Monthly Archives: January 2023

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The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: My Top 25 ballot…with context

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January 10, 2023

By Riley Zayas, @ZayasRiley

Back with another ballot breakdown…this time for Week 6 after a wild week in D3 women’s hoops! Here is how I’m seeing the Top 25 right now…

Trinity (TX): I went back on forth with whether to keep the Tigers #1 or put NYU back in the top spot, but at the end of the day, Trinity’s resume remains stronger at this point in my opinion, with four Massey Top 70 wins compared to just two for NYU. Not to mention, the experience and depth Trinity has continues to make them a very dangerous matchup for any opponent.

NYU: The Violets are still very close to Trinity in a lot of ways, and there’s not a clear No. 1 at this point. Still, Trinity has more quality wins based on Massey’s ratings, and just going on the eye test, I think the Tigers are the better team right now. Will they be next week? Who knows…but right now, that’s how I’m seeing it. NYU has looked good in its key games against Bowdoin and Tufts and there is a very likely chance the Violets will stay No. 1 in the poll this week.

Christopher Newport: I’m sure you’ll be able to find video of this somewhere (or even just on demand on the W&L website), but CNU’s game against W&L yesterday went into double OT with the Captains winning 104-102. But after the first OT it seemed the game was all but over, as CNU went up 93-91 in the final seconds, but a technical foul AFTER the final buzzer against the CNU bench kept W&L alive. Hanna Malik hit back-to-back free throws with no time on the clock, sending it into a second OT. It was one of the more thrilling finishes of the weekend, no doubt. That said, W&L did expose some areas, and because W&L was careful with the ball, it limited CNU’s opportunities to generate turnovers. That will be something to keep an eye on moving forwards.

Transylvania: The defense continues to reign supreme for the Pioneers, who held Defiance to just 40 points on Saturday. Transy has allowed 50 points or more in just two of its 14 games this season. That’s enough for me to slide them up two spots.

Hope: Hope looked good on the road against Olivet and Alma, though neither opponent has more than four wins this season. The Flying Dutch are 13-1, on a four-game win streak, and though Carlee Crabtree is no longer on the roster, freshman Sydney Vis has really stepped up, with 11 points against Olivet. Karsen Karlblom is another freshman who has seen some more minutes as of late.

Scranton: The Lady Royals continue to impress me under the leadership of new head coach Ben O’Brien, winning by 10 on the road at Catholic, who is 10-3, on Saturday. Though Scranton hasn’t played the toughest schedule out there, the Lady Royals have risen to the challenge every time they’ve been faced with a top-quality opponent (ex. Ithaca, Catholic, Wartburg).

Smith: Springfield might not be in its top form right now, having lost two of its last three, but still, for Smith to win against Springfield by 14 on Saturday is an impressive result to me. Watching that one live, I liked how well Smith attacked the boards with 11 offensive rebounds. This is a team that seems to have made great strides over the course of the year, starting out with some unconvincing wins but is playing at a high level right now, on a six-game win streak.

Baldwin-Wallace: BW drops down in my ballot a little bit, after narrowly surviving an overtime upset bid from Mount Union earlier in the week. The Yellowjackets are still 13-0, and have some notable victories, but have now been taken down to the wire twice in the last two weeks against Hamilton and Mount Union. This is a clear Top 10 team, and the margin between Smith and BW seems very thin.

DeSales: DeSales is another undefeated team in my top 10, at 13-0, though I haven’t seen them challenged much yet, which makes it hard to rank them. Their last two results have been 82-18 and 72-30. Talk about playing in one-sided games…

UW-Whitewater: To go to UW-Eau Claire and win with points to spare is very impressive to me, considering the Warhawks barely beat UW-Stevens Point this past Wednesday at home. Having a positive mentality on the road is so key, as Whitewater has now won at UC Santa Cruz and UW-Eau Claire in two quality victories. The defense from UWW was very good against the WIAC’s top shooting team, and puts them back in my top 10.

UW-Eau Claire: Whitewater is now the higher-ranked of the two WIAC teams in my ballot, but not by much. UWEC and UWW have very similar resumes now, though UWEC’s loss on Saturday doesn’t drop the Blugolds a whole lot in my ranking. Keep in mind they still have wins over Trine, Wartburg and UW-La Crosse.

Trine: The Thunder took care of business against St. Mary’s this past week, in a dominant 86-52 win. Their resume remains solid, highlighted by the victory at Hope last month, and I now have three three-loss teams in a row.

Rochester: I really like the 75-66 win at Emory, which came on Saturday. We saw how tough it was to play in Atlanta after Tufts fell to the Eagles by 15 a month ago, and Rochester is now 11-1 after winning there. Katie Titus is on pace to become the nation’s leading scorer, with another 20-plus point performance (26).

Babson: Babson gets bumped up three spots in my ballot after finding a way to down Tufts in a wild finish on the road Sunday. It was quite a game, and came down to the final shot, as the Beavers are now 11-1, having responded well to the Loras loss a couple weeks ago. The 60-51 win on Dec. 30 over Middlebury looks pretty good now after Middlebury beat Amherst on Saturday.

Chicago: WashU, despite battling some injuries, shocked Chicago in St. Louis on Saturday with perhaps the upset of the day. It is the Maroons’ first loss of the year, and I’m only dropping them three spots, despite falling to an unranked opponent (I’m confident there will be voters dropping them five or six spots). Had they played a tougher non-conference slate, the slide may not have been as great as it likely will be, but they also have a big-time win over Whitewater, that remains their only Massey Top 50 victory.

Trinity (CT): I should’ve ranked Trinity last week…there’s no other way to say it. The Bantams were #26 for me last week, but have now jumped into the middle of my ballot. At 13-1, Trinity is one of just two NESCAC teams who are 2-0 in conference play, having edged Bowdoin in a Top 25 matchup on Saturday, 49-43, in an incredible defensive effort.

Puget Sound: PS drops one spot, after struggling majorly in the first half against Willamette, but it was more due to Trinity’s big win over Bowdoin than anything the Loggers did. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from PS throughout the last four weeks or so, and have been impressed by the offensive depth on the roster, with several players who can easily go for 15 or 20 points on any given night.

Ohio Northern: ONU is 12-1, and hasn’t lost since Nov. 22. But it’s not all about just the results. Those are a factor, but not the only factor. Watching ONU live, I really like the grit on the defensive end seen from the Polar Bears. An overtime win over Otterbein was closer than I’d anticipated earlier this week. Once again, it is really hard to win on the road.

UW-Oshkosh: The Titans are another team that goes from unranked to in my Top 20. That’s what happens when you have the amount of parity we have in the division this season, and that’s a good problem for voters to have! Oshkosh has six Top 70 Massey wins right now, a statement only two other programs (UW-Eau Claire and Loras) can make. With a young roster, the Titans started out with a few tough defeats, but have weathered the storm and emerged on the other side, as much in the WIAC title race as anyone.

Hardin-Simmons: The Cowgirls took down McMurry this weekend in a crosstown showdown between the only two schools in the ASC located in the same city. HSU’s offense has been solid throughout its non-conference schedule and into ASC play, at 75.6 PPG and 44.6% shooting from the field (both No. 1 in the ASC). They still have the two losses to Trinity, but have won all the rest. They embark on a five-game road trip over the next three weeks, which will certainly test them.

Loras: After jumping into the Top 20 after being unranked for the entire year last week, the Duhawks dropped their next game to Luther, in a surprising upset. Again, it’s tough to win on the road, no matter who you are. Loras has a super impressive resume, and that game was one of the only times I’ve seen the Duhawks play poorly. They fell back just two spots, and it was more because of Oshkosh moving into my ballot than anything else.

Mary Hardin-Baylor: Another road test…another close result. That’s becoming the theme as I write this ballot breakdown. The Cru trailed by three at UT-Dallas on Saturday with three minutes left, but went on a 7-0 run to close it out, winning 53-49. The defensive effort was top-notch and though they did not score much, UMHB is improving as a collective unit coming off those two losses in San Antonio just before Christmas. We may look back and see that as the turning point of the year come March.

Millikin: Millkin was a team I voted for Week 1 and like Oshkosh, quickly fell out of my ballot. But the Big Blue is back in. Bailey Coffman has recovered from her jaw injury and is contributing off the bench at this point, scoring in double figures despite limited minutes as she works back into the rotation. Coffman, along with Elyse Knudsen, form a 1-2 punch that could end up winning Millikin the CCIW title. Millikin is 11-3, 3-0 in CCIW play at this point. The rough start is far in the rearview mirror for Olivia Lett’s squad.

Gustavus Adolphus: Losing to Bethel, 70-66, hurts the Gusties a fair amount in my ballot, especially as other teams continue to add quality wins. But Gusty is my favorite to win the MIAC title, and somewhat of a dark horse in my opinion. They don’t have any “earth-shattering” victories, but no bad losses either.

UW-La Crosse: This final spot came down to two WIAC programs with very similar resumes: UWL or UW-Stout. At the end of the day, I’m taking UWL, a program that has won its last five. Watching them play, the Eagles can win a bunch of different ways, which is very valuable in a team; they played fast at Chapman and won 74-48, this past Saturday, a defensive battle played out at Stevens Point, and they won 47-45. The defense is very good too, as the only WIAC team with over 100 blocked shots this season and the only team in the league allowing under 50 points per game (49.6).

Going beyond the ballot…here’s who my next five would be

UW-Stout

Tufts

Springfield

UC Santa Cruz

Bowdoin

Bottom line:

-Trinity (TX) stays No. 1 for the third straight week (second with an official D3hoops.com ballot)

-Newcomers are: Millikin, UW-Oshkosh, Trinity (CT), UW-La Crosse

-Dropped out: Springfield, UC Santa Cruz, Amherst, Tufts

-Trinity (CT) makes the biggest jump, going from unranked to #16

-Oshkosh also goes from unranked to #19

-Whitewater has reentered the Top 10

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The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: WashU shocks Chicago, Whitewater wins big, in fast-paced day of action

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January 8, 2023

By Riley Zayas

Wow. What a day it was in the world of D-III women’s hoops yesterday. It was incredible to see so much of so many different things in these games, down to the upsets, the comebacks, the Top 25 duels in Connecticut and Wisconsin. It all formed a great slate of games that truly displayed just how deep D-III women’s basketball is right now, with so many competitive programs. I’ve broken this down into a few categories as I put down my thoughts on the way these played out…

  • The Upsets
    If you’re looking for a result that rocked the D-III WBB world on Saturday, you’d best look towards St. Louis. That’s where WashU, a team that was destroyed by UW-Oshkosh, 78-42, four days after Christmas shocked #10 Chicago. And it wasn’t by some narrow margin either. The Bears were hands down the best team on the floor, winning 68-49 as four starters scored in double figures. It was a three-point game at the end of the first quarter, but Chicago just could not find any sort of consistent rhythm in each of the next three, scoring just 11 points in each. I was impressed by how well WashU defended; the Bears did not force all that many turnovers (11), but played solid perimeter defense and forced the Maroons into a lot of midrange shots, rather than driving to the rim. Just five offensive rebounds for Chicago did not help much either. WashU has NYU coming up on Jan. 15 at home…the Violets better be careful.
  • Amherst has been struggling in a big way as of late, and on Saturday, Middlebury proved it had enough to take down the 15th-ranked Mammoths, handing them their third loss in five games. This isn’t what we’re used to seeing from Amherst, but perhaps the rest of the NESCAC is just getting better. And as far as the previous losses to Concordia-Moorhead and Chapman, blame it on the long travel, the holidays or something else, but the bottom line is that Amherst is not playing its best basketball right now. It happens. But you have to credit Middlebury at the same time for pulling off back-to-back wins that look really good on a tournament resume against Hamilton and now Amherst. The 47-45 win for Middlebury came down to the wire, with Gabby Stuart putting Middlebury in front on a jumper with 29 seconds left. Alexa Mustafaj came up with a game-sealing steal for the Panthers as they moved to 9-5, but more importantly, 2-0 in the NESCAC play. Amherst won’t be in my Top 20 come Monday.
  • The third big “upset” came in the far reaches of west Texas, where Sul Ross State took down an ETBU team that was on an upward trajectory. The Tigers of ETBU had wins over UMHB and UC Santa Cruz, and were receiving votes in last week’s Top 25. But SRSU, with its full-court press dominated in the second quarter, going on a 26-7 run. I don’t think I saw a shift in momentum quite as sudden as I saw it in Alpine, with ETBU leading 21-13 at the end of the first quarter, but trailing 39-28 at halftime. Marley Rokas is a name to remember as the 5’11 forward nearly had a double-double for SRSU with 20 points and nine rebounds. Having seen her play in person this year, I can tell you that she will be tough matchup for any opponent with her shooting ability and skill around the perimeter while still being one of the tallest players in the post.
  • The close calls
    A NESCAC-esque game unfolded in Dallas, where #24 UMHB was taken down to the wire against UT-Dallas. UTD first-year head coach Joe Shotland has done a great job working with what he has and creating a really solid defensive team. They challenged UMHB majorly, leading 49-46 with three minutes left. But you have to score down the stretch, and going the final 6:16 without a made field goal will certainly hurt you. UMHB put together a really solid effort defensively down the stretch, and pulled out a 53-49 win. It was the lowest-scoring day for UMHB this season.
  • #21 Puget Sound actually trailed 39-25 to Willamette at the half, but used a 25-12 run in the third-quarter to claim the lead and pull out an 81-75 win. But wow, did Willamette challenge the Loggers. They outrebounded PS 37-29, shot 51.9% and had 19 assists. That will win you the game in a lot of situations, but 26 turnovers really hurt Willamette, especially in the second half, when PS began its comeback.
  • Dickinson went down 19-3 against Washington College in Centennial Conference play, and after seeing Dickinson pull off a big win over Johns Hopkins earlier this week, I was surprised to see a start like that. Washington has been decent (8-4 overall, 4-3 in the CC), but not great, and Dickinson had looked pretty convincing in that previously-mentioned victory over JHU. Credit to Dickinson, they began a comeback, culminating in a 22-9 run to end the game in a 56-54 win. That was the comeback of the day, no doubt. Very impressive, but at the same time, talk about digging yourself into a hole early on the road…
  • The games that rose to the level of expectation
    I put a couple games in this category, and I understand this is completely subjective. But you could not watch the battle between #22 Trinity (CT) and #25 Bowdoin and not be on the edge of your seat. Especially because Trinity’s comeback in the fourth-quarter certainly rivals what Dickinson did further down the east coast. Because Bowdoin entered the fourth up 41-31, but Trinity outscored the Polar Bears 18-2, holding Bowdoin to yes, just two points, in the final 10 minutes. That is championship defense right there. Bowdoin did not score for the first four minutes of the quarter, and by the time we’d reached the 7:17 mark, Trinity had put together an 8-0 run, cutting the deficit to just two points. From that point on, the defensive intensity continued picking up, resulting in very few made shots. With 3:31 left, Reilly Campbell’s layup fell through for Trinity, putting the Bantams in front, 45-43. They held on for a 49-43 win, and should break into the Top 20 on Monday. Looking at the box score, it’s interesting how even the two teams were. Nobody seemed to dominate in any particular category. But four three-pointers from Trinity, compared to just two for Bowdoin probably was a big difference in a game with such a small margin. Take away the threes and both teams made exactly 13 shots from the field.
  • The other HUGE game of the day was played in the WIAC (because…where else?) as #17 UW-Whitewater went to #9 UW-Eau Claire and took down the Blugolds on their home court, 79-69. I wouldn’t call this an upset, though. Whitewater has taken some losses, sure, but has nine wins over Massey Top 70 opponents. The second-most? Six. Whitewater is, if nothing else, battle-tested, and it showed at UWEC. A 22-11 third-quarter from the Warhawks put them in front, at one point by 15. Aleah Grundahl played all but one minute for Whitewater, putting 27 points on the board in an All-American-type performance. Kacie Carollo had 19 points, 10 boards for Whitewater as well, as the starting five accounted for all but two of its 79 points. If you remember, yesterday morning I said the matchup that would likely determine the outcome would be Whitewater’s defense against the potent offense of UWEC. The Warhawks rose to the test, despite having looked somewhat off against UWSP on Wednesday. They took away a lot of three-point looks for UWEC, which somewhat disrupted the Blugolds’ offense. They still shot 48.3%, but they were not scoring to the level they had been in previous wins over Trine and UW-Oshkosh. This is a key result for Whitewater. They really needed this win, especially on the road, and should see a significant bump in their national ranking come Monday.
  • Other notables…
  • #3 Transylvania won comfortably at Defiance, 70-40, moving to 14-0. It marked the 12th game of the year that the Pioneers’ defense has held its opponent below 50 points.
  • Wheaton had been off to a solid start, including a win at Puget Sound, but Millikin was the best team on the floor in a key CCIW battle yesterday, winning 74-55. I didn’t expect the margin to be that wide, but have certainly liked what I’ve seen from Millikin as of late. This is a team that is now 11-3, 3-0 in the CCIW. Bailey Coffman came off the bench for 15 points in 16 minutes. Imagine what she’ll be able to do when she’s back to playing 25 minutes a game?
  • UW-La Crosse continues to be a team that is going under the radar, but putting together a fairly strong resume. UWL is 13-2, and beat a good UW-Stevens Point that nearly won at Whitewater this past Wednesday, 47-45. It literally came down to the final shot, a missed three from UWSP, and was very close all the way through. Really solid effort from both teams on the defensive end, making the opponent work for every shot.
  • Concordia-Moorhead and Bethel both took losses in games I was expecting they would win, and while this highlights the fact that there is quite a bit of parity in the MIAC, it also probably means that this will be a one-bid league. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on performing well in the MIAC playoffs and staying healthy over the course of the next two months in order to be at full strength for post-conference play. Right now, this is a wide-open league.
  • Concordia (WI) handed Concordia-Chicago its first loss in NACC play, and I was pretty surprised it was not a closer result. 76-55 was the final, and despite Kate Benes’ 27 points for Chicago, Concordia (WI) was 11-of-19 from beyond the arc. When you shoot that well from three-point range, you’re likely going to win the ballgame.

Okay, I’m going to stop there, but this slate was so packed with key results and great games all the way around that this article went pretty long, even just touching on several of the most notable games. I have a feeling the Top 25 will look pretty different when it is released tomorrow evening. As for today, the game you’ll want to be watching tips off at 1 p.m. EST between #14 Babson and #23 Tufts. Quality non-conference action for you in January! A loss for Tufts probably drops them out of the Top 25. Have a great Sunday and be sure to come back tomorrow for my Top 25 ballot breakdown!

 

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The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: NESCAC tips off+ A few “upset watch” games on the Saturday slate

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January 7, 2023

By Riley Zayas

The NESCAC always delivers. Conference play opened for one of the nation’s best leagues on Friday night, and though Trinity, Bowdoin, and Tufts all won by double-digit margins, the battle between #15 Amherst and Williams certainly was the sort of #NESCACtion we are used to.

  • Amherst survived, but only narrowly, winning 60-57, after having dropped two of their previous three. Honestly, Williams was very impressive in my opinion, and led 31-30 at the half. Credit Amherst for an improved second-half defensive effort, because in the first two quarters, Williams kept finding open shots, particularly from beyond the arc and near the baselines. Neither head coach went to the bench much at all. In fact, AnLing Vera and Kori Barach played a full 40 minutes for Amherst, and Devin Biesbrock was in for all 40 for Williams. Amherst played just six, Williams, seven. In many ways, it was like a chess match back and forth, with Williams head coach Pat Manning and Amherst’s J.P. Gromacki both known as exceptional strategists. To me, the pivotal point came with under 30 seconds left, as Williams had the ball, trailing by two, but turned it over. Amherst made its free throws, going up by four, and though Williams hit a three and actually had a chance to tie it with five seconds left, it felt like the momentum Amherst gained off of that turnover was enough for the Mammoths to pull it out. Still, I was super impressed by what I saw from Williams.
  • The other notable NESCAC duel (and really the only other nationally-relevant score that wasn’t a one-sided result) was Middlebury’s 64-56 win over Hamilton. Those of you who have read me throughout this year know that I really like the product Hamilton has been putting on the floor, especially with a young group. I think they have a chance to make some noise after watching how closely they played Baldwin-Wallac, Ithaca, Rochester, just to name a few. But Middlebury proved to be the better team last night, shooting 41% compared to Hamilton’s 28%. The fact that Hamilton was 19-of-66 from the field and 2-of-18 from beyond the arc, and still was in contention in the game’s final minutes is crazy. Typically, especially after trailing by 18 at the half, a team will not get much closer. But with 3:36 left, it was a five-point game, a testament to Hamilton’s resilience. That said, Middlebury’s first half was nothing short of remarkable, as the Panthers were successful in virtually every facet of the contest. Solid, consistent, halfcourt defense can take you a long way.

Those were couple of games that caught my eye But the slate I woke up this morning thinking about was the one set for today. As of yesterday, Scott Peterson (check out his analytical work on D3 WBB here) had 24 games for today where the average Massey rating of the opponent was less than 80. Here are a few how of my thoughts on those highly-anticipated showdowns…

  • There are several contenders for the “Game of the Day”, but I really want to see how the matchup between #25 Bowdoin and #22 Trinity (CT) turns out. At this point, these might be the two best teams in the NESCAC. Trinity is so good at getting the ball into Reilly Campbell and others in the post, which has led to a league-leading field goal percentage of 44.5%. Bowdoin isn’t far behind at 40.8%. Where Bowdoin really hurt Springfield, in my opinion, was when shots started falling from beyond the arc. Bowdoin shoots a conference-best 33.6% from three-point range, and they will need to take advantage of that to win on the road today. Also notable, these are two top rebounding teams in the league, so the battle on the boards will be one you’ll want to be paying attention to. 3 pm EST tip…watch here:
  • Once the final buzzer sounds in Connecticut, you will have a few minutes before the final “big game” of the night starts in Wisconsin. #17 UW-Whitewater travels to #9 UW-Eau Claire in a highly-anticipated WIAC battle. The WIAC is so deep that it would be an exaggeration to say this is the conference regular season title on the line, but…it will still play a role in who gets ranked ahead of who in the regional rankings, and for Whitewater, a team with a few more losses on its resume than UWEC, winning here would be huge. Right now, UWEC has the best offense in the WIAC to go along with the No. 8 defense in a conference of eight teams. Whitewater hasn’t been great defensively either, but has converted shots at a consistent rate. I’d like to see a better performance from the Warhawks than what we saw against UWSP on Wednesday, and it is going to take a top-level defensive performance to slow Jessie Ruden and this Blugold offense. The game will probably hinge on that matchup.
  • UAA play begins today, and two great matchups are in the schedule. Both would be games in which I can see a clear favorite, but would not rule an upset out of the question to any degree. #10 Chicago visits WashU and #12 Rochester goes to Emory. Regardless of how good you are, as we saw on Wednesday of this week, winning conference games on the road is tough. Earlier this week, there were seven Massey teams who entered their games ahead of the opponent by at least 100 spots in Massey ratings, but ended up winning by only seven points or less. All were playing on the road. For Emory and Rochester, Claire Brock cannot carry the weight of having to “be” Emory’s offense. By this point, teams are keying in on her, and it’s good to see some other shooters stepping up around her. The Eagles will have to stop Katie Titus in the paint, which is not an easy task. I see a high-scoring duel playing out in Atlanta. Chicago will not have it easy either, because of the way WashU matches up with teams in the post. Maya Arnott and Nailah McBeth are forces for the Bears on both ends of the floor, which may mean Chicago shoots more threes in this game than its average. I see at least one of these being decided by single digits.
  • And speaking of going on the road, after the way Williams played Amherst so closely last night, I’ll be interested to see how the Mammoths fair against a talented Middlebury team on the road for the second straight day. As I mentioned, Middlebury played Babson tough last week and beat a talented Hamilton team last night. An upset is not out of the question here either, especially if Alexa Mustafaj can parlay here 21-point performance into another strong showing this afternoon.
  • If you’re looking for more of an under-the-radar matchup, tune into the battle of the Concordias in NACC action. Concordia (WI) visits Concordia-Chicago in what could be a pretty interesting duel. Concordia-Chicago, led by Kate Benes (25.5 PPG) is 6-0 in league play, and Concordia (WI), a longtime power in the conference, is 4-2. Still, don’t count Concordia (WI) out here. The first meeting between these two was won by Chicago, 67-63. And Benes is on track to be an All-America selection, which is reason enough to watch for a least a few minutes, with a 5:15 p.m. EST tip. She shoots the ball so well and is versatile as a guard; it’s incredible to watch.

I’m going to stop there, but be sure to head over to D3hoops.com’s scoreboard for all the latest updates. Follow me on Twitter as well (@ZayasRiley). I’ll do my best to tweet score updates and notables as the day progresses. And of course, I’ll recap my thoughts on today in a post tomorrow so come back for that! Have a great day! God Bless.

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The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: Luther upsets Loras, Bowdoin wins big at Springfield in thrilling day of action

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On New Year’s Eve, I said that the Dec. 30 slate may have been the best we would see until March. As we go along, I’m starting to think that statement was a little presumptive! Because just last night, there were quite a few contests that went down to the wire involving nationally-ranked teams, and it won’t be the last time we have a day like that with conference action just getting started. So here’s a few of my thoughts as I went back and reflected on some of the more notable results in last night’s schedule…

  • The first big upset came in a game that I was already going to be paying close attention to as #19 Loras traveled to Luther in ARC play. Luther was 8-3, but after beating UW-Eau Claire, Babson, Calvin, and UW-Stevens Point, Loras was certainly the favorite. Credit to Luther, the Norse came to play, and performed exceptionally well on their home floor, shooting 49 percent from the field and outrebounding the Duhawks by a whopping margin of +21 (47-28) in a 68-62 win. Luther’s big run came in the form of a 7-2 run that opened the fourth quarter and gave the Norse a 9-point lead. Three-point attempts wouldn’t fall for Loras late, and Megan Miller stepped up with some key shots in the final minutes that helped Luther hold onto the lead, even after Loras cut the deficit back down to two.
  • I’d had Gustavus Adolphus in my Top 20 for the last two weeks, and in my Top 25 for the last three. But that will be changing, because Bethel (MN) is playing awfully good basketball right now (6-1 in the MIAC!) and took down the Gusties, 70-66, Wednesday night. That came on the heels of a three-point loss to UW-Whitewater on Dec. 30 and Bethel held nothing back, despite trailing 37-30 at halftime. I was very impressed by the second-half defensive effort from the Royals, who completely locked down on that end of the floor over the final two quarters. That gave way to scoring opportunities, holding the Gusties at bay as Bethel took the lead for the final time with 51 seconds left. Sophomore guard Courtney Nuest is a name you need to remember: averaging 12.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and had 20 points last night, including some very critical free throws at the end.
  • UW-Stevens Point nearly shocked #17 UW-Whitewater at Whitewater but was a play or two short in the end, as the Warhawks won 55-52. Still, it was very impressive to see UWSP hanging in on the road, and I’m not sure if this is more indicative of where Whitewater is right now or where UWSP is. UWSP actually shot better than the Warhawks (37% FG compared to 32.7% FG), but Whitewater had eight more offensive rebounds leading to 19 second-chance points compared to just six for the Pointers. And though Whitewater got just one more free throw opportunity, the Warhawks converted on four more at the line than UWSP. It was hands-down the best game of the night in the WIAC.
  • That said, #9 UW-Eau Claire was challenged on the road by UW-Oshkosh, and trailed 28-25 at the half. But the Blugolds came out of the locker room and outscored UWO 18-12 in the third quarter, and took back the lead. UWEC shot very well once again (40.7% FG), and Jessie Ruden (19 pts, 36 min) and Tyra Boettcher (17 pts, 38 min) led that offensive charge. I continue to be really impressed by the way the Blugolds execute on the offensive end.
  • Didn’t get a chance to watch this game, but #7 Baldwin Wallace was challenged on the road by Mount Union, and barely pulled out an overtime victory, 75-73. MU actually held a three-point lead with five seconds left by Caely Ressler connected on a three as the clock wound down, tying the game and sending it into OT. Ressler came up with some big free throws in OT, shot 6-of-10 from the field, and had 23 points in 34 minutes. She is averaging 8.8 points, 6.4 rebounds pr game.
  • #25 Bowdoin looked really sharp at #18 Springfield in a midday Top 25 duel yesterday. Springfield is very close to falling out of my Top 25, and Bowdoin is going to be included in my next ballot. They kept the momentum drawn from playing NYU so closely a week ago, and essentially never trailed. A road win of this caliber is huge for Bowdoin’s resume and standing within the national conversation, and a key factor that may go unnoticed for most was that Sydney Jones and Jess Giorgio did not dominate in the way they had in previous notable matchups. Instead it was a very balanced scoring effort, led by Sela Kay’s 13 points. Springfield’s biggest problem was it’s turnovers; the Pride turned the ball over 22 times leading to 25 points for Bowdoin.
  • Rounding out my thoughts on last night’s action, #20 Ohio Northern was taken into double overtime against Otterbein, escaping with a 75-70 win. I’m thinking the OAC may be following along the lines of the WIAC in terms of incredible parity throughout the league. Otterbein did a nice job of moving the ball around the perimeter, but just could not keep ONU out of the paint.

If I had one big takeaway, it is that playing on the road in conference play is extremely difficult, no matter who you are. Baldwin Wallace, ONU, UW-Eau Claire, Gustavus Adolphus, and Loras all found that out, some coming out with wins, others taking disappointing losses. But the fact that we’re even seeing unranked teams regularly beating ranked teams is a good sign for D-III women’s hoops. There’s more good teams now than ever before, so it’s a great time to be following this division. Only one Top 25 team is in action tonight, with #24 UMHB battling Ozarks on the road. We’ll see the NESCAC tip off on Friday, which is always fun. Until tomorrow, have a great day and keep supporting D3 WBB!

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The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: My Week 5 Top 25 ballot…with context

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January 4, 2023

By Riley Zayas

Publishing this on this Wednesday morning, as we turned in our ballots yesterday afternoon, but here is my Top 25 ballot for D3hoops.com as I accounted for all the results over the past week (and there were a lot of them!). I ranked out to #30, and will have thoughts on the new Top 25 soon. Hope the new year is treating you well!

  1. Trinity (TX): The Tigers are 13-0 having picked up a solid SCAC win over Colorado College on Monday afternoon, aided by 19 points off the bench from Maggie Shipley. Shipley’s presence, following an injury that kept her out for nearly a month, will help the Tigers tremendously through conference play. Interestingly, the Tigers are seventh in Massey ratings, but having watched them play multiple times, this is a team on a national title quest. They are experienced, deep, and have plenty of shooters, which spreads the opposing defense out, creating three-point shots on a number of possessions.
  2. NYU: That said, NYU is a very close second. And with a strong back half of the regular season schedule, including a matchup at Chicago on Jan. 13, the Violets will have plenty of chances to improve an already strong resume over the next two months. Bowdoin gave NYU all it could handle this past Friday, but credit to NYU for pulling it out late. The 78-75 win was in part due to an impressive 49.2% mark from the field.
  3. Christopher Newport: The Captains are playing phenomenal basketball, and amongst the nation’s best this year, I feel the margin is extremely thin. CNU looked good in both games in Puerto Rico before Christmas against Cortland and Colorado College, and returned to the States with a 33-point win over Rowan. Washington & Lee (8-3 overall) is CNU’s next big test, in a game set for Jan. 8.
  4. Hope: I value Carnegie Mellon as a fairly competitive opponent on the national scale, and the way Hope played in an 85-66 win over CMU on Dec. 29 was pretty impressive. The Flying Dutch got to the free throw line and forced turnovers, along with hitting 12 three-pointers (41.4% from beyond the arc), which seemed to be the keys in that victory. For a program like Hope, the loss to Trine back on Dec. 19 could be the spark that propels them to another Final Four. We saw it happen a year ago…
  5. Transylvania: Transylvania is 12-0, rolling through its schedule, and added wins over Wisconsin Lutheran and Berea at home on the final weekend of 2022. Both were quality opponents, but the experience and defense of the Pioneers continues to reign supreme. It has been a major element in their victories this season, as they have allowed above 50 points just twice, which is incredibly impressive.
  6. Baldwin Wallace: BW was challenged by a good Hamilton team at home, and actually entered the fourth quarter trailing by a point. The Yellow Jackets remain undefeated and have the big win over Trine, which has boosted their resume in a big way. The victory over Marietta back on Dec. 10 also helps. Late-game execution is certainly a strength of this team. Watching the overtime against Trine and seeing how they handled the fourth quarter against Hamilton were really indicative of the sort of poise and ability to perform under pressure that will serve BW well come tournament time.
  7. Scranton:12-0 this season, I was really interested to see how Scranton would handle its matchup against Tufts on Dec. 30, quite possibly their biggest test since battling Ithaca on Nov. 29. Coming away with a 68-59 win solidifies the Lady Royals’ spot at #7, which is where I had them in my Week 4 2.0 Top 25 a week ago. They’ll get another great matchup at Catholic, who is 10-2, this Saturday.
  8. UW-Eau Claire: Similar to Scranton, UWEC had a huge test over the holiday week between Christmas and New Year’s, traveling to Trine for a Top 15 contest. The Blugolds came away with a 75-68 victory, overcoming an eight-point deficit at the end of the first quarter to take a 36-29 lead at the half. Their performance in the second and third quarters were the reason they came away with the win, and the experience on this roster continues to give UWEC an advantage. Led by Jessie Ruden, there are five seniors on the roster. UWEC also beat DePauw by 14 a day after taking down Trine.
  9. DeSales: DeSales also broke into my Top 10 with a 12-0 record, and held the distinction for the largest margin of victory over this past week, defeating CCNY 82-18. A 70-53 win over a solid St. Joe’s (CT) team improves their resume in my opinion. I still worry about the lack of quality opponents, but the Bulldogs are due to travel to Stevens on Jan. 18 in what will probably decide the top spot in the MACF.
  10. Smith: Though I was initially weary of voting Smith high (and to some extent I still am) the win over Trinity (CT) is looking better and better, since it was on the road, and Trinity took down another Top 25 opponent in Springfield this past week. Before that win, Smith beat Bowdoin 59-54, who nearly took down NYU on the road a week ago. The Pioneers do not lack quality opponents, and should do very well on the regional rankings because of that. At 10-1, they’ll get another test in Saturday’s game against Springfield (10-2 overall), and will also face Hamilton, Tufts, and Babson before the regular season is over.
  11. UW-Whitewater: Whitewater has slid up due to some losses ahead of them, but the Warhawks also beat UC Santa Cruz on the road, which I consider to be a high-quality victory, especially having come just before Christmas. A 17-point win over a Bethel team that is 5-1 in the MIAC on Dec. 30 only adds to an extremely strong resume for the defending WIAC champions. I’ll be very interested to see how Saturday’s duel with UW-Eau Claire goes (on a side note…I’m mentioning Saturday a lot…might want to clear out some time in your day for D3 hoops…the slate will be stacked!).
  12. Chicago: Ah, yes. The great challenge of Whitewater and Chicago. They look pretty similar when you dive into the numbers, and have similar resumes. I still feel like Whitewater is the better team out of these two, but the results do not lie. I venture to guess this is the final week (for now) I’ll have to decide between putting Whitewater ahead of Chicago or vice versa. Chicago plays WashU in a key UAA matchup on Saturday. WashU has been unpredictable as of late. Chicago is looking to move to 12-0 in that contest.
  13. Trine: Losing to UWEC drops Trine back from #9 to #13, and it was a respectable loss, but still a loss. Honestly, I feel like Whitewater, Chicago, and Trine are very close right now. Any order would certainly be explainable at this point. Trine is strong, and actually outrebounded UWEC by 10 in the game last week. The Thunder really rely on the post play, and do it well.
  14. Amherst: Amherst was #6 entering the week for me, but a pair of losses on the West Coast drops the Mammoths back by eight spots in my ballot. That said, Chapman and Concordia-Moorhead are both good teams, and playing unique styles coming off a holiday break is not easy, so I did not think dropping Amherst below the Top 15 was warranted. We will see how NESCAC play progresses for the Mammoths, who will need to rebound well to stay in the Pool C conversation.
  15. Rochester: Admittedly, Rochester might be too high on my ballot, but there have been times when this squad has shown plenty of potential for a deep tournament run. Katie Titus is certainly in the All-American conversation by this point, averaging 20.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. No new results for Rochester in this voting period, as the Yellowjackets haven’t played since Dec. 13.
  16. Puget Sound: As I said last week, going to San Antonio and taking down Mary Hardin-Baylor before giving Trinity (TX) a really strong run rises Puget Sound’s stock in my ballot. This is a team that runs a full-court press and can make things happen in transition. If the Loggers find a way to limit the number of times the opponent breaks the press and ends up with an easy layup on the offensive end, this is a team that we will be talking about come Selection Monday.
  17. Babson: The loss to Loras down in Florida dropped Babson quite a bit in my ballot, and though the Beavers have since rebounded with wins over Hanover and Middlebury (neither of which were dominant victories by any means), I haven’t seen reason to put Babson ahead of Rochester or Puget Sound for the time being. But they’ll have plenty of great opportunities in the NEWMAC, and could end up in the Top 15 once again in the span of just a week or two.
  18. Loras: Loras was #25 in my Top 25 a week ago, and jumps up to #18 after two outstanding wins over Calvin and UW-Stevens Point. Loras is putting together an incredible resume, with victories over Coe, UW-Eau Claire, Babson, and now, Calvin and UWSP. It’s hard to think UW-Platteville and Augustana beat them earlier in the year. Sami Martin is a tremendous forward, and has been one of the better forwards I’ve seen play this season.
  19. Gustavus Adolphus: Here’s the thing with the Gusties. If UW-Stout ends up faltering in WIAC play, their resume could take a hit. Still, Gusty passes the eye test for me, shoots the ball with confidence, and right now, has five players averaging eight points or more. The victory over St. Benedict still looks really good, as they won that one by 17, and Bethel is next on the schedule tomorrow. Bethel is a solid program that seems to be clicking at the right time, despite a 5-4 overall record.
  20. Mary Hardin-Baylor: UMHB looked out of sorts against Trinity and Puget Sound prior to Christmas, but back on their home floor, the Crusaders were exceptional against both Piedmont and UC Santa Cruz. It was the latter of those two wins that caused me to move them up from #23 to #20. The second half performance against UCSC was key in the Cru’s Top 25 win, and the way UMHB has been executing defensively as of late has been vastly different from what we saw a couple weeks back.
  21. Springfield: Springfield fell to a Trinity (CT) that will quite possibly make its way into my ballot next week or the week after, with the way the Bantams have been playing. But for Springfield, the 58-45 loss on Dec. 30 hurts because outside of beating Williams and Middlebury, Springfield does not have another Top 100 Massey win. That concerns me a bit, as I have liked what I’ve seen watching Springfield live, but they’ve been unable to emerge victorious in their two biggest games thus far, against Amherst and Trinity. The Jan. 7 game at Smith will be key for their ranking and tournament resume.
  22. Hardin-Simmons: HSU is another solid team with experienced talent, but has not put up any outstanding wins from my perspective. Again, that is just one element of things, but it is hard to rave about a team who has just one victory over a team with nine or more wins at this point (ETBU). That said, I still think HSU is a top contender for the ASC title along with UMHB and ETBU, and as result, certainly deserves a Top 25 ranking. The Cowgirls played well against Adrian and SUNY Geneseo in Puerto Rico on Dec. 29-30, which was a cool experience for the team I’m sure, despite some schedule adjustments with the travel craziness we all witnessed across the nation a week ago.
  23. Ohio Northern: ONU is 10-1, and I’m convinced Ohio Wesleyan caught the Polar Bears on a bad day, because besides that performance, ONU has been unstoppable. Two wins over sub-.500 teams got them to 10 wins last week, and OAC play resumes against Otterbein and John Carroll on the road in the week ahead.
  24. UC Santa Cruz: UCSC took a pair of rough losses in Texas (though today’s loss to ETBU doesn’t count towards our voting), and has now dropped three straight. Chances are, UCSC needs to win the C2C Tournament now in order to get into the NCAA Tournament. But regardless, this is a talented squad, with some of the best inside-outside presence in the nation, in my opinion. Tess Oakley-Stilson, Aubrey Wagner, Amanda Inserra, Ashley Kowack, and Kaylee Murphy can play with the best, and I feel like it’s only a matter of time before we see them pull off a big-time win.
  25. Tufts: Tufts takes the coveted No. 25 spot in my ballot, and it was a hard decision, since Trinity (CT), Millikin, Bowdoin, and several others were in strong consideration for my ballot. But I need to see Tufts play against Babson on Saturday before determining whether I should drop Tufts out completely. The Jumbos are led by one of the nation’s most prolific scorers in Maggie Russell, and I believe as much in contention for the NESCAC title as anyone at this point. The wins at WPI and Stevens remain their most impressive victories.
  26. Trinity (CT)
  27. Bowdoin
  28. Ithaca
  29. Millikin
  30. UW-La Crosse