Tag Archives: Puget Sound

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: Loras pulls off the upset, Top 25 showdowns go down to the wire

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December 21, 2022

Welcome back! Pretty exciting day in D3 women’s hoops yesterday, with games from mid-morning until late in the evening. And there were several that you couldn’t help but be on the edge of your seat as you watched the final quarter unfold. Here are a few of my thoughts from watching yesterday’s action, along with a big-time game to be looking ahead to today…

  • All these holiday tournaments make for some very early tip-off times, such as TCNJ’s battle in Puerto Rico with Susquehanna yesterday morning that began at 9 a.m. here in the central time zone. It was a nice win for TCNJ, who I think could be a viable contender in the NJAC, especially with NJ City struggling quite a bit at this point.
  • A game that I thought might have had the chance to turn out close between Loras and #9 Babson turned out to be nothing of the sort. Instead, Loras ran away with it, taking down a previously undefeated Babson team, 73-52. Loras has been on my watch list for a couple weeks now, and if you remember, this is not the first time the DuHawks have come up with a big win. They also took down UW-Eau Claire two weeks ago, which remains UWEC’s only loss of the season. Loras seems to have the right mix of guards and forwards who each contribute on both ends of the floor. Both Sami Martin and Silvana Scarsella had 20+ points in yesterday’s win. With that win, I’d think Loras has to enter the Top 25 conversation.
  • The first matchup involving two Top 25 teams came in #20 Puget Sound’s 59-58 win over #16 Mary Hardin-Baylor. Played on a neutral court, this had the feel of an NCAA Tournament game, and was back-and-forth in nature the whole way. UMHB led 59-58 with under 20 seconds to go, but PS inbounded the ball, dribbled around, and eventually found Grace Pytynia-Hillier, who drove to the free-throw line, and put up the game-winning shot with a tenth of a second left on the clock. Her shot won the game for PS, while UMHB lost its second straight. Regardless of the outcome in today’s game for PS against Trinity, this was a big-time resume-building win for the NWC title favorite.
  • The second matchup came on the west coast, as #18 UC Santa Cruz hosted #21 UW-Whitewater. There was a lot on the line for both teams, as I mentioned in yesterday’s write-up, and both teams played like it, with Whitewater pulling out a 61-60 victory. I thought a few too many fouls were called on plays that were borderline questionable, but hey, what do I know? Whitewater erased a two-point deficit and took a two-point lead in the span of less than 30 seconds, as Yssa Sto. Domingo came up with all four points. UCSC did a good job on the offensive end to get back into it after falling behind early, and shot 6-of-11 from 3-point range in the game. But down the stretch, with All-American Kaylee Murphy having fouled out for UCSC, Whitewater found a way to score at the right times.
  • Wartburg bounced back from a really rough showing against Scranton Monday and battled #10 Trine extremely well in Florida. But Trine emerged with a 60-56 win, keeping its win streak, now at six games, alive. Defining stat in this one was the rebounding totals: Trine outrebounded Wartburg 44-29, which is a huge margin for a four-point game. A few more offensive boards, and Wartburg could’ve been in a different position. What I will say though is that Wartburg gave up 13 offensive rebounds, but Trine scored just six points on those. Not a bad defensive showing. Still trying to figure out where Trine stacks up with the Top 15 or so in the nation.
  • Cortland beat Dickinson in what could actually be a win over a regionally-ranked opponent for Cortland, depending on how things shake out once regional rankings are released in February. Dickinson is a solid team, 4-1 right now in the Centennial Conference, but Cortland is also playing very well, at 9-2. The 63-54 win saw Cortland shoot 47% from 3-point range, and they held off an 18-9 run from Dickinson to close the game. Cortland is certainly in the national conversation, with its only losses coming to Ithaca and CNU, along with notable wins over Hamilton and SUNY Geneseo.
  • Key game today: #20 Puget Sound at #3 Trinity, 4 pm EST: This is a big one, and undoubtedly a result we will still be talking about come Selection Monday in March. PS has momentum after beating UMHB less than 24 hours ago on that game-winner, while Trinity has had a day to prepare and rest, not to mention playing on its home court. Both teams run a full-court press, so this will either be a game in which multiple players go for 20+ points, or a game where we see both sides turn the ball over about 20 times. It’s really a 50-50, and I think whoever executes better defensively comes out with the win. Massey matchup tool has Trinity winning 72-70…you don’t want to miss this one! Brian Yancelson has the call (and does a great job) on Trinity’s Tiger Network: https://www.youtube.com/@trinityuniversity/streams

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.

Moving from 3 to 1

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When George Fox head coach Scott Rueck accepted the top post at his alma mater Oregon State, he became the second coach this offseason to make the jump directly from Division III to Division I head coach. Vermont selected Lori Gear McBride of Colby to be its next women’s basketball coach in May.

The contemporary standard bearer for making that jump successfully is UW-Madison coach Bo Ryan. Ryan won four national titles with UW-Platteville and then moved to UW-Milwaukee before taking over the Badgers. At a lower profile Tony Shaver has done a nice job developing the William & Mary program since leaving Hampden-Sydney. Glenn Miller went from Conn College to Brown after leading the Camels to the Division III national semifinals. Miller did well at Brown, winning more games in his first six years there any previous Bears coach. Then he moved to Penn where he got fired after a 0-7 start to last season.

Here’s how some others have fared recently:

* Division I Bucknell likes them some D3 coaches. That’s understandable since Pat Flannery, who took over the Bison program in 1994, won 234 games there. Flannery arrived in Lewisburg after winning the national championship with Lebanon Valley that same year. So when Flannery retired in April 2008, Bucknell picked another Division III coach as his successor, Williams Dave Paulsen. Paulsen hasn’t taken the Bison to the same heights yet. They went 7-23 in Paulsen’s second season and 14-17 in the second.

* Speaking of the Patriot League, Stefanie Pemper left Bowdoin after a long, successful run in Maine for slightly warmer climes in 2008 when she became the head coach at Navy. The Mids have turned things around nicely under her, from 7-23 pre-Pemper in 2007-2008 to 16-15 post-Pemper in 2008-2009. Navy sustained that momentum last season by going 17-14.

* Around the same time as Paulsen’s and Pemper’s moves, Don Friday made the jump from Lycoming to St. Francis (Pa.). He took over a Red Flash program that had won just 18 games in three seasons. St. Francis kept slogging at that pace with a six win campaign in 2008-2009 but nearly doubled the win total last season by going 11-19.

This is far too small a sample to make any generalizations but it does highlight a couple things.

First, has any Division III coach made as big a jump as Rueck? Not to denigrate the Ivy League, Patriot League, American East or NEC, but they aren’t on the same level athletically as the Pac 12, um 10, er whatever. To give you a sense of scale how big the jump is, George Fox spent $81,909 during its undefeated championship run in 2008-2009 according to Federal government data. Oregon State spent five times as much – $419,465 – in a season where the Beavers went 20-12.

How will Rueck’s style translate at that level? Apparently he had the same question before taking the job. According to The Oregonian, Rueck called Oregon State football coach Mike Riley who also coached in the NWC at Linfield. Riley’s words encouraged Rueck to make the jump. An OSU assistant baseball coach who is also a former George Fox coach says, “”If you can coach at D-III you can coach anywhere.”

What happens to the teams these coaches leave behind? It’s a mixed bag. The Williams men reached last year’s national championship game post-Paulsen. The Bowdoin women aren’t as dominant as they used to be, but that may have more to do with GP Gromacki’s arrival at Amherst than Pemper’s departure. UW-Platteville and Hampden-Sydney aren’t as successful as they were under Ryan and Shaver, but they are competitive in really tough leagues. And Conn College has not fared well in the NESCAC since Miller left.

As for George Fox, having a roster with young talent, including freshman phenom Hannah Munger, certainly won’t hurt. Nor will it hurt that Puget Sound, the Bruins closest rival, will be going through a similar process after head coach Suzy Barcomb left for Division II. That’s the recipe for sustaining the success that Rueck established at George Fox over the short term. Choosing the right head coach to replace Rueck will go a long way toward sustaining it over the long term.