By Riley Zayas
January 4, 2024
Welcome to D3 WBB Daily, as I will take a look each morning at the biggest storylines, news, and notables in D3 women’s hoops, getting you up-to-date on what happened the day before, and what is upcoming in the day ahead. I’ve split this breakdown into three parts: “Tipping Off” will include 3-4 main storylines that have stuck out to me, “Fast Breaks” will be quick notes on impressive performances, stats, etc., and “Looking ahead” will feature a couple key games that are on my “must-watch” list in the day ahead.
For all the hype around yesterday’s matchups and conference play resuming/starting for programs across the country, last night’s games more than lived up to that. We saw so many competitive contests, especially in the Midwest, where the MIAC, WIAC, ARC, and CCIW each had must-see matchups. Here are some of my thoughts on how everything transpired!
North Central was flying under the radar…but not so much anymore
NCC went 6-18 a year ago. And 9-17 in 2021-22. But this season, the Cardinals have already surpassed last year’s win total, and have shown flashes of considerable success. The string of three road losses in the span of a week to Chicago, Carroll, and Wheaton, put NCC in a tough spot, but we’ve seen the Cardinals battle back. They took highly-regarded Illinois Wesleyan into overtime, and fell to Coe by a single point. But last night they finally got in the win column in one of those “big games”. Everything came together for NCC against 11th-ranked Millikin, and the Cardinals emerged with an 84-78 victory, stunning a Millikin team that seemed near-unstoppable.
In a high-scoring battle, NCC dominated in the second half, outscoring Millikin 51-34 over the final two quarters. Interestingly, Elyce Knudsen, the nation’s leading scorer, still had 24 points. Sophie Darden had 18 as well, and Bailey Coffman added 16. The Big Blue shot 42 percent from the field, but struggled majorly from 3-point range. Millikin struggled with foul trouble through the entire second half, as Knudsen, Matayia Tellis, and Darden each sat for significant lengths of time over those final 20 minutes.
Elle Sutter was a huge key to NCC’s win, as she got into the paint, drew fouls, and scored at a high clip. Also a standout soccer player, Sutter finished with 25 points and seven rebounds, having shot 10-of-12 from the FT line. NCC guarded the dribble-drive exceptionally well, and had a solid defensive gameplan that ended up being well-executed.
NCC may have been under-the-radar because of its record entering Wednesday’s matchup, but not anymore. When you take down the 11th-ranked team in the land, people soon know who you are. And NCC is as much in the CCIW title fight as anyone at this point.
Elizabethtown ends Scranton’s undefeated bid in Landmark Conference battle
After taking two disappointing losses in Puerto Rico and seeing its NCAA Tournament resume take a slight hit, Elizabethtown resumed Landmark Conference play with a vengeance. That’s what it takes to beat the #5 team in the country. Even without the student body in the stands due to winter break, there was plenty of energy in Elizabethtown’s gym on Wednesday evening, as the Blue Jays defeated Scranton, 67-64.
In what was a back-and-forth contest from the opening tip until the final buzzer, Elizabethtown won the rebounding battle by 8, shot 43 percent from the field, and overcame a -6 turnover margin to win the Blue Jays’ biggest game of the year. Summer McNulty had a stellar day for Elizabethtown with 25 points, shooting 8-of-18. The Blue Jays were also 14-of-16 at the FT line, which played a key role in a game decided by such a thin margin. If anything, this just makes the Landmark race a little more interesting. Elizabethtown, Catholic, and Scranton are all in the mix for the title, and each certainly has the capability of beating the other two.
A second-half comeback from Gustavus Adolphus
You almost had to do a double-take when looking at the halftime score. Concordia (MN), on the road in a pivotal MIAC matchup, led the 8th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus Gusties, 36-24, at the intermission. It was a much wider margin than I had expected for a halftime score, especially involving a very talented Gustavus team.
But the Gusties quickly righted the ship and an 11-0 run cut Concordia’s lead to a single point. From there, it was a battle all the way through. The Gusties won the fourth quarter, 18-14, and ended up winning the game by the same four-point margin, 64-60, in a key test within what appears to be a very competitive MIAC this season.
We knew Concordia was good, but last night showed that the Cobbers are right there in contention for the MIAC title, and are certainly a tough defensive squad. Points did not come easily for either team, though both did a good job of getting to the FT line. The biggest stat in my opinion? Gustavus won the battle on the offensive boards, 14-3, and second-chance points, 12-2. That is certain to give you an advantage in just about every game, no matter the opponent.
Smith with a statement
I said on Tuesday that MIT earned the final spot in my Top 25 ballot over Smith and a couple others. Well, the Pioneers of Smith have me rethinking that after the way last night played out in the NEWMAC. Smith completely dominated MIT in an 82-54 victory, winning big as the Pioneers had five scorers in double figures.
The NEWMAC will be a competitive league this year, no doubt, but Smith is certainly the frontrunner at this point. The loss to Dickinson on Sunday hurt their resume, but this win did plenty to improve that. MIT had been very good this year (including a win over Tufts on the road), but Smith’s offense was way too much to defend. The Pioneers finished with 56 points in the paint!
D3 Women’s Basketball Championship Game coverage moving to ESPN in 2025
I didn’t want to make this write-up any longer, but as I was getting ready to publish, I saw some breaking news from the NCAA. About 20 minutes ago, it was announced that the broadcast rights to 40 NCAA Championships have been acquired by ESPN. The agreement begins on Sept. 1, 2024 (which means the first D3 WBB broadcast will be the 2025 NCAA Tournament Final), and includes the D3 women’s basketball national title game, along with the D3 men’s basketball semifinals & championship game, and the D3 volleyball national title game. It is currently unclear if this agreement will affect the scheduling of the championship game, but that is an aspect I will keep a close eye on —> Link to press release
Fast Breaks
» Dubuque challenged #12 Wartburg considerably well in what proved to be a thrilling ARC battle, as the contest went into OT and was eventually won by Wartburg, 53-50. There was certainly an “upset” aspect to it, as Dubuque led late in the 4th, but just overall, exceptional basketball from both sides. The ARC title race is going to be one you’ll want to follow.
» Also, one more Wartburg note. Sara Faber surpassed the 1,000-point mark against Dubuque last night, so congratulations to her! That is a huge accomplishment, and she has been a key part of the Knight’s offensive success for several seasons now.
» Washington & Lee’s Mary Schleusner had yet another huge day for the Generals, with a 24-point, 20-rebound double-double. And she had five steals and three blocks in addition to it! She’s playing at such a high level right now and is so crucial to W&L’s success.
» Talk about great offensive performances. In an impactful 70-45 WIAC victory for UW-Eau Claire over UW-Platteville, UWEC’s Kyla Overskei had 28 points on a 6-of-7 day from 3-point range. She shot 11-of-14 (78.5%) from the field in total. Wow.
» DePauw moved to 2-0 in the NCAC with a big win over Ohio Wesleyan in what was a rematch of last year’s NCAC Semifinal (and was won by OWU). DePauw outscored OWU 24-18 in the third quarter, and won, 64-57, as Riley Mont came through with 19 points.
» Thank you to UW-Stout SID Casey Perrott, who I was told found the date of the last time UW-Stout and UW-Stevens Point faced off as ranked opponents. It took some serious research! Turns out it was Jan. 6, 2007, and three days to the date of that game 17 years later, the two programs battled as ranked opponents once again last night, and Stout won big, 82-53. Raegan Sorensen led the way with 25-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Blue Devils.
Looking Ahead
UMass-Dartmouth at #4 Rhode Island College, 5:30 pm ET
Univ. of New England at Suffolk, 5:30 pm ET
Merchant Marine at Mount St. Vincent, 6 pm ET