Basketball

Quick. Name the Dartmouth team that has enjoyed the most success in the '80s. Need a hint? It's had just two losing seasons since 1977, has won five of the last seven Ivy championships, produced the Ivy Player of the Year seven of the last eight years, and had a player named to the All America team.

Give up? It's not surprising. The one thing that the Dartmouth women's basketball team hasn't been able to attract is renown. "There's no question it's frustrating," said Coach Jacqueline Hullah. "Maybe you just have to get used to it in women's sports. Why aren't the students coming out? It's frustrating, when people get so disheartened about a team that's having a losing season, why not focus on a successful program like women's basketball? It's been so consistently successful, year in and year out. And we're still not being supported. It's just the diehard fans who'll be there even if we were losing."

There may not even be as many of them this season. Jayne Daigle '86, the unanimous choice as Ivy League Player of the Year in 1986, brought her own fans, and that, as much as her record-setting performances, will be missed this season. Daigle brought a loud and vocal following down Route 120 with her when she came to Dartmouth in 1982 after leading Lebanon High to the 1981 New Hampshire basketball title. She graduated last spring with ten Ivy League records to her credit and a pair of Ivy championships. The loss of Daigle would be hard for many teams to absorb. But not the Dartmouth women's basketball team. When Gail Koziara '82 graduated after being named Ivy Player of the Year three straight times and All-America her senior year, Daigle took over and broke all but two of her records.

Liz Walter '89 will continue that line of succession and could win all the records by the time she graduates. Walter was named Rookie of the Year last year as a freshman and first team all Ivy. She finished second in the league in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage as Dartmouth shared the Ivy title with Harvard. Her performance may not have been witnessed by many fans, but it didn't go unnoticed by her team-mates. Walter was elected captain for this season.

Walter, of Sheridan, Wyo., was recruited by Washington State, Montana, Brown, and Cornell among others. A three-year all- state player in Wyoming, Walter chose Dartmouth because of its rural setting, its academic reputation, and its Division I basketball program. The story goes that she even sold her horse in order to attend Dartmouth. "It wasn't really like that," said Walter. "My parents kind of sold the horse and the money did come to me to go to school."

While Daigle and Koziara had outstanding jump shots as centers, Walter is a classic power forward who has brought a new dimension to the team with her hard-driving style. "That was the way I was taught to play," said Walter. "It's kind of a trait of Wyoming basketball it's different from here. We played a very physical game and to tell the truth I was banged around a lot more in high school than I have been here. I didn't really know what to expect. In high school I had played with a lot of good players but college ball was a big transition. It's a big step. You're playing for yourself and no longer because your parents want you to or for the recognition. At the beginning of last year I was kind of shaky but Coach left me in there and kept telling me to go ahead and play."

Walter averaged nearly 23 points and 11 rebounds over the last five games as the Big Green put on a final burst to earn a share of the Ivy title. Still the season was not entirely satisfactory to Walter. The 15-11 record bothered her. "I've always been on a winning team." she said, "and I wish we could have won more. This year I'd like us to win 20. I'm not sure how realistic that is, but from what I've seen of the Ivy League teams I would expect us to win all our games in the league."

Hullah, now in her third coaching year at Dartmouth, is trying to establish a national reputation for the Big Green by going out of the Ivies to play ranked teams. She was an assistant coach at Northwestern when the Wildcats were nationally ranked in 1980-81, and she played at California State-Fullerton on a team that was ranked fourth in the country her senior year.

She feels that the opportunities are available at Dartmouth to bring the women's basketball program to levels where the men fear to tread. "Women aren't even toying with the idea of playing pro ball," said Hullah. "You look at a lot of kids who are being recruited to do nothing but go to that school and play that sport. It's big business. What sets us apart is that a lot of recruiters go into the homes and talk nothing but basketball. Players have told me that we were the only ones to talk about the school or academics. Kids come here and see they can be very competitive and dedicated but not consume their whole college experience with basketball. They're able to get other things. The appeal is not just books and basketball."

There are several factors that have allowed Hullah to recruit successfully against some of the top women's basketball schools in the country. For one thing, she inherited a program that had won four Ivy championships in the previous five years. Dartmouth was becoming one of the places for women's basketball in the East.

Walter will have plenty of help this season. The team Hullah has put together may be the strongest in the history of the program, although with only one senior, it is still young and inexperienced. Along with Walter up front, the Big Green will have Bev Hagerdon '88 at center. Hagerdon, the Ivy Rookie of the Year in 1985, was bothered by a broken vertabra early in the season last year but is fully recovered. Nancy Fritz '89 was the first player off the bench last year and will offer strong defense and rebounding as a starter this season. Marie Polakowski '89 won a starting spot midway through last season at guard and is an outstanding outside shooter. The Green lost point guard Terry Fortin '86 to graduation, but Hullah feels that spot will be ably filled by freshman Sophia Neely '90. Neely averaged 34 points a game at University High School in Champaign, I11., last year and was an all-state player.

Liz Walter '89, who is captaining the women's basketball team as a sophomore, wasan all-Ivy choice last season.