of its last nine games overall. The Big Green struggled to heat up at home against Brown University on Friday, as the team put up just nine points in the first quarter and trailed by as much as 20 in the second, ultimately losing 83-71. Dartmouth played from behind throughout the game, as the Bears outrebounded the Big Green 47-33 and shot 47.4 percent from the field. Though Dartmouth’s 34.2 field goal percentage and 34.5 3-point percentage were vast improvements over last weekend, Brown’s offensive game and early lead proved too much to handle. Dartmouth allowed Brown’s junior guard McKenna Dale to explode with 26 points and 11 rebounds and gave up 13 points and 12 boards to sophomore forward Ashley Ducharme. Despite
challenges with offensive efficiency and rebounding, Dartmouth stayed competitive for much of the game. As time wound down in the second quarter, the Big Green went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to only 12 points. Forward Anna Luce ’21 drilled back to back 3-pointers off the bench to spark momentum going into the break. “We had some great actions in first to get some open looks,” Luce said. “I think this weekend, we were able to connect really well together and play well together, so when one of our teammates curls or dives the other one replaces. Just creating open wings for each other, was a huge part in making those shots. Some of them came in really pivotal moments.” Dartmouth found some rhythm during the third and fourth quarters. The scoring was even between the two teams in the second half, as Dartmouth put up 45 points in the last two quarters, but the first quarter deficit was too much to overcome. Guard Annie McKenna ’20’s statline highlighted the stark difference in Dartmouth’s performance between the two halves, as she scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half to go with nine assists and seven rebounds overall on the night. “That kid plays with so much heart and fight, and she just wants to win,”
LORRAINE LIU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Women’s basketball dropped home matches with Brown and Yale this weekend.
said head coach Belle Koclanes. “She had a tough first night last night, but that’s ‘Mack’ — it doesn’t phase her. And that’s what we’re trying to teach everyone: short term memories.” After exploding for 10 points in five minutes at the end of last weekend’s game against the University of Pennsylvania, Allie Harland ’23 drew 31 minutes of playing time and put up 12 points off the bench. Harland made four 3-point shots and was one of the most efficient scorers in the game. “We work a lot in practice as guards trying to get better at that 3,” Harland said. “Just having confidence in myself to shoot the ball was a really big part of it. It felt good keeping my confidence level up to knock those down.” After the frustrating loss to Brown — the Bears’ first Ivy League win this season — Koclanes said the players understood they needed to rally ahead of their game against Yale on Saturday night. “It’s hard — it’s hard to win at our level,” head coach Belle Koclanes said. “I was disappointed in our effort [Friday] night, and so were they. We’re
on the same page with that. We speak the truth to one another: We’re very authentic, we’re very direct with each other and we’ll continue to teach each other to be that way.” The Big Green once again started off slow in the first quarter to Yale on Saturday, falling behind 12-0 to a Bulldogs team that was aiming to avenge its first loss of Ivy League play from the previous night. Throughout the game, the Big Green went on short runs that brought the team within striking distance, but Dartmouth never managed to take the lead. In the second quarter, Karina Mitchell ’23 and Jimena Abejon ’22 contributed to a 5-0 surge that brought the Big Green within four points at the half. Abejon and Elle Louie ’21 kept up the momentum out of the gate in the third quarter with fast-break layups to even the game at 29-29. “To see the way they responded, not even 24 hours later, is really encouraging,” Koclanes said. “They all care, and they have fight. They have shown that all season, and in the bigger picture, it is going to come together, and
we will win more games because of it.” The team struggled to stop Yale’s 6-foot-5 forward Camilla Emsbo, who scored a career-high 29 points along with eight rebounds. While Dartmouth was not too far behind in the rebound department — 27 boards to Yale’s 34 — and limited the Bulldogs to just one 3-pointer out of 11 attempts, Yale dominated in the paint with 48 points compared to only 20 for the Big Green. Luce hit a pair of 3-pointers to close out the third quarter and start the fourth, which brought the Big Green within six points. Despite the comeback attempt, the Bulldogs ran away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Big Green 20-9 and closing the game 67-47. The Big Green look to halt the losing streak on the road next weekend against Columbia University and Cornell University. With over half the games still left on Dartmouth’s conference schedule, Koclanes still has hope for the Big Green to turn its season around and sneak into the Ivy League tournament. “You just never know, so the opportunity is still very much in front us,” Koclanes said.
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THE DARTMOUTH ADVERTISEMENT
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020
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