The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: December 4, 2022: Chaos in the Top 25

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What a day it was yesterday in D3 women’s hoops! If you were a fan, you had nonstop action for the better part of the afternoon and evening. It was an especially notable day considering six Top 25 teams fell to unranked opponents. The Top 25 on Monday might look pretty different than what it was a week before. I’ll touch on some of those games in addition to a news item about the future of a particular HCAC program that made a fairly big announcement yesterday evening. But first…here’s a look at the Game of the Day.

Game of the Day: #7 Amherst @ NJCU, 3 pm EST

Could we see a third Top 10 team go down on this first weekend of December? It’s possible. But NJCU, who opened the year with such a convincing performance against D-I Monmouth, has dropped three of its last four, and is not quite looking like a team that will claim yet another NJAC title. I’m not sure why the Gothic Knights have been struggling, but it definitely is something they’re working to fix. The key will be finding ways to score on a defense as good as Amherst’s. NJCU is desperately in need of a win and playing at home, but Amherst’s undefeated record is also on the line. I can’t see Amherst dropping this one, though it could be decided by single digits if we see the NJCU team we saw earlier in the year.

How the Top 25 fared + 1 more news item

  • In yet another wild day in WIAC play, two of the Top 25 teams in the league lost to unranked opponents, with #9 Whitewater (vs River Falls, 64-67) and #19 Oshkosh (@ Stout, 58-66), coming up short. The parity in the WIAC this season is going to be, in my opinion, much more noticeable than in years past. Rankings don’t seem to matter in this league, in any sport.
  • To add to that point, River Falls has really impressed me as of late. For a team picked to finish sixth in the league, the Falcons are 6-2, 1-1 in WIAC play, with a three-point loss to #12 UW-Eau Claire, and now a three-point win over Whitewater. Shelby Lyman, as the interim head coach, is doing a fantastic job getting the most out of her guards, as UWRF typically starts four guards in the lineup.
  • Whitewater wasn’t the highest ranked team to fall yesterday. That distinction belongs to #6 Smith, who led by five with seven minutes left, but struggled offensively in the game’s final minutes, losing 78-74, to Framingham State. The loss is Smith’s first of the year, but as I mentioned in my Top 25 breakdown, they’ve struggled at multiple points this season, going into overtime against both Maine-Maritime and Trinity (CT). To their credit, both were solid programs, and so is Framingham State, now 6-1. But it was not quite the performance you want to see out of a team ranked as high as #6 in the nation. Smith will be fine, and very much has the talent to make a tournament run, though their ranking may drop on Monday. I was most impressed by the 21-15 run by Framingham State to end the game, with near-flawless execution in the final minutes.
  • Emory made a big-time statement at home against #11 Tufts, winning by 15, 70-55, in a marquee victory for the Eagles. Maggie Russell was held to a 6-of-20 shooting mark for Tufts, a credit to Emory’s defensive gameplan, and Tufts as a team, were 31.7% from the field, 16.7% from three-point range. Emory’s defense has been a major factor in wins, time and time again this season, and will certainly help once UAA play gets going. Claire Brock scoring 20 didn’t hurt either, as she played 34 minutes.
  • Hamilton has been on my radar since the they went to St. John Fisher and left with a win, but Saturday’s performance was on another level. On their home court, they took down #18 Rochester, 80-75, holding onto a narrow lead throughout the fourth quarter. Rochester shot the ball well, but Hamilton was even better. Take a look at these percentages: 46.8% from the field, 46.2% from 3-point, 80% from the free-throw line. When you shoot the ball with that kind of success, how could you lose? Hamilton went down 22-9 in the opening quarter, but credit to them. They stayed poised, and got right back in it, coming away with what is their most notable win up to this point.
  • Puget Sound, perhaps with a little bit of a statement to make after dropping out of the Top 25, handed #21 Whitman its first D-III loss of the year, 78-63. PS held nothing back, racing out to a 20-7 lead. Whitman also never led at any point, and PS forced 22 turnovers, turning them into 20 points.
  • In what I called the “Game of the Day” yesterday, #15 Calvin traveled to #20 Trine, and in what was honestly a bit of a surprise to me, Trine came away with a 60-45 victory. As the final score suggests, both defenses were fairly effective. Trine stepped up especially in the second half, outscoring Calvin by eight. Gabby Timmer had 20 for Calvin, but the Thunder mostly limited the production of the rest of the lineup in an impressive victory, which moves them to 2-0 in MIAA play.
  • I heard through D3boards.com yesterday morning that Rose-Hulman was going to shut down its program for the remainder of this season, but was unsure of the validity of those claims, so simply waited to see what would happen. At 8 p.m. last night, hours after losing to Transylvania, the athletic department announced it would indeed cancel the remainder of the schedule, citing player safety due to “low roster numbers”. There are 10 listed on the roster, but once you factor in possible injuries and things like that, 10 is not enough to weather the storm that is a college basketball season. Only’ seven played in yesterday’s game. The press release stated that the administration will meet to discuss the future of the program next week. Full press release here: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/news/2022/12/3/rose-hulman-announces-cancellation-of-2022-23-womens-basketball-season.aspx

As always, be sure to read The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops each day, right here on the D3hoops.com Daily Dose. Have a great Sunday.

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: December 2, 2022: Business as usual in the world of D3 women’s hoops

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It was business as usual in the world of D3 women’s hoops last night. The Top 25 teams took care of business, and the rest of the “favorites” did the same, with no large-scale upsets coming about, a stark difference from the way Wednesday night went. And that’s a good sign. As much as I enjoy the fact that on any given night, “anybody can beat anybody”, it is good to see a level of consistency as we approach the one-month mark of the season. Most teams are close to one-third of the way through their schedules, and after nearly two full months of practice, are finding their rhythms.

Friday’s slate has the potential for another night of Top 25 teams going undefeated, but it won’t be easy. For one thing, Babson has a test tonight in Bridgewater, MA…

Game of the Day: #17 Babson (4-0) @ Bridgewater State (6-1), 8 pm EST

Babson has started off well, but so has Bridgewater State, and this is a big one for both teams, as it should increase each of their the non-conference SOS numbers. BSU’s offense looked good in Tuesday’s 95-91 win over Mass-Dartmouth, with Kylie Grassi and Sydney Bradbury forming a scoring duo that tallied 47 points. But they’ll be up against a strong test tonight, as Babson’s defense has not allowed more than 69 points in a game, and limited opponents to 28.2% from the field this season. Expect a game decided by single digits, with the score getting into the high-60s, maybe 70s.

Thoughts…

  • Top 25 teams went 2-0 last night, with #6 Smith pulling out a 66-55 win over Eastern Connecticut, and #24 Hardin-Simmons taking down LeTourneau, 81-52.
  • Bench production is something I always try to pay attention to, as it is a good indicator of the depth of a team. Smith’s Ally Yamada came off the bench last night, scoring 16 points in 26 minutes on 4-of-6 three-point shooting. Also worth a mention, MIT’s Elise Harvey had 12 points off the bench in MIT’s 82-77 overtime win at Worcester State, and Mary Washington’s Sydney Sherman scored 18 in just 23 minutes, making all 10 of her free throw attempts as Mary Washington rolled to victory.
  • Speaking to that same point about individual performances, forward Jordan Ouellette played a full 40 minutes in the win for St. Joseph (CT) and Mitchell, scoring 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting and added eight rebounds.
  • My game of the day, between ETBU and McMurry, was very competitive through the first half, with ETBU leading by just three, 34-31, at halftime. But ETBU held nothing back in the third quarter, outscoring McMurry 24-8 in the third quarter, as the Tigers ran away with a 76-51 victory. McMurry, now 6-1, has started very well as I said yesterday, and the Warhawks proved they could play with one of the ASC’s top-level programs last night, even leading 18-12 after the first quarter. ETBU, having to replace a number of key players due to graduation, has continued getting solid contributions from Jade Goynes and Bridget Upton, who each scored in double figures.
  • There was a conversation on Twitter yesterday in regards to the Coast-to-Coast Conference, which is an eight-team conference comprised of schools in 7 different states and all parts of the country. Due to this set up, very few conference games are played, though the conference does have an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. Why not? The C2C meets the requirements set forth for an AQ, but I can understand the argument from the other side too; the side that says the C2C having an AQ is somewhat unfair, considering the lack of conference games, and that the C2C teams should be forced instead to vie for a Pool B bid. It is definitely an intriguing situation, but we must remember that it is the coaches of those programs who are forced to schedule nearly triple the number of non-conference games as most teams across the country. Their job is not easy. Potentially something could be worked out to increase the number of conference games within the C2C during the regular season (thus making scheduling a little easier on the coaches and adding some confirmation to the C2C getting an AQ) though finances become a factor there as well. For the time being, the C2C has an AQ. And to be honest, whichever conference CNU plays in, there’s a good chance they will win the league title, so it’s really not all that controversial. Unless the NCAA changes its AQ requirements, there’s no reason for the C2C to change its way of life. Just my $0.02. So the question is, should those requirements for an AQ be changed?

With that, I’ll end it here. Lots of great action set for tomorrow, but there will be some great games out of this slate tonight as well. Enjoy the action, and as always, feel free to leave a comment, question, or feedback in the comments section below.

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: December 1, 2022: Conference openers did not disappoint!

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Welcome back! Plenty of thoughts for you on last night’s action, but first, the Game of the Day…

Game of the Day: ETBU @ McMurry

I have to venture down to my home state for this one on a fairly light night for ranked teams. Neither of these two are in the Top 25, but nonetheless, there’s a few storylines here. One being that McMurry is 5-0, the program’s best start to a season in I don’t know how long. Th Warhawks will face an elevated level of competition in this ASC opener, but are on their home court, and it might be their biggest test of the year so far. ETBU has won its last four, after opening the year with a loss to CNU, three of those victories coming on the road. We’ll see how both teams fare. I haven’t gotten a good look at either squad yet, so I’m interested to see what has been working for each team.

Thoughts…

  • The much-anticipated duel between #1 Hope and #15 Calvin certainly lived up to the expectations, as Hope came out with a 62-56 win. It’s hard to describe, but just by watching it, you can tell that is what good basketball truly is. Both sides were exceptional defensively, and yet it showed just how good each offense was, to find scoring opportunities despite the intensity opposing them. Hope did a nice job of keeping pressure on the ball, which led to 21 turnovers, and Calvin defended the three-point arc very well, holding the Flying Dutch to a 4-of-20 mark from long range. Ultimately, it was visible, as it always is, just how much this rivalry means to both sides. Each team had thoroughly prepared, and it showed. Also, thought it was notable that neither side went deep into its bench, instead relying on a small rotation. For Hope, that was just eight players, and Calvin played just one more, with nine.
  • UW-La Crosse hosted #9 UW-Whitewater in a key WIAC battle, as Whitewater was looking to rebound from the Calvin loss and UWL attempted to keep its undefeated record alive. What played out was a fantastic chess match of sorts in La Crosse, as Whitewater won by the low score of 58-53. Whitewater shot 41.5% from the field, 50% from three-point range, compared to a 28.8% shooting mark, and 7.1% three-point mark for UWL. So what kept the Eagles in it? They got the free throw line. When shots aren’t going down, the free throw line becomes your best friend, and UWL found ways to get there frequently, making 18-of-24 attempts. Maggie Trautsch was very impressive for Whitewater. She has a good feel for the game, and shoots the ball with a lot of confidence. Had 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting last night.
  • Staying in the great land of Wisconsin, #12 UW-Eau Claire was given all it could handle by UW-River Falls, on UWEC’s home court. The final was a 74-71 win for UWEC, but UWRF deserves a ton of credit. Down by 19 in the third quarter, the Falcons stormed back, cutting it to single digits early in the fourth then all the way to two. The shots just didn’t fall at the right times for UWRF late in that one, as UWEC kept its lead intact…barely. Just like in football, you never know what you’re going to get from the WIAC on any given night. Nobody has an easy victory in this league.
  • Speaking of ranked teams battling in close games, #13 Mary Hardin-Baylor trailed Schreiner by six with under five minutes left, before slowly chipping away, leading to Catherine Kaiser’s layup with three-tenths of a second on the clock that broke a 61-61 tie. Great resilience by UMHB, who overcame a cold shooting night, and I’m also impressed by Schreiner’s play as of late. A team that uses a pressing defense, the Mountaineers had won three of their last four entering last night, and also lost to #24 Hardin-Simmons by just four at HSU back on Nov. 12. Pay attention to Schreiner in the SCAC.
  • Getting back to the WIAC, be sure you’re paying attention to what head coach Kelly McNiff and her team from UW-Platteville is doing. At #19 UW-Oshkosh, UWP came away with a 60-35 win behind a huge second half. Very impressive effort from UWP, who had great bench contribution, and came up with 25 turnovers.
  • Loras is probably one of those unranked teams you should keep an eye on. I’m not sure if they have a Top 25 resume just yet, but it possible they will if they can keep this momentum going. At home last night, Loras took down a solid, yet somewhat struggling Coe squad, 58-53, moving to 4-1 overall, 2-0 in ARC play. Honestly, it looked like Coe might pull this one out, leading by two as the fourth quarter began. But Loras outscored Coe 24-17 in the final quarter.
  • Augustana looked really good in its CCIW opener against Wheaton last night, fighting for a 65-63 overtime win. I like what I’m seeing from Augie as of late, now 6-1 overall, and 1-0 in the CCIW. The Vikings shoot the ball so well (41% last night), and demonstrated tremendous poise down the stretch in what should give them some momentum heading into the duel with Millikin on Saturday.

I’m going to stop there! But the bottom line is there was a ton of great basketball last night, and so many impressive performances, both from teams and from individual players. That’s what conference play will do…it just elevates the intensity all the way around. Feels weird to be writing about conference play on December 1, but here we are. Whether a game is played on November 30 or February 15, every contest in conference play counts once it comes to tournament selection time. Hope you are doing well! Enjoy the start to the final month of 2022!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 30, 2022: The Rivalry tips off tonight…

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Today marks a game that you’re not going to want to miss. It’s known simply as The Rivalry, and holds such a distinction, because, of all the rivalries in D3 hoops, this one has achieved a reputation, on both the men’s and women’s side, as being one that entire alumni bases seem to turn out for, great teams play in each season, and a significant amount of school pride on the line. Of course, I’m talking about Hope and Calvin. It’s the game of the day, and ever since I saw a tweet from Hope last night, proclaiming that it was 24 hours until tip-off, I’ve been excited. More on that below…

Game of the Day: #1 Hope @ #15 Calvin, 7:30 pm EST

This matchup, even in November, holds plenty of significance for both teams. For one thing, Calvin will be on its home floor, and provide a favorable backdrop for the Knights, who look to continue the momentum after taking down #9 UW-Whitewater on Saturday. Hope also needs this win, as it might just be the toughest test the Flying Dutch will face in the entirety of MIAA play. Stopping Gabby Timmer, Calvin’s talented preseason All-American forward, will be the No. 1 objective for Hope. If they can do that, chances of victory likely improve significantly. Plus, this is the first game in MIAA play! It feels way too early for Hope-Calvin. But here we are…

Livestream Link: https://www.youtube.com/@CalvinKnights

Keep an eye on…

#9 UW-Whitewater @ UW-La Crosse, 8:00 pm EST

John Carroll @ Denison, 5:00 pm EST

Wittenberg @ Capital, 7:00 pm EST

For a complete schedule, visit D3hoops.com.

Thoughts…

The biggest game of the night was the Top 15 duel between #14 Ithaca and #8 Scranton. Scranton seemed to have the upper hand all the way through, and emerged with a 74-53 win, in an impressive performance that solidified the Lady Royals’ standing as one of the nation’s Top 10 teams. The win is significant considering we as voters did not have a whole lot to go on when figuring out where to rank Scranton on Monday, considering the Lady Royals really didn’t have any notable wins within the first three weeks of the season. This was Scranton’s first test, and by my grade, they passed with flying colors. They were 7-of-17 from 3-point range, and had two 20-point scorers in Bridget Monaghan (20 pts) and Kaci Kranson (24 pts).

Western Connecticut State has now won three straight, after taking down St. Joseph (CT) in overtime last night, 65-63. WestConn is playing good basketball right now, and will be a contender in a very deep Little East Conference. They trailed 29-24 at halftime, but a Malaysia Dingle three-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation sent it into an extra period. I was impressed by the play of forward Katelyn Fanning, who had 13 points, 15 rebounds and four assists. She is a do-it-all type of player for WestConn.

Emmanuel definitely gave #7 Amherst a run, though the Mammoths pulled it out, 58-53, staying perfect at 5-0. I’ll say this though, Amherst’s defense did not look good down the stretch. And neither did the offense. Emmanuel finished the game on a 19-4 run, but simply ran out of time for the comeback. So takeaways from this one were…Emmanuel is once again going to be competitive in the GNAC and the offense that put 104 points on Brooklyn this past Sunday might be the best offense Amherst has faced so far…and to its credit, Amherst made the plays necessary to stay in front, especially in the first half. It’s also surprising that Amherst continues to keep such a tight rotation, but it’s been what’s worked for Coach Gromacki for quite some time. Only eight saw the floor last night for the Mammoths.

An All-Region/All-American candidate to be paying attention to is Rochester’s Katie Titus. A D-II transfer who is a graduate student at Rochester, she is averaging 19.5 points per game through Rochester’s first four contests, and had 21 last night against Keuka. She is 38.7% from 3pt range and 53.8% from the field. Plus, she’ll be facing great competition in the UAA this season.

That’s all I have for today. Be sure to tune into a game or two tonight. You won’t regret it. Great basketball is being played across the country, and many conferences are tipping off tonight, adding an extra level of excitement and intensity to the mix. It’s a great day for D3 hoops!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 29, 2022: The Week 1 Top 25 has been released!

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Welcome back to another edition of The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops! The much-anticipated Week 1 Top 25 poll was released yesterday, and I’ve included some notes below on that. To check out the complete D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, click here. As a , voter, I also broke down my ballot in an article here. But before getting to that, there is a Top 15 matchup you should be sure to tune into this evening…

Game of the Day: #14 Ithaca @ #8 Scranton, 7 pm EST

This will be not only the game of the day, but certainly one of the best games of the week, as we should see Scranton truly tested for the first time this season, while Ithaca is seeking yet another big win, after beating Cortland and Catholic in the last three weeks. Bridget Monaghan leads Scranton’s offensive attack, as 12.8 points per game, though first-year head coach Ben O’Brien has four starters averaging double figures in points. Ithaca can score too, and is averaging 65.0 points per game, behind the emergence of freshman Zoraida Icabalceta (11.0 PPG, 7-of-12 on 3pt) and senior forward Emily Dorn (12.0 PPG).

Some Top 25 Thoughts…

  • To start off at #1, I’m surprised that Hope was not a unanimous top pick. The Flying Dutch picked up 21 of the 25 possible first-place votes, but NYU had three and Transylvania had one. I just don’t see. Not yet, at least. Neither Transylvania nor NYU has beaten a team even close to the Top 25 this season. Hope has wins over #12 UW-Eau Claire, and a strong Illinois Wesleyan team, who received votes in the poll.
  • I understand that Smith was #7 in the preseason, and they are certainly a talented squad. But moving them up to #6, after barely beating Maine Maritime and Trinity (CT) in overtime is not something I would have expected. Time will tell with Smith.
  • Calvin had an incredible 48 or so hours. The Knights did not land on anybody’s preseason ballot, but after coming up with a two-point win over #9 UW-Whitewater (at the time ranked #4) on Saturday, Calvin found itself at #15 when yesterday’s ranking was released. The MIAA will be an intriguing conference to watch this season.
  • Rochester joins the club of being a team with zero preseason votes who ended up in the Top 20, coming in at #18. Consecutive wins over Messiah and St. John Fisher, teams ranked in the preseason who have now dropped out of the poll, certainly helped Rochester’s case. In a stacked UAA, they will have a great schedule to build their SOS, and also contend for the league title.
  • UC Santa Cruz made it debut in the poll, coming in at No. 22 with a 7-0 record. That is a big accomplishment for a team that seemed to be on the fringe of the Top 25 for most of last year.

Notes from around the division…

  • The biggest game yesterday was between DeSales and #25 Messiah, in which DeSales left no doubt in a 61-35 victory that saw its starting five account for all but seven of its points. I did not have DeSales in my ballot, in large part because I wanted to see how the Bulldogs fared against Messiah. You don’t anticipate seeing wins, even in November, by that margin between ranked teams. DeSales entered the Top 25 at #23, but ballots were submitted a few hours prior to tip-off. I anticipate the Bulldogs sliding up at least a few spots as long as there are no hiccups in the first two games of MAC Freedom play.
  • Alma took a three-point lead into the final quarter, and gave Capital all it could handle. But Capital put 23 points on the board in the fourth, winning on Bri O’Connor’s buzzer-beating jumper, as the Comets won 65-64. It was a great effort from an Alma team now 1-5 overall, while Capital is 4-1. Very exciting game down the stretch.
  • We had two postponements yesterday, one in which a reason was stated, and one in which it was not. Oglethorpe was scheduled to play Emory tonight, but “due to injuries and illness” the game was postponed, and will be rescheduled, according to a tweet from Ogelthorpe women’s basketball. Wentworth was also scheduled to play Dean, with both teams posting “gameday” announcements yesterday morning, before Wentworth released a tweet just after noon, saying simply: “Tonight’s women’s basketball game against Dean has been postponed. A make-up date, if available, will be announced.” Two postponements on the same day is not something we see all that often, though in D-III, where programs sometimes carry roster of only 10 or 11, a few players being out could risk injuring or overplaying the remaining healthy players available.
  • I received a message about McMurry in the American Southwest Conference yesterday from a loyal reader. Even as someone who covers the ASC, I had not noticed McMurry’s 5-0 start. Perhaps because the Warhawks aren’t exactly a team that has contended for titles in the ASC in a quite a long time. To put the 5-0 start into context, McMurry was 3-20 last season, so head coach Drew Long is doing something right. The university removed his interim tag following last season, and that will be a turnaround story to keep an eye on as the year progresses.

That’s all for today…but the plan is to have more notes and news in tomorrow’s post. Until then, enjoy your day and feel free to leave a comment with any questions or thoughts you might have.