Monthly Archives: November 2022

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 16, 2022: Illinois Wesleyan playing in another Top 5 matchup…at #4 UW-Whitewater

Posted on by

Welcome back to this Wednesday edition of The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops! Hard to believe I’ve been writing this blog for a week now. Very honored and excited to see so many people supporting and reading this each day. Now for the Game of the Day…

Game of the Day: Illinois Wesleyan @ #4 UW-Whitewater, 8 pm EST

These are two NCAA Tournament contenders, who haven’t been afraid to face some of the nation’s best right out of the gate. IWU played at the Hope Tip-Off Tournament last weekend, and UW-Whitewater hosted a tournament that included #14 Millikin on its home floor. Facing high-quality competition has only made these two teams better in this early part of the season, and both know a major non-conference win is on the line in this one. The perimeter shooting of IWU will clash with the post play of Whitewater in what should be a game decided in the final quarter.

Keep an eye on…

  • #16 Springfield @ Endicott, 7 pm EST
  • Salisbury @ Catholic, 6 pm EST
  • Cornell @ Wartburg, 8 pm EST
  • St. Norbert @ UW-Stevens Point, 8 pm EST

Other Notes…

  • As far as last night’s games go, there were certainly some entertaining ones. I titled yesterday’s post, “Can RWU stop Tufts and Maggie Russell?” Well…RWU did a fantastic job against Russell, holding the dynamic forward to just eight points in 28 minutes. But the focus on Russell opened up opportunities for Sarah Crossett and Sophia Gonzalez, who each scored in double figures in Tufts’ 57-48 win. RWU was good inside, scoring 40 of its 48 points in the paint, but Tufts’ defense was impressive, forcing 22 turnovers. The defensive battle between Tufts and Amherst later this season will probably be one of those games where neither team scores 60, and yet is exciting for all 40 minutes.
  • I saw a few minutes of UW-Oshkosh’s battle against Edgewood. Maybe Edgewood was just having a good day, but I think the Eagles could be an outside contender in the NACC. It’s a pretty wide-open conference, though Wisconsin Lutheran seems to be pretty strong at this point. Edgewood has had a tough start to the year, facing Wartburg and UWO in consecutive games, but I was impressed by how well they found scoring opportunities from short-range. Paige Banks is a stellar forward, and had 23 points in that one. Looking at UWO, it’s still a learning process for that young group, but they turned it over just eight times and came up with a couple of key 3-pointers when it counted. Sarah Hardwick continues to be my pick for WIAC Freshman of the Year (not that I have any say in that!). Had a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds last night.
  • I got the chance to listen to an excellent interview on Hoopsville with Hope’s Brian Morehouse. Lots of great topics covered there, including the record-breaking season opener, enjoying the 2022 national title, and the MIAA as a whole. I thought Morehouse made some great points about how competitive the MIAA is going to be this season, with Calvin and Trine as real contenders (though it’s hard for anyone in the country to compete with Hope), and he also mentioned they will be going to NYC next year. I know nothing about this, but I feel like a Hope-NYU matchup might be the works…maybe? That’d be a must-see for sure. He also said that he had recently talked with Randolph-Macon MBB HC Josh Merkel over Zoom, which had to be an incredible conversation considering those two are some of the best minds in D3 hoops. It’s always cool to see the support between the coaches of MBB and WBB teams in D3. That’s a special part of this division. There’s way too much to cover here, so don’t just read my thoughts. Go listen to the interview!
  • Take a look at this stat line from Anderson’s Lexi Dellinger this past weekend: 29.5 PPG, 4.5 Steals/Game, 5.5 RPG…wow! Well-deserved selection to the D3hoops.com Team of the Work for her.

This has been a long post…so if you’ve read this far, thank you. Be sure to try to get out and support your local D3 schools if you aren’t doing so already. It is always disappointing to see box scores with attendance numbers of 100 or below listed. It means a lot to players and coaches alike when there are fans in the stands, and people believing in what they’re doing. And have a great rest of your day!

By the way, If you enjoy The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops, please tell a friend, a teammate, a fellow coach, or just another D3 fan. It goes a long way! Follow this blog daily on Substack or the D3hoops.com Daily Dose!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 15, 2022: Can RWU stop Tufts and Maggie Russell?

Posted on by

Welcome back to The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops! Here’s your daily look at the world of D-III women’s basketball, as we continue to move through the month of November…

Game of the Day: Roger Williams @ #11 Tufts

RWU looked especially strong out of the gates in last Wednesday’s season opener against MIT, taking a 22-9 lead early, and ended up with a 71-47 win. But Tufts is another level up in the relative pyramid of D-III, and is also 1-0 after a 24-point win over Bates. The thing I like about RWU is that the Hawks share the ball so well. It forces the defense to pay attention to all five on the floor, rather than keying in on one or two shooters. But RWU’s defense will be tested in a huge way against Maggie Russell. I’m not sure that very many teams in D-III will find a way to hold her to less than 20 points per game. Yes, she’s that good (had 31 pts and 17 rebs against Bates). It would be an exaggeration to label this as a possible upset, but who knows? RWU will no doubt stay competitive with Tufts through the first half. It will come down to the second half play.

Keep an eye on…

  • #20 Ithaca @ SUNY-Geneseo (Battle of unbeatens), 5:30 pm EST
  • UW-River Falls @ Augsburg, 8:00 pm EST
  • Oglethorpe @ Covenant, 6:00 pm EST

Thoughts on this Tuesday morning…

  • I’m not sure we’ve had a slate of games yet this season with more lopsided scores than yesterday. At least percentage wise. I did the math, 90% of games were decided by 15 points or more, and we had four games with a margin of 40+ points. The only “close” game of the day was also one of the lowest scoring, as Medgar Evers beat SUNY-Old Westbury 38-35. They combined to shoot 19% from the field!
  • I did catch a few minutes of Mitchell’s 68-44 win over CCNY. Granted, you have to factor in for the opponent here, but I was very impressed by Mitchell’s defensive effort early on. CCNY had just two points in the first quarter, as Mitchell kept pressure on the ball, and forced a few turnovers too, turning those in points in transition.
  • Manhattanville might be a team to keep your eye, considering how efficient the Valiants (what a cool team name) are from three-point range. To shoot above 40% from beyond the arc in wins over York (NY) and Pratt is impressive. They were 13-of-31 on threes in yesterday’s 102-21 rout of Pratt.
  • Interim HC Shelby Lyman is looking to keep UW-River Falls undefeated through three games this year, as the Falcons play tonight at Augsburg. It’s been a pretty convincing start from a team that was below .500 a year ago. And Augsburg still hasn’t played a game yet, making them one of the last teams to begin the season, though #15 UMHB won’t play its first game until Saturday.
  • Saw that UW-Whjtewater’s Kacie Carollo was named the tournament MVP of the Whitewater tournament this past weekend. In two wins over Carroll and Millikin, she averaged 15.0 points and 10.0 rebounds.

On a side note, Hoopsville, the comprehensive show about D3 men’s and women’s hoops, made its season debut last night. As always, great work by Dave McHugh on the mic. Be sure to check it out! https://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2022-23/nov14

 

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 14, 2022: Amherst’s defense is the real deal!

Posted on by

Happy Monday! We’re back into the weeknight games now after an excellent first weekend of several tournaments around the country that gave us some exciting matchups, and a scoring record broken too, (Ref. Hope). Hope you had a good weekend, and let’s take a look at today’s Game of the Day…

Game of the Day: William Peace @ Guilford

Admittedly, it is a very light schedule tonight…but this one still has storylines to follow, as William Peace (1-1 overall) comes off a 84-71 loss to Lynchburg and will look to rebound with a better performance in this one. Guilford (1-0) won at Greensboro on Saturday, aided by the shooting of forward Courtney McMillan who scored 25 points….off the bench! I expect Guilford to win this one, but look for an increased pursuit on the glass from them, as they were outrebounded in the season opener, 52-40.

Additional thoughts from around the league…

  • Tuned into the #9 Amherst-Rowan game yesterday, and as it progressed, I became more and more impressed by Amherst’s defense. The Mammoths have always seemed to be best in low-scoring, defensive-dominated contests, so this 57-50 final score fit them like a glove. Rowan led by five with about six minutes to go, but Amherst had already stepped up its defense by that point. Rowan would not make a single (yes, you read that right) shot from the field in the fourth quarter, and did not score at all in the final 4:07. Really impressive performance from Amherst on this opening weekend.
  • #3 NYU rolled to a pair of wins this weekend over Alvernia and Haverford. The Violets looked incredibly sharp, and Belle Pellecchia had 24 points for NYU in yesterday’s nine-point win over Haverford. She is a dynamic player, sees the floor well, and is someone NYU will probably have on the floor for 30+ minutes a game this season.
  • Stevens won its second game in a double-overtime thriller against Moravian, winning 87-84. Didn’t get a chance to watch it, but looking back over the box score, Stevens used a 27-point fourth quarter to force the game into overtime, and after each side scored seven apeice in the first extra period, it went into a second. Stevens’ Lucy Alberici played 47 minutes in that one and Moravian’s Morgan Amy played 48. Both had 20+ points. Talk about endurance!
  • Mary Washington came away with a 53-49 win over Gettysburg yesterday. Keep an eye on Mary Washington. One thing that sticks out to me about them is their depth. Three players came off the bench to play 20+ minutes in the win. They’ll need to cut down on turnovers though. Had 20 against Gettysburg.

That’s all for today. Hope you continue following along, as the season will only get better from here!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 13, 2022: Hope dominates, the WIAC’s banner day

Posted on by

It was an excellent Saturday for D3 hoops fans as we saw so many incredible finishes and matchups play out across the country. Those in WIAC had an especially good day, going 6-1 in a some competitive matchups. It will be a pretty light schedule today, at least in comparison to yesterday, but here’s a look at what I think will be the Game of the Day…

Game of the Day: Rowan @ #9 Amherst, 1 p.m. EST

Rowan kept the score close against #16 Springfield yesterday, falling by five. Meanwhile Amherst only beat Springfield by four, when the two played Friday. Not big on the comparative results thing, but this could create an interesting matchup. Both teams rebound it well and plays tenacious defense, so I’m expecting to see a low-scoring duel and possibly Rowan make a charge at a Top 10 upset.

Thoughts from around the division…

  • I got to see UC-Santa Cruz in action for the first time in a 78-60 win over Cal Tech. They have one of the better one-two punches in the country in my opinion, with Kaylee Murphy and Ashley Kowack. But it’s the players around those two that will make UCSC a Top 25 team this season, because as teams are forced to pay attention to the other three players on the floor from a scoring threat standpoint, it will also open up more opportunities for Kowack and Murphy.
  • Also saw #4 UW-Whitewater come away with its 79-69 win over #14 Millikin. Elyce Knudsen had 25 for Millikin and was a challenge for UWW to guard all evening, but UWW was stronger inside. The Warhawks continued working the ball into the paint and more often than not, found a good shot at close range. Aleah Grundahl was a huge contributor on plays like those, with 25 points. And as I mentioned yesterday, after Millikin’s loss to UWSP, nobody should be freaking out…Bailey Coffman is a huge part of Millikin’s post play, and did not play in either of these games.
  • It was a banner day for the WIAC, as UW-Eau Claire edged out Bethel, UW-Oshkosh took down Wartburg by 13, UW-River Falls dominated against Crown, UW-La Crosse won by 30 over Lawrence, and UW-Stevens Point edged out a Carroll team that gave UWW a scare on Friday. The WIAC might be the place to be for women’s hoops this season, we’ll see…
  • Hope is showing no signs of weakness here in the early goings of this season. Illinois Wesleyan, as a more perimeter-based team, struggled to find shots early on, as the Flying Dutch went up 33-7 at the end of the first quarter. And IWU will contend for the CCIW title this season. Once again, Hope is making the voters’ jobs easy, because Brian Morehouse’s team has laid claim to that No. 1 spot. Hope won 99-73 with four of the five starters finishing with double figures in scoring. Hope’s next real test is likely not going to come until that Dec. 17 showdown against Trine.

Kept it short on this Sunday morning. For a more comprehensive recap of yesterday’s action, head over to D3hoops.com. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 12, 2022: Welcome to weekend basketball!

Posted on by

Welcome to weekend basketball! We have games tipping off at 12 pm EST, and going all the way until 7 pm EST tip-offs tonight…and the best part of it is there are going to be competitive matchups throughout the day. Yesterday saw a Top 25 upset, a couple of near-upsets, and a couple of absolutely stellar offensive showings. I’ll get to that in a second, but first, take a look at the Game of the Day…

Game of the Day: #14 Millikin @ #4 UW-Whitewater, 5 pm EST

This will be an interesting matchup for a couple reasons. One, both teams were on the court less than 24 hours ago, as part of the UWW Tournament. Two, neither looked extremely strong, which means there will likely be some added motivation on both sides to put together a strong effort. Plus, a win here would significantly boost either team’s resume, and considering how tough the WIAC and CCIW can be, you can never have enough wins like these on your resume heading into Selection Monday.

Keep an eye on…

Illinois Wesleyan @ #1 Hope, 3 pm EST

#11 Tufts @ Bates, 4 pm EST

UT-Dallas @ Johns Hopkins, 1 pm EST

Additional thoughts from around the division…

  • Wow. That’s all I could say when the Baldwin Wallace/Trine game finally came to a close…after over 2 hours and 2 overtimes. It was about as balanced as you could get statistically, but Baldwin Wallace, perhaps aided by its very large home crowd, found a way to pull it out down the stretch, outscoring Trine 14-9 in the second overtime for a 75-70 win. BW is currently ranked #12, but this win alone, with Trine at #8, should give the Yellow Jackets a very good chance to crack the Top 10, as long as they take of business in their next three. Credit to Trine. It looked like BW would win after the first OT, but Sierra Hinds stepped up with back-to-back 3-pointers in the span of about 10 seconds, the second one at the buzzer, to send it into a second OT. I thought BW was just a little bit better from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, and in both overtimes, taking advantage of uncontested shots that really do not come often against a disciplined defense like Trine’s.
  • Was scrolling through the D3hoops.com scoreboard when I saw Carroll trailing #4 UW-Whitewater by just three. Watching the final minutes of that one, Carroll came extremely close to pulling off what would’ve been the upset of the day. But UWW is ranked #4 for a reason, as they executed down the stretch, made their free throws, and forced a few missed shots as they survived on their home court with a 56-52 win.
  • #14 Millikin wasn’t as lucky in Whitewater yesterday afternoon. I really like the team that Olivia Lett has this season, and they nearly shocked D-I Eastern Illinois in an exhibition a couple weeks ago, losing by just four. But UW-Stevens Point outscored Millikin 24-12 in the third quarter, taking a 9-point lead, and the Big Blue just did not have enough time to rally back, as UWSP pulled off the Top 25 upset, 64-61. But forward Bailey Coffman, who had 21 points in that exhibition for Millikin, did not play. When she returns, Millikin will be the team to beat in the CCIW, just watch. Also, plenty of credit to UWSP, who outrebounded Millikin 44-29, no doubt a contributing factor in the win.
  • I had to see it to believe it, so I turned on the Hope/Geneva game…and yep, the D3hoops.com scoreboard was completely accurate. The nation’s #1 team left no doubt about its firepower in the season opener, leading 110-37 at the end of the THIRD quarter. Hope isn’t going anywhere. The Flying Dutch won 143-57, shooting 63% from the field! Update: Have been told that Hope set the all-time record for D-III points in a game. Wow.
  • Trinity joined the 140-point club as well, dominating on the offensive end against Birmingham-Southern in a 140-87 win. The Tigers had 30-plus points in all four quarters, and take a look at this stat line for senior guard Addie Putnam: 26 points, 11-of-11 shooting, 2-of-3 from 3-point range, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals in…13 minutes!?! Trinity is No. 5 in the nation right now, and a title contender in my opinion.
  • After noticing that Texas Lutheran was leading No. 18 Hardin-Simmons 14-12 after the first quarter, I tuned into that one…and HSU backed up being picked No. 1 in the ASC Preseason Poll. The ASC is going to be very deep this year; I wouldn’t count HSU, ETBU, UMHB or UT-Dallas out as a possible conference champion. HSU went from trailing by 2 to leading by 19 by halftime, looking sharp in transition, and running away (literally) from the TLU defense. They play so fast, and that will be a challenge for opponents this year. Paris Kiser was a major offseason addition, a transfer who was the starting point guard at UTD, and as a pass-first type of guard, she fits well into the offense, with Parris Parmer taking a high percentage of the shots, most of the time from three-point range. HSU’s three-point shooting ability makes them dangerous, considering they can hit a few in a row, and be right back in a game they were trailing in by double digits even a couple minutes prior.

That’s what I’ll leave you with on this Saturday morning. Games tip off in just a couple of hours and it should be an excellent weekend of basketball.