Colorado College torches nets early in 23-point win over UMHB
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Yesterday's slate of games may have been small, but there were certainly some notable results in the western half of the country
If Colorado College was looking for a way to make an early statement on Friday afternoon, the Tigers found that from beyond the 3-point arc. It seems you couldn’t write up a better quarter, at least offensively, than the one CC put together against Mary Hardin-Baylor in the Tigers’ eventual 81-58 win. They opened the game with an 8-2 run in the first 63 seconds, and couldn’t miss from 3-point range, knocking down 10 3-pointers in the game’s first 10 minutes. The Tigers were 11-of-17 from the field in the opening quarter and raced out to a 34-17 lead. By halftime, the advantage was 51-33.
UMHB, who was 3-0 entering the contest, struggled to recover, and the Tigers kept the pressure on, outscoring The Cru in all four quarters. We saw CC’s full arsenal of scorers displayed. Zoe Tomlinson, who rightfully attracts a lot of attention as a fifth-year senior and preseason All-American, put up a 19-point, 16-rebound double-double. Kayla Mackel had 20 points in the first half alone, and finished with 25 for the Tigers. Laura Strenk shot an efficient 5-of-6 from the field, scoring 13 points. Shooting 12-of-22 from 3-point range as a team is tough to do, especially when you consider UMHB’s defense was allowing an average of 43.3 PPG coming into the matchup. CC managed to surpass that average in the first two quarters.
Having watched CC against Gustavus Adolphus and UMHB, both teams I value highly, I’m pretty convinced that the Tigers are worthy of a spot in my Top 25 ballot. The way they move the ball on offense, especially against a zone, creating wide-open 3-point shots and lanes to drive to the rim is impressive. Multiple times against UMHB, CC used cross-court passes within the halfcourt offense, challenging UMHB’s zone defense, which helped produce some of those early 3-pointers. Defensively, they’re very good as well, particularly in closing out and denying 3-point looks. This is definitely a team to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
Redlands, 70, Willamette, 49
A tale of two halves for Redlands
» If you compared the halftime score and the final score, you’d likely end up doing a double-take to make sure you were looking at the same game. That’s how drastic the swing was between the first two quarters and the latter two on Friday afternoon in Salem, Oregon.
» Willamette kept Redlands contained in the opening half, as the Bearcats looked strong on both ends of the floor. Willamette led 35-28 by halftime, aiming at its second win of the season.
» But Redlands had other plans and came out of the intermission with intent. The Bulldogs completely reversed the game’s course, starting with a 21-8 third quarter that resulted in Redlands’ claiming a 49-43 lead. And the fourth quarter was even better for the Bulldogs, who dominated in the final 10 minutes, scoring 21 of the final 27 points en route to a 21-point victory.
» Redlands was 5-of-6 from 3-point range and 14-of-27 from the field in the second half. The Bulldogs also had 17 offensive rebounds in the contest, leading to 20 second-chance points.
Clark, 66, CMS, 63
Clark survives tough West Coast test, now 7-1 this season
» In a rare Massachusetts vs. California D-III matchup, Clark (#94 in NPI) overcame a tough start at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (#163 in NPI) to win in narrow fashion.
» With 2:26 to go, CMS’ Renee Chong scored on a layup coming out of a timeout, giving the Athenas a 63-62 advantage. The game had swung back and forth the entire evening, with that score providing the sixth lead change. But then Clark’s defense kicked in. CMS was held scoreless for the remainder of the fourth, going 0-for-6 down the stretch of the final 2:07.
» It took Clark a while to score, however, and the Cougars still trailed by the same score with under 20 seconds. But a clutch jumper from Cyriah Coleman with 13 seconds left was exactly what Clark needed on a must-score possession. Kailey Rios added a pair of free throws after a CMS turnover, and while Chong had a chance to tie it from 3 at the buzzer, the final shot was too strong and bounced off the back iron.
» Clark was led by Coleman, who had 18 points, and Catherine Antwi, who played 30 minutes off the bench, and scored 17 points.
IWU’s Kate Palmer joins the Q-Cast
» Kate Palmer, who had 22 points in the eighth-ranked Titans’ win at No. 4 UW-Whitewater on Tuesday, joined Bob Quillman on the Q-Cast Friday afternoon. Palmer is averaging a team-high 15.8 PPG along with 2.5 RPG.
» On UW-Whitewater’s run to take the lead in the fourth, and IWU’s response: “I think looking from the outside in, there was a lot of panic. But we talked about it as a team, and coach said it herself, that we never felt the panic…After the season we had last year, we learned from it. All of the losses we had, where we were right there in games we should’ve won. That’s been another big goal this year; we’re going to finish that out.”
» On IWU’s competitive edge: “I think that’s part of what makes us who we are. On the defensive end, I think that’s really shown. We’ve had huge improvements, especially in the halfcourt side of defense, and I think that’s because we’re so competitive, we want to win, and we know those improvements have to be made.”
» On facing a tough non-conference schedule: “We’re very fortunate to those types of teams…[Coach Mia Smith] always says, ‘that’s who we want to play.’ We want to be in those close games and be able to prove ourselves. In the end, that’s the only way you are going to really prove yourself, is by playing those teams that are highly-recognized.”
» Check out the full episode below!
Today’s Games to Watch (all times ET)
UW-River Falls at No. 19 Hope, 3:00 p.m.
Cal Lutheran at No. 18 Whitman, 4:00 p.m.
No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan vs DePauw (Midwest Challenge), 5:00 p.m.
No. 23 Concordia Moorhead at UW-La Crosse, 7:00 p.m.
Hey Riley - Thanks for the recognition of CC Women's Basketball. We chatted at the beginning of the season about CC and their chances of making the top 25 at some point this season. The team is playing really well despite some injuries, but it's a solid starting five and all of these girls play the game the right way. It's a fun team to watch. As you might have thought, my daughter plays for the team, she is #23 (Isa Nelson) and the CC basketball community is excited for this team and their chances for a first ever bid to the tourney. It's all about staying healthy with this group. Enjoy the articles on D3 hoops and appreciate what you do! Eric