Category Archives: Scoop on Women’s Hoops

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 26, 2022: Back in action…

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Took a couple of days off for the Thanksgiving holiday but I’m back, and so is a full slate of Saturday D3 hoops action! As a Top 25 voter, I routinely keep a list of games I want to pay especially close attention to. Today’s list is especially long, because so many teams are playing in pivotal games, especially as we prepare for the first in-season poll of the year. That’s good news for you D3 women’s basketball fans, because you’ll be entertained from midday until the evening. Look no further than the Game of the Day, which falls at the convenient time of 5 pm EST, 4 pm CST.

#18 Hardin-Simmons @ #5 Trinity

The Tigers made the trip out to Abilene on Tuesday of this week, and now it is time for HSU to return the favor, traveling southeast to the home of the Alamo for what should be an intriguing matchup. Trinity won the first meeting between the ranked opponents, 76-69, defending HSU’s three-point shooting with remarkable success. But I expect this one will be a little different, not necessarily in who emerges as the victor, but in how the matchup is assessed. Facing the same team twice in a week is something more common in baseball or softball, where conferences conclude the season with double-elimination tournaments. With Tuesday’s matchup fresh in their minds, I am interested to see what each team took away, and what they will be looking to tweak or improve. A win for Trinity could easily put the Tigers in contention for the #4 spot in next week’s Top 25, considering HSU is both a Top 20 team and the ASC preseason favorite. A win for HSU would be a huge SOS boost for the Cowgirls, who play in a conference with at least four real contenders. Lots on the line this afternoon in San Antonio.

Keep an eye on…

  • Calvin (4-0) @ #4 UW-Whitewater (5-0), 5 pm EST
  • WashU (3-0) @ Rose-Hulman (2-0), 4 pm EST
  • Illinois Wesleyan (3-2) @ DePauw (2-2), 2 pm EST
  • Wilmington (4-0) @ #2 Transylvania (2-0), 3 pm EST
  • Ohio Northern (3-1) @ #8 Trine (3-1), 3 pm EST

Thoughts…

  • Not a ton of good games on the slate yesterday, but I did tune into a good portion of #24 Puget Sound’s home game against Chapman. After losing by 6 to Wheaton a week ago, I have some questions about how Puget Sound stacks up against the best in the nation. But they looked sharp in yesterday’s game, utilizing full-court pressure and traps in the backcourt well. I was also impressed by how they used their height around the rim, patiently working the ball into the post on plays when they were unable to push the ball up the floor.
  • #13 UW-Eau Claire had no trouble getting past Northland in an 83-41 win. The Blugolds showed just how efficient their offense was in the opening half, outscoring Northland 57-14. UWEC continues to impress me, whether it be playing against the #1 team in the nation or a winless team from the UMAC. Jessie Ruden had 18 pts on 7-of-10 shooting in the victory.
  • One of the day’s best contests came late, as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps hosted Augsburg. CMS came out strong, and I was surprised at the level at which the Athenas were playing, until the fourth quarter, when Augsburg just seemed to flip a switch. Augsburg outscored CMS 16-6 in that final quarter, upping the intensity on both ends of the floor, to win 65-61. That moves them to 3-1, though I’ll need to see a more convincing performance to consider Augsburg a legitimate contender on a more national level.

Not a ton of other notes for you as I write this late Friday night. But teams outside of the preseason Top 25 that I’d be keeping an eye on would be WashU (has a notable win over #14 Millikin), UW-La Crosse (7-0 to start the season), Washington & Jefferson (5-1, 3-0 to start PAC play), and Augustana (if they remain consistent offensively, they could be a contender in a very deep CCIW). That’s all for today. Enjoy your weekend! And be sure to subscribe on Substack if you haven’t already, or you can also find this blog each morning right here on the Daily Dose.

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 23, 2022: Trinity’s defense, the ARC, and scoring 1 point in the first half?!?

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Good morning! Hope you are enjoying the holiday week. I’m writing this after writing my “thoughts” section on yesterday’s games…I’ll tell you, it’s a long one today. But that’s because yesterday’s slate had so many great contests worth mentioning, and it was the last full slate we’ll get until Saturday. There are a couple of teams in action today, so here’s a quick look at what you should be watching on the last day of college hoops before Thanksgiving…

Game of the Day: Colby @ #3 NYU, 7 pm EST

I’ll be honest, there are only 3 games between D-III programs today…but don’t overlook this one. Colby is off to a 3-0 start, but hasn’t faced anyone to the caliber of NYU. NYU hasn’t been challenged all that much either, with an 11-point win over Haverford being its closest result. This will be a good chance to see what NYU is putting together, especially with a lot of reliable defenders off the bench, who have added to the depth in these first four games of the season. I’m not sure how close it will end up being, but it’ll be worth a few minutes of your time to tune in and see what the nation’s #3 team can do in a contest of two unbeatens.

Thoughts from yesterday…

  • The highly-anticipated Top 25 showdown between #5 Trinity and #18 Hardin-Simmons in Abilene lived up to the expectations, with Trinity pulling out a 76-69 win on HSU’s home court. It was 51-50 heading into the fourth quarter, with the Tigers pulling away late, in large part due to their exceptional defense. HSU tends to beat teams by its remarkable accuracy from beyond the three-point arc, but on this night, the Cowgirls struggled to get open looks, and it seemed to be the biggest difference-maker in the result. Parris Parmer, HSU’s remarkable three-point sharpshooter, was 0-for-6 from long-range, and as a team HSU shot just 17.9%. Again, that seemed to be more a credit to Trinity’s defense, than a lapse of HSU’s offense, though I’d probably say that had something to do with it as well.
  • Another point on this game above…It rarely happens, even in conference play, but as I mentioned yesterday, these two teams will play again on Saturday, this time in San Antonio. Playing the same team twice within a span of five days in an interesting move by both coaching staffs, as each seeks to correct the mistakes made in the first meeting. We could see a very different game play out on Saturday afternoon.
  • Hamilton College moved to 2-1 in an impressive 70-64 win over #17 St. John Fisher. I can say with some degree of certainty that SJF won’t be #17 next week when the Top 25 is released, but for Hamilton to go on the road and pick up a win over a nationally-ranked team that returns three starters is huge. Perhaps the NESCAC will be even deeper than I anticipated it being this season. The most notable part of Hamilton’s win came in the 23-point fourth quarter, as they actually trailed by three entering the final 10 minutes.
  • Since the four-point loss to Amherst, #16 Springfield has looked pretty good. I saw them race out to a 20-9 lead in the first quarter against a quality Williams team yesterday. Williams stayed in it, despite the early deficit, but Springfield continued to make shots on the offensive end. The Pride ended up shooting 40%. Sam Hourihan is going to be a really big piece of that offense, as she looked to be in her element yesterday, with 23 points and nine rebounds.
  • In a battle of unbeatens, Mary Washington pulled out a convincing 70-58 win over Washington & Lee. On first glance, it doesn’t appear to be all that competitive of game, but the fact is, this one went into overtime! But Mary Washington’s defense stepped up in a huge way, holding W&L to just two points in the extra period. More than the 14 points in overtime, it was the fact that the Eagles held a good offense that had scored 56 in regulation to such as low percentage with the game on the line. The Coast-to-Coast programs are hard to evaluate at times (though Mary Washington has more scheduling options than say, UCSC), but they’ll get another good test on Dec. 10, when playing Catholic on the road. Marymount, who they’ll play on Dec. 3, is also off to a good start, at 6-1.
  • NJCU opened its D-III schedule in a 66-48 win over Montclair State, and after watching them play, I’m even more certain that they’ll be the best in the NJAC. They shoot the ball with such efficiency, and interestingly enough, Damaris Rodriguez wasn’t their leading scorer; Laney Fox was, with 21. Rodriguez had 12, but it is good to see other players starting to step up around her.
  • Wartburg and Dubuque kicked off ARC play in a very exciting duel, with the game going into overtime before Wartburg pulled out a 78-71 win. Wartburg will be one I’m keeping an eye on. I didn’t like the performances against UW-Eau Claire or UW-Oshkosh, though I would rate both losses lower considering how much I value those two WIAC programs. Even UWO, with its young talent, is going to be a force in the WIAC, in my opinion. Wartburg will get Scranton and Trine back-to-back just before Christmas, which will be two good measuring sticks for where the Knights stand.
  • Happened to see the Emory halftime score and honestly thought it was a glitch in the system, because it showed Emory leading Agnes Scott 42-1 at halftime. But a look at the box score proved I was incorrect…Emory’s defense was just that good yesterday. I don’t care who you’re playing…if you hold any team to just a single point in 20 minutes, that deserves a bit of recognition.
  • To wrap up what is becoming a long list of thoughts on yesterday’s action. Luther pulled out a 2-point win over Coe, 50-48. The ARC is going to be really fun to watch, between Wartburg, Coe, Luther, and maybe even Simpson, if the Storm finds its footing. This is probably Luther’s most notable win up to this point, though there’s also the win over UW-Platteville, and it didn’t come easy. Coe nearly won the game on a late three that just missed, and also had a chance at a layup, but couldn’t get it to go. Luther plays Wartburg next on Nov. 30…that will be a matchup to watch.
  • Oh, and the WBCA released its first in-season Top 25 yesterday…the top 5 is Hope, CNU, Amherst, NYU, Trinity. More on this Friday, but to look at the poll for yourself, here’s the link: https://wbca.org/recognize/polls/nov-22-2022-1

No post tomorrow…enjoy your Thanksgiving! I’ll be back with more on Friday!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 22, 2022: It’s a Lone Star State showdown!

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We’re back! And what a slate of games we have today in the world of D3 women’s hoops. For quite a few teams, this is their final game before Thanksgiving, so there is an eagerness to head into the holiday with a satisfying performance. I’m especially excited because we have a Top 25 matchup for the first time what feels like a week, being played right here in my home state of Texas. These are two teams I’m familiar with, and two that we could see play each other come March. Take a look…

Game of the Day: #5 Trinity @ #18 Hardin-Simmons

It doesn’t get much better than this in the Lone Star state, and the best part of it is, this is the first game in a home-and-home arrangement, with HSU making the trip to San Antonio on Saturday afternoon. We’ll get an opportunity to see these two teams battle twice in the same week, which rarely happens. This matchup is intriguing considering the fact that both are strong offensive teams, who have reliable three-point shooters and are experienced enough to stay calm under pressure. HSU’s fast-paced, three-point shooting offense will certainly challenge both the depth and stamina of Trinity. And on the other side, when Trinity works the ball into the post, the question will be if HSU has the depth at those positions to limit the short-range scoring of the Tigers. You’ll want to tune into this one. Livestream Link: https://hsuathletics.com/broadcasts

Keep an eye on…

  • Williams @ #16 Springfield, 4 pm EST
  • Case Western Reserve @ Marietta, 7 pm EST
  • Washington & Jefferson @ Westminster (Pa.), 6 pm EST
  • Washington & Lee @ Mary Washington, 6 pm EST

Thoughts…

  • Fairly light schedule yesterday but I tuned into a couple of games and was closely tracking another. Augustana vs. Colorado College was an extremely entertaining game, with Augustana coming out of the gates with offensive firepower. There were points when the Vikings did not miss in the first half for three, four, and five possessions. It led to a 49-27 lead, and seemed like the result was already determined. I contemplated turning it off, but saw a completely different Colorado College team in the second half. 180 degrees different. The full-court press forced a number of Augustana turnovers, though it took some time for the Tigers to begin cashing those takeaways into points on the other end. CC slowly chipped away at the lead, cutting it four midway through the fourth, but Augustana finally found enough offense to pull away for the victory. Certainly one of those “tale of two halves” kind of games, but my biggest takeaways were: Augustana has a ton of scorers if they’re all on the same page, and CC’s full-court press is one of the best I’ve seen early in this season.
  • UNE really controlled the game in an 85-52 win over Anna Maria. Caught a few minutes of that one, and I really think that UNE will compete in the Commonwealth Coast Conference this season. They’re 4-2 heading into Sunday’s matchup against #11 Tufts. Keagan Dunbar, a transfer guard from Colby College, had 20 last night, and really seems to be helping UNE on the offensive end.
  • NJCU didn’t play well against D-I Deleware St., losing 88-48, but perhaps that’s because the focus is on the Gothic Knights first D-III game of the year. They play Montclair St., who is 2-2, and I think this could be a good game, though I expect NJCU will be able to pull it out. This is one of the latest starts I’ve seen from a D-III program this season.
  • Brevard’s Olivia Miller has been playing extremely well as of late, considering she is a true freshman. She has scored in double figures in five of Brevard’s six games, averaging 14.7 PPG and shooting 55 percent from the field. She played all 40 minutes in last Friday’s 77-73 win over N.C. Wesleyan, scoring 20.

That’s all for today. Best of luck to everyone playing their final games before Thanksgiving. Hope you are enjoying this holiday week!

Also, if you can, share this blog with anyone you know in the world of D3 hoops! It’s much appreciated!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 21, 2022: My Top 10 through the first two weeks of the season

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Welcome back! Hope your weekend was a good one. As some may know, I am a Top 25 voter for the D3hoops.com Women’s Top 25 Poll each week. With it being so early in the season, we did not have a poll this week, but I thought I’d put down a Top 10 based on my thoughts from watching these teams play the last 12 days or so. So here you go…

  1. Hope: The Flying Dutch don’t rebuild, they reload. Despite losing a strong senior core from last year’s national championship team, Hope was seldom challenged in its first three contests against Geneva, Illinois Wesleyan, and Finlandia. Even UW-Eau Claire, who I would put around #11 or #12 right now, wasn’t able to keep the score within single digits on Saturday. Hope is the clear No. 1 and I’d be surprised if anyone else picks up a No. 1 vote in next week’s official poll.
  2. Transylvania: The Pioneers opened the season late, just a few days ago on Nov. 18. Their swing through Texas saw them pick up wins over Concordia (TX) and UT-Dallas, good ASC teams, but not the most high-level competition. Still, Transylvania’s play on the court suggests another dominant season seems to be in store. Perhaps, as we spoke about on Hoopsville last week, an undefeated season…
  3. UW-Whitewater: Here is where I differ from the Preseason Top 25. NYU has done nothing but roll to big wins in these first two weeks, but Whitewater has done the same…and against what appears at this point to be better competition. Millikin is a Top 25 program at this point, despite some recent struggles on the road, and IWU will compete right alongside Millikin for the top spot in the CCIW. Those two wins give the Warhawks the upper hand from my perspective, and for what it’s worth, Massey has Whitewater #8 in defensive efficiency, while NYU is #25. Defense wins championship. But seriously, the margin between these two is very thin.
  4. NYU: So keeping on with that same conversation, NYU’s four wins are over Alvernia, Haverford, Vassar, and Kean, who has a combined record of 8-11 right now. You certainly can’t punish a team for the poor play of its opponents, but when the margin is thin in this early part of the season, the quality of its non-conference opponents is significant in all of this. NYU won’t truly be tested until Dec. 11, when it faces #11 Tufts in a must-see battle.
  5. Trinity (TX): Going very much off of the eye test here, but watching Trinity play is just so impressive. The execution in transition is flawless, and the overall offense is one of the best I’ve seen at this point. They move the ball well and create shots, which have led to four fairly one-sided wins. The real tests come this week in a home-and-home with #18 Hardin-Simmons. Trinity goes to Abilene tomorrow, before HSU makes the return trip to San Antonio on Saturday.
  6. Christopher Newport: CNU has opened its season strong, winning all five of its games by double digits. ETBU came the closest, falling just 63-53 at home on Nov. 11. Massey has CNU at #3 in offensive efficiency, and I’d believe it. Four starters average 9.0+ PPG.
  7. Amherst: Amherst slides up to #7 for a few different reasons. One is the resume; notably, the 54-50 win over No. 16 Springfield, and the fact that all three opponents have been held to 50 points or lower. There’s a reason Amherst is the No. 1 defensive team according to Massey. Even on days when the shots aren’t falling, the Mammoths are often in the lead, due to superior defense. But #8 Trine’s loss to Baldwin-Wallace slides them back a spot, and #7 Smith had close calls at Maine-Maritime and Bowdoin this weekend, which drop them back as well.
  8. Scranton: #10 to open the season, Scranton is 5-0, and has given no reason why they don’t deserve to slide two spots up. Once I get all the numbers next week, this could change, but watching Scranton’s game against Wilkes yesterday, the Royals are clearly a title contender. They are so deep, which makes them dangerous for any opponent. We’ll get a good look at the Royals on Nov. 29 when they face #20 Ithaca. That will be a great indicator of where both teams are at.
  9. Trine: The Thunder didn’t look all that good at Baldwin Wallace, but it was also the second game of the season, and the bottom line is that they found a way to push it into double overtime. Though BW won 75-70, that is Trine’s only loss in four games. I can’t see putting them any lower than #9 based on what I’ve seen up to this point.
  10. Smith: Yes, Smith is undefeated. But in the two games that would give us the best indication of where the Pioneers were at, they struggled, nearly losing to Maine-Maritime (but eventually winning 66-60 in OT) and trailed Bowdoin 32-21 at the half on Saturday. Again, they came back to beat Bowdoin 54-50, and there is little doubt they are a good team, but at this point, I can’t see them still as the seventh-best team in the nation. They will have a good test against a 3-0 Trinity (CT) team on Nov. 27, that I’ll certainly be watching to get another look at Smith and where they might stack up in next week’s top 10.

Other notes:

  • Not a whole lot of other action today, but NJCU does play at D-I Delaware State in a winnable game for the Gothic Knights. Their only game currently played is a 79-70 loss to D-I Monmouth, and they looked sharp for much of that one. If they can stay strong on the boards, this could end up as a win. DSU is just 1-3 overall.
  • Concordia-Chicago plays a UW-La Crosse team that is 5-0. Concordia has won its last two, but nobody has been able to stop UWL yet. Consistency on the defensive end will be important to both teams in this one.
  • Colorado College and Augustana play in what could be a good game at 6 pm EST. CC is looking to get back on track after a 1-3 start, though the schedule has been tough with Emory and Calvin on there. Augustana is 3-1, coming off the loss to Calvin.

That’s all for today. Hope you enjoyed reading through my thoughts on the Top 10…what are yours? Feel free to add a comment below!

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

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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!