Good morning! Welcome to this weekend edition of The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops. There is a fantastic slate of games set for today, exactly a week before Christmas Eve (this month continues to fly by!), and with that, rather than selecting a “Game of the Day”, I’m going to quickly touch on the top five games you should be tuning into this afternoon and evening. The list starts with a big one…

#16 Trine @ #1 Hope, 3 pm EST: This rivalry played out twice in last year’s regular season, in the MIAA championship game, and in the Final Four, so these teams know each other well. Trine has rebounded from a pair of losses early on with three straight wins, but winning at DeVos Fieldhouse is awfully hard, and Hope continues to meet every test and challenge thrown its way.

Carroll @ Millikin, 3 pm EST: Millikin is 7-3, having won four straight since the loss to WashU and Carroll is 5-4, but with a very impressive SOS. Both teams are in the Top 40 in Massey’s rankings, and the lone two undefeated teams in CCIW play. Of course, only one will still be holding that one honor when the final buzzer sounds this afternoon in what should be a contest dominated by strong guard play.

#3 Transylvania @ John Carroll, 4 pm EST: I’m somewhat unsure about this one, as JCU did not look sharp at all in last night’s 81-60 loss to Marietta. The Blue Streaks have now dropped two straight by significant margins (the other loss coming to Capital), and while I was optimistic we would be able to use this matchup to grade Transylvania as voters, I have my doubts now. But still, JCU is on its home floor, and I know for a fact that head coach Beth Andrews will have her team well-prepared. This is a complete wild card in my opinion.

Wheaton @ Illinois Wesleyan, 3 pm EST: Another CCIW duel, this will be very competitive between two Top 70 Massey teams. IWU needs to build back some confidence after falling by 18 to Carroll last Saturday, while Wheaton has continued putting together a solid resume. These opponents share on common factor in that they both scheduled very tough in non-conference, which makes for great in-conference matchups, as both teams are battle-tested. Plus, in what I project to be a two (or dare I say, three) bid conference this year, these kind of matchups matter in a big way. IWU is currently tied for fourth in the league, and Wheaton is fifth.

Sul Ross State @ #15 Mary Hardin-Baylor, 2 pm EST: UMHB looked strong against Howard Payne Thursday, but SRSU, led by women’s basketball legend E.J. Lee Smith, in her first year as head coach, is on another level. The Lobos are 3-1 in the ASC, tied with UMHB for second place, and boast wins over Schreiner and Concordia-Chicago. UMHB beats you with depth, so the question is if SRSU can withstand the constant defensive pressure of the Cru, and do so for four quarters. I’ll be in Belton covering this one live. Just the second home game for UMHB this season.

Check out today’s full slate here! https://www.d3hoops.com/seasons/women/2022-23/schedule

A couple quick notes on yesterday’s games:

• #19 UC Santa Cruz looked really strong in its first game in 12 days, taking down Linfield handily, 72-43. Tess Oakley Stilson had 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, as she drove to the lane and earned a number of scoring opportunities at the rim. Kaylee Murphy had 11 rebounds, 6 offensive, and UCSC is one of those teams where, if just a few players get going, they can quickly run away with it. Can’t wait for the Dec. 20 duel with UW-Whitewater.
• UW-Stout is now 9-1 after rolling past Cornell last night, 64-46. The Blue Devils have won four straight on the road and hold wins over Oshkosh, Stevens Point, and Luther (all Massey Top 100 teams). Once again, Raegan Sorensen came off the bench to lead the team in points (19). It feels like one of those things where Stout head coach Hannah Quilling-Iverson puts five starters on the floor, and once the opponent subs in a few reserves midway through the first quarter to rest the starters, Sorensen is inserted.
• #20 Puget Sound had little trouble in a 76-59 win over Redlands, shooting 43 percent and outscoring Redlands 42-26 in the second half. Really liked the balance I saw from PS on the offensive end…three starters finished in double figures in points, with Katie Minnehan and Sophie Nilsson scoring 17 apiece.

That’s all for today…tomorrow will be a sort of recap article/look ahead to Monday’s slate (which is going to be even better than today’s!) and then Monday will be my Top 25 breakdown. Not expecting a lot of Top 25 changes, though there will be some. And who knows what will happen today. Saturdays are traditionally a day for big upsets! Enjoy the day and this Christmas season!