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The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: Previewing today’s must-see matchups

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December 9, 2023

Riley Zayas

We’ve arrived at the final big-time slate of games until we reach the final couple days of December. A large number of programs will take a break from games for finals and the holidays after this, so this is the last opportunity we have to see several of these top-tier programs in action for a couple of weeks.

Taking a look at the schedule, 19 members of the D3hoops.com Top 25 are in action today, and we have a number of pretty intriguing matchups, even in games involving one ranked team and one unranked team. So here are a few games that stick out to me on today’s slate, with tip-off times listed in eastern time. and rankings from the D3hoops.com Top 25 listed (when applicable) in front of the team’s name.

Messiah at #22 Mary Washington | 1:00 p.m. | Messiah struggled earlier this week against DeSales, but has a great opportunity to get back in the win column against a talented Mary Washington squad. Led by versatile guard/forward Jordan Carpenter, Mary Washington is 7-1, with the only hiccup having come in an overtime loss to Randolph-Macon. Last Saturday’s 67-60 win over Marymount was a notable victory for the Eagles, but perhaps Messiah would end up being a better quality win when this season is all said and done. Mary Washington still doesn’t have a strong win on its resume up to this point, which is one of the reasons I have not had them on my Top 25 ballot. Messiah will certainly be a good test, and Messiah comes into this game with a 5-2 mark. The Falcons will need a solid defensive effort to pick up a road win here, and they are certainly capable of that. Excited for this one.

Univ. of New England at Bates | 1:00 p.m. | Bates has been really impressive out of the gate, as the Bobcats are 7-1. They struggled against Bowdoin on Monday, but bounced back to edge a good Colby team (who has beaten Babson and MIT), 55-54, on Wednesday. UNE is 6-3, and has been inconsistent throughout those first nine games, with some very favorable wins and a couple of not-so-great losses. So I don’t know what to expect from this one. Interesting factoid for you, though…these two teams have played 10 times since the 2009-10 season…and never has one team won consecutive meetings. Bates won in OT, 86-85, the last time they played in 2018-19, so UNE is a due for a win this time around!

Dickinson at Johns Hopkins | 2:00 p.m. | I had JHU in my Top 25 this past week, and have been really impressed by the Blue Jays’ start to the season, with a 7-1 record and wins over WashU, Marymount, and Gettysburg. But Dickinson has also shown some really good stuff in this early part of the schedule, having battled Elizabethtown well in the season opener, and beaten Muhlenberg (who previously beat DeSales) on the road, 51-44. I know Dickinson didn’t look very good against Gettysburg earlier this week, but don’t count the Red Devils out. They have an effective defensive approach that should challenge JHU a little bit, especially in the opening two quarters.

Ithaca at SUNY New Paltz | 2:00 p.m. | Wanted to quickly mention this one, as it is a Region 3 matchup that could have some interesting regional ranking implications. Head-to-head wins in-region are very valuable, and both Ithaca and New Paltz have an opportunity for a H2H win over the other this afternoon. Ithaca is off to a 6-2 start, but really doesn’t have a top-quality win on its resume yet. And New Paltz is 5-1, with a notable win over Vassar (who beat Ithaca, 76-68, not too long after losing to New Paltz).

#16 Tufts at #1 NYU | 3:00 p.m. | NYU has been pretty much everything we expected the Violets to be, with incredible depth, talent, and significant margins of victory. But Tufts is the toughest opponent NYU has faced as of yet. The Violets dispatched MIT and Johns Hopkins fairly convincingly, so they have that in their favor, but Tufts matches up better against NYU in my opinion. Maggie Russell is fantastic, especially on the offensive end, but Samantha Sousa has really stepped up and is averaging 13.3 points per game right now. Sofia Gonzalez is another strong contributor, and between Sousa and Gonzalez at guard and Russell at forward, NYU will have its hands full on the defensive end. NYU certainly has enough depth to beat pretty much anybody in the country, but All-America transfer Morgan Morrison did not play against Connecticut College last Sunday, so keep an eye on her status. She has the ability to completely change a game, and if she is available, the Violets become even more of a favorite to win this matchup. Really excited to see how this one unfolds!

#9 Millikin at Carroll | 3:00 p.m. | The CCIW is a fantastic league this season, and Millikin has been so impressive, especially offensively, thus far. Led by Elyce Knudsen (27.4 PPG), this is a Millikin team that is really tough to slow down considering the depth and efficiency with which they play. But Carroll took Chicago in OT and competed well with UW-Whitewater earlier in the year, and averages 13.7 steals per game on the defensive end. I wouldn’t count the Pioneers out, though I certainly think Millikin is playing at an incredibly high level right now.

MIT at #13 Trinity (CT) | 3:30 p.m. | Trinity took a tough loss on Thursday to Roger Williams, but the Bantams are back on their home court and have a chance to head into their winter break on a high note. MIT really showed us what it could do against another high-level opponent last week, winning 66-63 at Tufts. That was huge for the Engineers’ overall resume at this point, and the question will be if they can carry that momentum with them on the road again, facing another nationally-ranked opponent. MIT entered this season with the potential for a strong year and is 5-2 at this point. A win over Trinity just might put MIT into the Top 25, but Trinity isn’t going to let that happen easily. Head coach Emily Garner will have her squad ready, and with the experience on this roster, the Bantams know how to win big games. I won’t be surprised if this one comes down to the final minute or so.

Colorado College at #23 Whitman | 7:00 p.m. | For Whitman to stay in the Top 25, this is a must-win game. And Colorado College is the toughest opponent the Blues have faced. This is a game on Whitman’s home court, but Colorado College, as one of the most remote schools in D-III (as far as proximity to other D-III programs goes) is no stranger to winning on the road. The only two losses the Tigers have suffered this season came against NYU and Tufts on a trip to the northeast, and I would expect that those matchups have helped CC identify some of its weaknesses and correct those moving forwards. The Tigers have one of the most effective post players in the country in Zoë Tomlinson (16.6 PPG, 12.3 RPG), which should aid in the effort. Whitman looked really sharp against Schreiner last night, winning in commanding fashion, 90-44. We’ll see if they can carry that momentum into tonight’s matchup. The Blues are 6-1 overall and certainly the frontrunner to claim the NWC title in a very competitive league up in the northwest.

As a quick reminder, you can find the complete schedule for today’s contests (along with links to the live stats/livestreams) on D3hoops.com.

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The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: What a finish to 2022.

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December 31, 2022

By Riley Zayas,@ZayasRiley

Let me start by saying this. The day that we had in D3 women’s basketball yesterday I can only equate to the feel of an NCAA Tournament slate. We had scores from nationally-relevant games coming in throughout the day, plenty of on-the-edge-of-your-seat finishes, and a good number of unranked teams challenging Top 25 opponents. You really did not know what to expect from one game to the next, and that is the sort of slate we very well may not see again until March. 18 Top 25 teams were in action. Two of them lost, and five won games by less than 10 points. That should give you an idea of the sort of day in was with so much action playing out at one time. I guarantee you that come tournament time, we will still be talking about at least a few of yesterday’s results.

I didn’t know where to start with this, so I figured I should just go from the top…literally.

  • Top-ranked NYU was truly tested for the first time on Friday afternoon, in a 2020 NCAA tournament rematch with Bowdoin that certainly lived up to the hype. It was like a chess match from start to finish, both teams executing their offenses with remarkable effectiveness and poise. Both shot above 40 percent from the field (41.2% for Bowdoin, 49.2% for NYU) and it really came down to a few big forced turnovers from NYU late in the fourth quarter that kept Bowdoin from retaking the lead. Bowdoin turned the ball over twice with less than 1:20 left, but at no point did the Violets fully pull away. The lead changed hands a whopping 36 times and I was very impressed by the way both sides found ways to stay in the game with the pressure mounting. A 16-of-28 performance at the line is something NYU will need to improve on, but overall, the Violets got a very nice showing from Belle Pellecchia, who shook off a disappointing performance at Tufts in mid-December with 22 points. She is once again in the All-America conversation. Sydney Jones had 28 for Bowdoin and all signs are pointing towards her having a huge season for the Polar Bears.
  • Bowdoin’s fellow NESCAC rival Trinity (CT) pulled perhaps the most impressive win for an unranked team on Friday, taking down #13 Springfield ON THE ROAD, 58-45. Winning at Springfield is hard to do, but here’s the stat that jumped off the page in my opinion: Trinity outrebounded Springfield, 52-29. Yes, you read that right. Reilly Campbell and Emma Wax were exceptional on the boards, with 11 rebounds apiece. Springfield had just three second-chance points. When you can do that on the defensive end, you’re going to win nine times out of 10. The defensive effort was what impressed me the most about this big win for the Bantams. We know they can score, but solid defense will take you a long way in a deep conference highlighted by Amherst, Tufts, and Bowdoin.
  • Oh, and it’s probably time to expand the “NESCAC contenders” list beyond those four. Because Hamilton is making waves. The Continentals already boast wins over St, John Fisher and Rochester, and nearly shocked #8 Baldwin Wallace on Friday, falling 72-65. Hamilton actually led (at Baldwin Wallace), 51-50 heading into the fourth quarter. Credit to BW, who really turned it on in a 22-point fourth quarter, but I was very impressed by the way Hamilton approached this game. I had BW #5 in my unofficial Top 25 this past week for good reason, and aside from the Trine game back in November, hadn’t seen the Yellow Jackets tested the way they were Friday. Taylor Lambo had 28 points for Hamilton, 14 in the fourth, in a solid offensive performance. Hamilton gets another shot at a top-level team, when it plays at Ithaca on Monday. They’ll get Amherst and Trinity (CT) back to back on the road come late January.
  • So what did Baldwin Wallace do right? The Yellow Jackets were balanced, and let their depth power them to victory. 12 players played at least nine minutes, and performances like Kira Philpot coming off the bench to score 11 points in 19 minutes really drove BW to victory. The fourth quarter is when things really started to click, but I’d argue the Yellow Jackets’ best run came in the closing minutes of the second, after Hamilton had established a 33-21 lead. BW roared back, mounting an 11-1 run to go into halftime trailing by just two, 34-32. Obviously it would have been a much different story had that run not happened, and BW had gone into halftime down 12, or possibly more.
  • #9 Babson had a bit of an upset scare on their home court against Middlebury (another NESCAC program that could make some waves in conference play), and was tied 42-42 entering the fourth quarter. Babson put 19 points on the board over those final 10 minutes, and held Middlebury to just 10, but it was not a very convincing performance overall from Babson. The Beavers actually trailed 28-20 at the half, and could not really get anything going consistently on the offensive end. They had looks at the rim, but were unable to finish in the paint. 21 turnovers did not help either. We’ll see where Babson ends up in the next Top 25 poll, but I won’t have them in my Top 10. Chances are, this was a bit of the holiday break showing its effects, which is understandable. I’ll be interested to see how they fair against Tufts, Springfield and Hamilton (in that order) in mid-January.
  • Funny enough, for all the great basketball that was played, just one Top 25 vs. Top 25 matchup was on the slate. That was #7 Scranton’s home duel against #19 Tufts, a game that Scranton prevailed in, 68-59. Maggie Russell had 24 for Tufts, but it just wasn’t enough to take down a Scranton team that remains undefeated. Scranton led by a single point entering the fourth, but a 9-0 run created some significant separation. Tufts did not score for the first five-and-a-half minutes of the fourth, which isn’t a stat you want in a Top 25 matchup. Side note: I’ve heard of small rotations but Scranton might have the smallest rotation I’ve seen this season, playing just eight in this one. That says a lot about the stamina of the starting five, four of whom played 30+ minutes. Just six of the Lady Royals’ 68 points came from the bench.
  • In non-Top 25 news, UW-Stout lost its second straight game, as WashU rebounded nicely after a one-sided loss to UW-Oshkosh on Thursday. That looked like a completely different WashU team and I really liked the defensive effort, which didn’t seem to be there in full force against Oshkosh. Stout shot just 25% from the field.
  • Loras didn’t need to do anything else to earn a Top 25 spot in this next poll. Their recent wins alone qualify them for a spot, possibly in the Top 20. We’ll see. But the Duhawks went above and beyond on Friday, completely dominating a UW-Stevens Point team that had wins over UW-Platteville, Millikin, Wheaton and Luther. Loras won 85-58 as Sami Martin put 17 points in the board. Loras has so many scorers, I’m not sure opponents know who to focus on. The Duhawks had five players score in double figures!
  • Concordia-Moorhead is officially on my Top 25 watch list. I would not be surprised to see them challenge Gustavus Adolphus in the MIAC this year. After beating #6 Amherst in double overtime, the Cobbers pulled out a 40-point, 82-42 win over Salve Regina at the D3hoops.com Classic Friday afternoon. Salve Regina is not a great team, but entered the matchup 7-2. The Cobbers filled up the stat sheet, shot 43.3% on 30 three-point attempts, and scored 33 points off turnovers. The ball movement offensively was especially strong, and gave way to plenty of open three-point shots. Remember, this is a team that beat Gustavus Adolphus earlier in the year as well.

Okay, I’ve officially maxed out as much as I can write. And there were still some pretty notable games that I didn’t get a chance to mention, like Claremont-Mudd-Scripps’ OT win over Illinois Wesleyan. That’s the sort of banner day it was for D3 women’s basketball yesterday. A remarkable set of games that I really can’t say enough about. Kudos to all the coaches who have approached these tough schedules head-on. As always, feel free to email me at rileyzayas@gmail.com. Or drop a comment below. I’ll be sure to respond. And while you’re at it, subscribe for free on Substack if you haven’t already! Enjoy your Saturday!

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

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It’s that time of the week! The new Top 25 poll is set to drop sometime this evening, and though several teams were not in action at all over the last seven days, I do expect some slight changes as voters shuffle their ballot around. Though I don’t anticipate many new teams, if any, we should see the order of teams changed from last week’s poll after a handful of notable results, particularly Trine’s win at Hope and Chicago’s win at Whitewater. As I do every week, for the sake of transparency, and for fun, I have broken down my ballot. So here we go…

  1. NYU: Hope’s home loss to Trine on Saturday wasn’t terrible at all, but it was enough for me to move undefeated NYU into the #1 spot. NYU has played a relatively weak schedule thus far, though the Violets looked really good in their win over Tufts on the road, which gives me confidence in them moving into UAA play. 
  2. Hope: While the loss to Trine is disappointing, let us not forget that Hope still has wins over UW-Eau Claire and Calvin. Wins over IWU and Wisconsin Lutheran were notable early on, but with neither of those teams looking very sharp at this point, the strength of those wins diminishes a bit. 
  3. Transylvania: Transylvania stays #3 in my ballot and took care of business on the road at John Carroll on Saturday. We still haven’t seen the Pioneers truly tested in my opinion, and probably won’t until we reach NCAA Tournament time. 
  4. Trinity (TX): The Tigers have a showdown with #15 Mary Hardin-Baylor tonight in San Antonio in a game that will have concluded before this poll is released. But the game will be played after our voting deadline, so that result will factor into next week’s poll. Regardless, Trinity has looked strong throughout this entire year, and has two notable wins over Hardin-Simmons, one of which came on the road. I don’t see anyone, except maybe Schreiner, challenging Trinity all that much in SCAC play. 
  5. Christopher Newport: CNU dominated against Colorado College in Puerto Rico on Sunday, forcing 30 turnovers. CNU looks sharp once again this year, and with UCSC playing great basketball, and Mary Washington also in the mix, the C2C Tournament should be fairly exciting later this year. CNU hasn’t wavered yet, though we will see how the Captains fare against Cortland today on a neutral court. 
  6. Baldwin-Wallace: The 2OT win over Trine is looking especially good now that Trine beat Hope, and that win, along with victories over Wilmington and at Marietta, boost BW’s resume. The Yellow Jackets stay at No. 6 for me. 
  7. Scranton: Scranton’s win over Ithaca seems to be the one that really jumps out, though we’ll see them play Wartburg later today. Again, a lot of key games will be played late today, so we may see some movement come next week as a result of the results from today and tomorrow. Overall, Scranton has looked sharp to me, despite playing a relatively weak non-conference schedule. 
  8. Amherst: The Top 10 didn’t change much for me, as there were few results to go on. Amherst is looking true to its typical form, playing suffocating defense and relying on that to win games. So far, it’s led to a 7-0 record, though the SOS is lacking. Amherst holds just one notable win over Springfield, and that came by four points back on Nov, 15. 
  9. Babson: Babson gets a really nice test against an underrated Loras team tomorrow in Florida, but didn’t play at all this past week. Still, Babson stays at #9 for me this week, still undefeated, with a 7-0 record. 
  10. UW-Eau Claire: I brought UWEC back to No. 10 as I evaluated them further. The SOS number of the Blugolds of UWEC is a lot better (#8 in Massey SOS) compared to a lot of other Top 15 teams. Now, two losses are on their resume, but those were against Hope and Loras, both on the road. Not to mention wins over Wartburg, River Falls and La Crosse, all Top 40 Massey teams (Wartburg and La Crosse are both Top 20). I’ve seen enough to convince me that UWEC is still the WIAC’s best team right now. 
  11. Trine: Taking down #1 on its home court is huge. And that win for the Thunder will be well-rewarded in this poll. I moved them from #18 to #11, and if they continue playing to the level that they did Saturday, they’ll crack the Top 10 soon enough for me. Why aren’t they Top 10 right now? As I mentioned above, I look at this ballot more from a “total body of work” standpoint than a week-to-week standpoint, if that makes sense. Trine’s win over Hope is super impressive, considering I’ve had Hope at #1 this entire year. But, you can’t forget about the losses to Baldwin-Wallace and Ohio Northern, neither of which are bad losses at all, but in my opinion, are worse losses than UWEC’s. Again, this is one voter’s approach, so I have no problem if you don’t agree with my opinion on this. You could make a case for either UWEC or Trine at #10. 
  12. Springfield: At 9-1, Springfield’s only loss remains to Amherst. The Pride took down a solid Albertus Magnus team by 14 this past week, and I like the direction they are headed. Key matchup to look ahead to will be the Dec. 30 duel with Trinity (CT). Very excited for that one. 
  13. DeSales: Still undefeated, but with only one win on a Massey Top 50 team, DeSales is a program I’m paying close attention to. They looked sharp against Messiah back on Nov. 28, but I don’t know when we’ll see them really tested again. I’m a big believer in rewarding strong SOS as compared to just the W/L record, so putting DeSales 13 makes me somewhat uneasy. Time will tell. 
  14. Smith: Smith has the loss to Framingham State, but wins over Trinity (CT) and Bowdoin that look really good on their resume. I slid them up on spot from last week in my ballot, though I figure they’ll likely be ranked a couple spots higher. 
  15. UW-Whitewater: I went back and forth on putting Whitewater ahead of Chicago or not because Whitewater and Chicago have such similar resumes, though Chicago beat UWW on Wednesday behind a fourth quarter comeback. I tend to avoid placing too much emphasis on the head-to-head wins, because I feel you get a better perspective of a team by looking at their complete resume, rather than just one or two games when they really found a rhythm. Still, it helps a lot in these kinds of situations. Chicago’s best wins have come over Carroll (#42), Wheaton (#50), Whitewater (#11), and Wisconsin Lutheran (#86). Whitewater’s best wins are over Millikin (#21), IL Wesleyan (#30), UW-La Crosse (#16), and Augustana (#51). I don’t think the margin between the two is that large, but for now, Whitewater’s best wins more than make up for the two losses in my opinion. 
  16. Chicago: Reference my thoughts above…
  17. Mary Hardin-Baylor: As some of you know, I run the website True To The Cru, covering UMHB athletics, so I’m essentially a beat writer for Crusader sports, and have had several opportunities to see this team in action. I really think they are a Top 15 team, but felt Chicago deserved to move up which bumped UMHB down. However, a good showing in San Antonio tonight and tomorrow, and UMHB might just leap four or five spots up in my ballot since Trinity and Puget Sound are both Top 20 teams. For now, though, SOS-wise, and all things considering with the other teams in my ballot, UMHB is #17. 
  18. Rochester: With Chicago moving up, Rochester, like UMHB, slides back a little bit. I am excited for UAA play to begin, because I think we will have more clarity on both Rochester and Emory by that point. Rochester has some solid wins, having beat Messiah, St. John Fisher, and Ithaca, which gives me a lot of confidence as to how they will perform in a very deep UAA this season. They’re a clear Top 20 team for me.
  19. Puget Sound: The only blemish to Puget Sound’s record is a home loss to Wheaton, who is proving to be a very good team, and the more I watch them play, the more I am convinced PS can win in the NCAA Tournament. They lack strong defense, but can score in bunches and beat Coast Guard by 20 in their lone game of this past week. 
  20. UC Santa Cruz: UCSC moves up three spots in my ballot after shooting the ball very well against Cal Lutheran yesterday in a 75-54 win. The Banana Slugs are set to battle UW-Whitewater tomorrow in what will be a pivotal matchup for us as voters. For now, UCSC is No. 20, but a win tomorrow will put them much higher in my ballot. 
  21. Tufts: Let me make this clear: sliding Tufts down this far won’t be something every voter is doing. Tufts is certainly a quality team. But here’s what concerns me. When Maggie Russell is not on the floor, Tufts tends to struggle in a big way. But from a resume standpoint, I just don’t know. They’ve beaten three Massey Top 100 teams, but zero Top 50 teams, and didn’t look good against Emory or NYU. 
  22. Ithaca: Not much of an update on Ithaca. They don’t play again until January 2. Slightly concerning as that is a long break from their most recent game on Dec. 7. For now, Ithaca stays in my Top 25. We’ll see what the new year brings. 
  23. Hardin-Simmons: HSU drops a little bit in my poll, but not a lot, as the Cowgirls have rolled through their American Southwest Conference schedule. They’ll play Bates on Dec. 29 in Puerto Rico which should be a good resume boost and as I’ve said before, the consecutive losses to Trinity (TX) don’t look great, but I applaud Coach Kendra Whitehead for scheduling that. Her team is certainly better because of it and with PG Paris Kiser back on the floor, HSU is looking sharp. 
  24. Gustavus Adolphus: The Gusties have risen to #6 in Massey’s Ratings, but did not make last week’s Top 25. I’m keeping them at #24, and while Simpson’s continued fall hurts the SOS number a bit, wins over Augsburg, UW-Stout, and St. Benedict look really good right now. I honestly don’t know who in the MIAC will contend with Gustavus Adolphus this season. They’re playing great basketball right now. 
  25. Calvin: Calvin stays in my ballot at #25, though this was a tough one since Millikin, Bowdoin, and even UW-La Crosse are all knocking on the door. But considering Calvin’s two losses are to Hope and Trine, and the Knights have wins over Whitewater and Wisconsin Lutheran (though the latter result isn’t as good now as it was a month ago), there is reason enough for me to say Calvin most certainly deserves a spot in my ballot. 

So there you have it. Some great basketball has been played so far, with a handful of upsets already. And the day is far from over, with a solid slate tonight. Plus, stay tuned for the release of the new Top 25 on D3hoops.com. As always, send your thoughts/comments/questions in, either by commenting below or emailing me at rileyzayas@gmail.com.