Welcome back! There were plenty of intriguing matchups yesterday on a very large slate of games, and after yesterday, I’m more excited than ever to see how the UAA, WIAC, and MIAA conference schedules begin. These three conferences are going to be deep and competitive throughout this season, especially as teams get more games under their belts. Just three Top 25 teams are in action today (#5 Trinity (TX), #10 Scranton, #15 UMHB), and along with them, we have a few matchups between unranked teams that you’ll want to be keeping an eye on, including our Game of the Day…
Game of the Day: Piedmont @ Emory, 5 pm EST
Went with an unranked battle today for the Game of the Day pick, and this should be a competitive one. Piedmont will be a contender in the USAC this year, and is still undefeated. Emory’s lone loss is to the #15 team in the nation by four points. Both teams can shoot well from three-point range and rely on guard play in a big way, so expect a lot of the action to happen in the backcourt.
Keep an eye on…
Stevenson @ Williams, 3 pm EST
Misiericordia @ Susquehanna, 3 pm EST
Luther @ Cornell, 2 pm EST
A few (short) thoughts from yesterday…
#1 Hope and #13 UW-Eau Claire played really close for the majority of it, with Hope eventually winning 89-77. I was most impressed by the three-point shooting of both teams, and this makes them dangerous heading into conference play, as good three-point teams can put together runs in the blink of eye with two or three 3s in a row. Hope’s Meg Morehouse is really good at getting to the rim, and did so several times against the interior defense of UWEC yesterday. That is something I had remembered from last year’s first win for Hope over Trine. Jessie Ruden is skilled player for UWEC who I hadn’t seen play much this season before yesterday. She had 22 pts, and is going to do big things in the WIAC.
WashU and #14 Millikin played into overtime, with WashU handing Millikin its third loss of the season, 72-66. Let me first say that WashU seems to be looking better and better every game. As I said yesterday, when referencing Rochester, that UAA title race is going to be very fun to watch. Millikin is 3-3, and at this point, I anticipate them dropping in the Top 25, but not by as much as you might think. They have played a tough schedule, and two of those three losses have come to quality undefeated teams on the road. I give great credit to Olivia Lett for putting together a challenging non-conf. schedule. It’ll help Millikin in CCIW play. I continue to feel like the rebounding margin is hurting Millikin tremendously. WashU outrebounded them 42-28, with 19 offensive boards. Without a few of those second-chance points, Millikin likely wins that game in regulation.
#15 UMHB edged out Emory yesterday in Atlanta, 63-59. Really close result as the Cru defended the three-point arc well and held Claire Brock to 15 points, nearly 12.5 below her average.
Catholic is definitely a team to keep an eye on, as Gordon Mann mentioned on Hoopsville the other day. The came within one bucket of sending the game with #20 Ithaca into overtime, though the visiting Bombers won 67-65. Zoraida Icabalceta continues to be a force coming off the bench for Ithaca, as she had 13 pts, on 5-of-9 shooting. Catholic shot 50% from three-point range, on 18 attempts. They were also 43.6% from the field. One thing both teams will be working on heading into this next week is maximizing free throws: Ithaca was 35.3% from the line, Catholic not much better at 57.1%.
Trinity hosts Sul Ross State today in San Antonio. But there is a good chance they’ll be without All-American candidate Maggie Shipley, who went down with what appeared to be a shoulder injury against Howard Payne on Friday. The hope is that it was not anything too serious. Trinity is deep enough to where having Shipley out will not hurt them too much, but let’s just say having her on the floor probably makes the wins come easier.
Calvin is off to a 4-0 start, and making a case heading into MIAA play later this month. Every single win Calvin has this year has been decided by single digits. Gabby Timmer is such an exceptional player for the Knights, with an almost-effortless scoring ability around the rim. She had 36 pts in the 79-73 win over North Park yesterday, and is averaging 24 on the year.
We’ll see how this all plays out, then break it down tomorrow morning as we head into the Thanksgiving week. Thank you as always for following along and be sure to share The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops with a friend, teammate, fellow coach, or D3 hoops fan!