Author Archives: rzayas

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 20, 2022: A look back on Saturday’s best games

Posted on by

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!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 19, 2022: A Top 15 battle in Holland

Posted on by

Welcome back! We have another full slate of Saturday basketball…

Game of the Day: #13 UW-Eau Claire @ #1 Hope, 3 pm EST

This is going to be a must-see matchup, period. Watching both of these teams play, they appear built for the postseason, and this will almost be a preview of what we might see come March. UWEC has four seniors in the starting lineup, which certainly helps, and is especially good in the rebounding game (40.8 reb/game). We all know that Hope has been crushing everyone in its path as of late, but this one might be a little different. UWEC might just be the best team Hope has battled up to this point, and the Blugolds will be eager to achieve a marquee conference win to add to their resume, especially heading into WIAC play, where multiple teams have legitimate cases for the tournament spots. Of course, keeping the margin within single digits against Hope might be a win in it

Keep an eye on…

  • #15 UMHB @ Emory, 3 pm EST
  • #7 Smith @ Bowdoin, 4 pm EST
  • #20 Ithaca @ Catholic, 4 pm EST

Thoughts…

  • As far as yesterday’s games go, I ended up being spot-on about the matchup between #11 Tufts and WPI. With WPI playing at home, the Engineers nearly sprang an upset on Tufts, with the final score being only a three-point margin, 60-57. Watching it back, there is not much more WPI could’ve done, besides maybe not foul Maggie Russell, who cut Tufts’ deficit to just one on a pair of free throws with about a minute and a half left. The Jumbos were on their game defensively, and besides a three-point attempt that missed long, WPI did not have many good opportunities offensively down the stretch. It is no secret that Tufts is reliant, to some degree, on Russell and her ability to score. She had 25 points last night, every one of which were key considering the narrow result. Now that may hurt Tufts as the season progresses, facing teams such as Amherst. But only time will tell. The Jumbos also turned the ball over just nine times in the game, compared to 13 turnovers for WPI.
  • I tuned into the Millikin/Coe game, and saw the Big Blue closing in on their second straight win. But then Coe found a spark, and almost in the blink of an eye, had Millikin’s lead down to two. Coe is one of those programs in the ARC that is looking to bounce back after a down year last season (they were 8-17), and has started fairly well. They were 3-0 entering the game, and hung with Millikin for the vast majority of it, until the Eagles went stagnant offensively. They struggled to make shots, in large part because of Millikin’s defense, which was the best I’ve seen it be this season. Millikin extended the lead back to nine, and Coe never got any closer, with the final being 66-57.
  • I was emailing with a coach yesterday who recommended I take a look at the UAA. Though I had been following the scores of programs in the league, like Rochester, NYU, and Emory, I took a look at the conference’s overall record yesterday, and was both impressed and a little surprised to see it at 21-3. All but two of the league’s eight teams are undefeated. There is a lot of experienced, deep teams in the UAA this year, and it will be a conference to watch, if nothing else, because of the parity we’re seeing here in the early weeks of the season.
  • #15 Mary Hardin-Baylor visits Emory (4-0) in an intriguing matchup this afternoon. UMHB is officially the last Top 25 team to start its season, and I can’t say I disagree with head coach Mark Morefield’s thinking on this. Talking with him, he noted that the Crusaders would have liked to have played last weekend, but due to the travel schedule, it didn’t end up working out. But he also said this set up makes more sense, as it has given UMHB additional time to work out the kinks before the season opener, and have over a month to prep following Oct. 15, rather than less than a month, as most teams did, starting on Nov. 8-12. Be sure to watch the guards in this matchup. Emory’s Claire Brock has been virtually unstoppable through four games, averaging 27.5 PPG. On Wednesday, she became the program’s first player to go for 30+ points in consecutive games. UMHB also has a handful of talented guards, a number of which are incoming transfers, and that battle backcourt, if you will, is going to decide a lot in this one.
  • Congratulations to Joe Shotland on his first head coaching win at UT-Dallas last night. After a tough start in Rochester last weekend, the Comets won 69-37 against Covenant last night. They have Transylvania today…we’ll see how that goes. This is probably Transy’s best non-conference game…
  • Maine Maritime had No. 7 Smith on the ropes last night, but struggled to score in overtime, putting just three on the board in the extra period, as Smith won 66-60. But USMMA looks like they will have no issue following up on last year’s 20-4 campaign.

Alright…this is all, since I realized we’re nearing an hour until some games tip off. Expect an earlier post tomorrow. And enjoy the day!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 18, 2022: Rochester is on a roll…

Posted on by

We have arrived at the end of the week…which means it is time for weekend basketball! Yes, that includes the Friday night matchups, at least in my definition! And we have plenty of intriguing games on the slate on tonight, starting with the duel in Worcester…

Game of the Day: #11 Tufts @ WPI, 7:30 pm EST

Tufts will be on the road for the second time this season, after opening at Bates on Saturday. So far, Tufts has found a way to beat two solid teams in Bates (still looking to fill the hole left by Mia Roy), and RWU. But WPI presents another challenge, as a NEWMAC contender with an excellent defensive presence. I haven’t seen WPI play yet this year, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can take away in a game that will likely be controlled by defense.

Keep an eye on…

  • #14 Millikin @ Coe, 6 pm EST
  • #12 Baldwin-Wallace @ Wittenberg, 7 pm EST
  • UW-Oshkosh @ DePauw, 8 pm EST
  • ETBU @ Rhodes, 7 pm EST

Thoughts as we head into the weekend…

  • Rochester has the potential to be really good this year. Like NCAA Tournament-caliber good. At least, as long as the Yellowjackets put together performances like last night’s, as they downed #17 St. John Fisher, a previously 2-0 squad, by a score of 68-55. Racing out to a 25-12 lead in the first quarter certainly helped, but I was most impressed by the consistency at which they shot the ball. Taking good looks, moving the ball around the perimeter, and finding the open shooter, were all things U of R did very well in the win. The final stats reflected it, as they shot exactly 50% from the field (25 of 50), and 40% from 3-point range (9 of 22). Four of their five starters ended up with double figures in scoring. Rochester is another one of those teams that had zero preseason Top 25 votes, but may start getting some attention from voters, considering they’ve now won consecutive games over ranked opponents with the 13-point win over #21 Messiah on Saturday.
  • Was scrolling through the D3hoops.com scoreboard and caught the end of an overtime battle between Wentworth and Anna Maria, with Wentworth winning its second straight, 66-63. It wasn’t a game that meant a whole lot nationally, but watching these two teams go toe-to-toe down the stretch, it was a good reminder that even in games that do not involve Top 25 teams (or as we get later on in the year, Pool C bids), the passion and will to win is most certainly there. Maddy Foster was terrific for Wentworth, with 19 points and 12 rebounds as she played all but eight minutes of the 45-minute contest. Not that Wentworth’s starters had much choice. They had just three on the bench, which is the smallest roster I’ve seen this season (10 are listed on the roster, but it appeared that only eight were in uniform).
  • Quick congratulatory note to Theil’s Destiny Johnson, who broke the program’s single-game record with 28 rebounds. Had 22 points as well, as she accounted for 1/3 of her team’s scoring, and almost half of its rebounds.
  • Also wanted to give a shout-out to Howard Payne’s Presley Fisk, who earned her first win as head coach of her alma mater last night. HPU defeated Barclay College 89-67.
  • I had the opportunity to join Dave McHugh, Gordon Mann, and Scott Peterson on the WBB Top 25 panel of Hoopsville yesterday (show is out now, listen here!). Let me just say now that putting together a list of some of our “dubious, debateable, and deep dive” teams was hard. It’s just too early to really know with a lot of these teams, of how good they can be, and how to grade the losses and wins through the first two weeks of the season. But a great show nonetheless. I enjoyed being a part of it!

That wraps up today’s post…we’ll have even more to cover tomorrow, and if a few games go the way I’m thinking they will, it will be a lot of fun to take a look at those in particular. But until then, enjoy the rest of your day and the D3 hoops slate on this weekend before Thanksgiving.

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 17, 2022: Whitewater with a comeback, a look at some of the top unranked teams

Posted on by

Welcome back! Glad you’re here, reading another edition of The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops. Decided to take a look at some of the unranked teams who received votes in the preseason poll and have what I consider to be the best resumes for Top 25 spots heading into the first in-season poll of the year. More on that below. But first, there’s going to be a good game tonight in Rochester…

Game of the Day: #17 St. John Fisher @ Rochester, 8 pm EST

I didn’t necessarily pick this game because it is the only one tonight with a Top 25 team involved, though that is part of it! Rochester looked sharp in wins over UT-Dallas and Messiah to open the year, but SJF will present a whole new test. At 3-0, SJF has not been challenged all that much, and will benefit from facing a quality unranked opponent in Rochester. SJF is balanced offensively, sharing the ball well, with a tremendous amount of depth, which should help in late-game situations, where foul trouble, and fatigue begins to take effect.

Thoughts…

  • #4 UW-Whitewater’s duel with Illinois Wesleyan lived up the expectation of being a big-time non-conference showdown. Though UWW emerged with a hard-fought 70-61 (and trust me, it was hard-fought) win, IWU came out of the gate much stronger, shooting 64 percent in the opening quarter as the Titans took a 21-8 lead. But in a split second, things switched for the Warhawks, who scored 23 in the second quarter, cutting the deficit to 38-31 at the half. Outscoring IWU 21-10 in the third is really when things began looking up for Whitewater, and the Warhawks held off a strong charge from IWU late, cutting it to two, before the hosts pulled away. Kacie Carollo continues to shoot the ball well, as she had 20 points. IWU had a 20-point scorer of its own in Katelyn Heller.
  • DeSales is 3-0 to start the year, having added a nine-point win over Muhlenberg last night. Team “No. 26” in the Preseason Top 25 (the team that received the most votes that was not ranked), DeSales is certainly making a case for a Top 25 spot. Problem is that they do not play a particularly strong non-conference schedule, so it is somewhat hard to compare their resume with others in contention for those last five spots in the poll.
  • Big win for Gustavus Adolphus over in the midwest last night. This Simpson College team may not be the SC teams of old, but nonetheless, the Storm are still a serious contender in the ARC. The Gusties however, seem to be following up well on last year’s 22-5 season. They’re 2-0, and last night’s 76-73 win proved they can execute in pressure situations. Anna Sanders was 4-of-5 from 3-point land for Gustavus Adolphus in a pretty impressive performance.
  • Catholic is another team that I’m certainly considering as a Top 25 voter. They had the seventh-most points amongst unranked teams in the preseason poll, and have started 4-0, the most recent of those coming in last night’s 71-46 rout of Salisbury. They shot an eye-popping 66 percent from 3-point rnage (yes, you read that right), as they were 12-of-18. That long-range accuracy certainly played in Catholic’s favor, especially in the first half.

Going on Hoopsville today to talk some women’s hoops with Dave, Gordon and Scott, who always offer great insight. This isn’t a live segment, so I’m unsure when it will be put out, but once it is, I’ll be sure to add a link here! Always great to have some back-and-forth and good discussions on such a large division of college basketball!

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!