5 games to watch on today's slate
With conference races heating up, which matchups stand out on this Saturday in late January?
Welcome to another huge day in the world of Division III women’s hoops! We’ve got a large slate on games on the final weekend of January, with conference races really heating up at this point. As I do every Saturday, I put together a look of my Top 5 games to watch and some storylines within those matchups to keep an eye on. Additionally, there’s a quick look at how yesterday’s action unfolded, including NYU’s performance at No. 24 Carnegie Mellon and a couple upsets in the southeast.
**All times listed are Eastern Time**
No. 8 Gustavus Adolphus (15-1) at Concordia Moorhead (11-5) | 2:00 p.m. | Concordia is a different team now than they were a month ago. Gone is the team that dropped four straight from Nov. 26-Dec. 7. That has been replaced with a group that is 9-1 in its last 10, 6-3 in the MIAC, and climbing back to where many of us thought they would be in the preseason. Gustavus bounced back from the Bethel loss with a 16-point road win over Hamline on Wednesday, and the Gusties are still a Top 10 team. They’re 7-0 on the road, and the experienced starting lineup won’t be phased in the slightest by the long trip to Moorhead. While Gustavus is fairly secure in its tournament odds at this point, this game is essentially a must-win for Concordia to preserve an outside chance at a Pool C. My Pick: Gustavus Adolphus
No. 19 UW-Whitewater (13-4) at UW-La Crosse (10-7) | 4:00 p.m. | Another Top 25 team hits the road at an unranked, yet perhaps underrated, conference opponent. UWL might be 2-4 in the WIAC, but the Eagles have shown they’re capable of winning big multiple times this year, with victories over Bethel and Concordia (MN) in non-conference, and a 64-59 win over UW-Stevens Point two weeks ago. The Warhawks walk in with back-to-back wins after dropping three straight, and seemed to have figured some things out. Kacie Carollo remains the focal point of the offense, averaging 19.5 PPG, and it really seems that this will come down to how Carollo matches up with the UWL defense. The Eagles are fairly connected on the defensive end of the floor, but have struggled with consistency, particularly in previous matchups against the top half of the league. My Pick: UW-Whitewater
UMass-Dartmouth (14-2) at Bates (10-7) | 2:00 p.m. | Yes, Bates is 0-4 in the NESCAC. No, the Bobcats are not a team you should be counting out. There’s no question that it’s been a rough go for Bates since January began, but with Alexandria Long, Elsa Daulerio, and Sarah Hughes, they have a talented trio capable of beating a lot of teams. That includes Mass-Dartmouth. D3Datacast actually has Bates as a slight favorite at -1.0 (73-72 projected final score), with the Bobcats playing at home. That said, UMD is 14-2 for a reason. No team in the country has as much experience on the roster as the Corsairs do. They’re also the only team to have beaten Smith this season. Aside from two December losses, it’s been relatively smooth sailing for UMD, and I look forward to seeing how they handle the road atmosphere of Alumni Gym. My Pick: Mass-Dartmouth
Union (10-6) at RPI (10-6) | 2:00 p.m. | Union is on a roll. The Garnet Chargers took down Vassar in a noteworthy upset on Friday night, 60-49, paced by 18 points from Jelena Perovic. At 7-2 in Liberty League play, Union is only a half-game back from first place behind Ithaca, having won six of its last seven. RPI is a bit further down in the Liberty League standings, at 4-5, but the Engineers beat Coast Guard early in the year, took Ithaca in OT, and lost by just three against Ithaca last night. There’s no doubt that RPI will challenge Union, and the Engineers are actually 1-point favorites in the D3Datacast’s game projections. My Pick: Union
Williams (11-6) at Middlebury (13-4) | 3:00 p.m. | This is going to be the biggest NESCAC game of the week. Middlebury needs to keep winning to stay inside the at-large bid cut line, and Williams really needs to do some work to get closer to a favorable at-large spot (currently would be No. 32 in Pool C if the season ended today). Both teams have a lot to play for from that standpoint, not to mention the NESCAC standings situation. Middlebury trails Bowdoin and Colby by a half-game at 3-1, with Williams one step behind at 2-2. The last time these two met, Alexa Mustafaj torched the nets for 33 points in an 84-43 win. I don’t see that happening this time around, at least from a score differential standpoint. Williams is much better this year, still led by Arianna Gerig but with more scorers around her, including first-year Micah Walton (10.9 PPG). This could end up being high-scoring if both sides shoot it to the level of which they capable, and remember, neither of them played last night. A standalone NESCAC weekend means the focus throughout the entire week has been on this one matchup, which will definitely play into things from a depth and game-planning perspective. My Pick: Middlebury
Is there another game you’ll be paying close attention to this afternoon/evening? Have picks for the five games above? Put them down in the comments section of this post!
Highlights from Friday’s action
Top-ranked Violets surge past No. 24 Carnegie Mellon: When you shoot above 60% for three of a game’s four quarters, good things usually happen. NYU was fantastic on offense all night against the 24th-ranked Tartans, leading 54-27 at halftime and shooting 58.5% for the game. It added up to a 91-62 victory, marking the fifth time in the last six games in which NYU has scored 90+. And three of those contests were in UAA play. Not only are they creating in-rhythm shots through their ball movement on offense, but the Violets separate themselves by actually knocking down a high percentage of those open looks, especially from 3-point range. NYU was 12-of-25 from beyond the arc at CMU, allowing the Violets to quickly pull away in the opening quarter.
Emory’s comeback lifts Eagles to big win over Chicago: Down 41-38 entering the fourth quarter, Emory controlled much of the final 10 minutes, outscoring Chicago 14-6 down the stretch of a 52-47 win in UAA play. For an Emory team that had struggled at points this season, taking down Chicago, who was 12-2 overall entering the contest, provided a surge of momentum. While neither side was especially potent on offense last night, Emory turned the ball over four fewer times, winning the points off turnovers, 13-9. Hanna Malik had 16 points for Emory in addition to 15 off the bench from Lily Kennedy.
Rhodes’ upset of Oglethorpe: Rhodes didn’t just upset Oglethorpe on Friday night. The Lynx ran away with it starting in the second quarter, winning 72-52 at home in an SAA result most didn’t see coming. While Oglethorpe was 1-3 against SAA competition entering the matchup, those losses had come against the top of the league in Millsaps, Berry, and Centre. But Rhodes, 5-12 overall this season, came away with the stunner, leading 36-19 at the half as the Lynx also outscored Oglethorpe in the third and fourth quarters. Avery Marsh put up 20 points and 8 assists in 37 minutes, guiding Rhodes’ offense to its first 70-point output since Jan. 8.
Brockport keeps rolling through the Empire 8: Brockport’s first season in its new league may also turn into one of its more memorable seasons in recent memory, as the Golden Eagles have gotten off to a 7-0 start in E8 play. Three other teams are also sitting at 7-0 right now, so Brockport has plenty of competition for that top spot. But last night’s win over Houghton is noteworthy, because even though Houghton hasn’t quite reached expectations within league play so far, they’re still 13-3 overall and a tough out. In the 73-67 victory, Brockport overcame a -15 rebounding differential, shooting 41.2%, which was aided by 17 fast-break points. The Golden Eagles had 21 points off 18 Houghton turnovers and are honestly looking like the E8’s most formidable offensive team at this point.
Linfield (15-2 and just off a 17 point win at Whitworth, even without a couple starters)
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Whitman (15-1, and ranked #6)
doesn't make your 5 games to watch on today's slate?
The 5GTW really is a tough nut to crack . . .
P.S. Thanks again for your coverage of D3 women's hoops. Enjoy reading your stuff.