D3 WBB Daily (1/29/24): Recapping the weekend's biggest games
Welcome to another Monday! Hope everyone’s week is going well so far. I just wanted to recap some of the big storylines from this past weekend’s games, especially as we look towards the month of February and the closing weeks of the regular season. It’s hard to believe the season has gone by this fast, and that the NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced exactly four weeks from today. Let that sink in! I’ve got a new Top 25 ballot to submit, but first here’s a few of my thoughts on the way the weekend unfolded…
Tipping Off
NYU has solidified itself as the nation’s #1 team
It is not often we see Top 10 matchups in conference play, but that’s what we got yesterday, as #1 NYU hosted #9 Emory in a UAA showdown. It didn’t take long for NYU to take control. The Violets were up 23-4 after the first quarter, and never really struggled en route to a 74-41 victory. It certainly wasn’t the type of back-and-forth game I was expecting, but it definitely told us something about NYU, considering Emory is the highest-ranked opponent the Violets have faced so far this season. It isn’t even that Emory played poorly, as much as NYU was lights-out on both ends of the floor. The efficiency seems to be at a major high for the Violets, who shot 46% from the field, and 7-of-15 from 3-point range in this one, while winning the rebounding battle by +15. I would have to think that NYU playing that well against such a top caliber opponent will earn the Violets a few more first-place votes in tonight’s D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. And at the same time, Emory shouldn’t drop much, if at all, in the rankings. We’ll get another matchup between those two in Atlanta this coming Sunday.
Carroll’s road win at Millikin makes it clear Carroll is a Top 20 team
The CCIW continues to get more and more interesting. It’s clearly a three-team title race, and the common results are all mixed up at this point. Elyce Knudsen became Millikin’s all-time leading scorer Saturday, but Carroll emerged as the victor, sweeping Millikin in the season series with an 80-75 road win. Impressive stuff from Carroll right there, especially considering the fact that just three days prior, the Big Blue dispatched a very talented Illinois Wesleyan squad by a not-so-close 94-77 result. So…Carroll swept Millikin this season, but Millikin swept IWU. And to complete the circle, IWU swept Carroll. Not much help when you’re trying to put together a Top 25 ballot, but it should make the CCIW Tournament very interesting, and that league is very likely to get two Pool C bids this season.
As for the Millikin/Carroll game itself, 69% of Carroll’s points came from the production of two players: Olivia Rangel, who scored 30, and Emilie Wizner, who had 25. That is an impressive scoring duo and they’ve been consistent throughout this season. While both teams shot above 40% from the field, Carroll held Millikin to a 2-of-17 mark from 3-point range, which proved key down the stretch. The Pioneers entered the 4th quarter trailing by two, but outscored Millikin 31-24 over the final 10 minutes.
Multiple OTs in multiple games in the NESCAC?!
Not one, but two NESCAC games went in multiple overtime periods on Saturday, which gave us some pretty thrilling finishes as you can imagine. In double-overtime, Amherst took down Trinity (CT), 68-66, winning its second-straight league game. With 15 seconds left, Kori Barach connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer that put Amherst in front, 67-66, and Trinity missed two shots in the final 10 seconds as the Mammoths sealed the win. Amherst held a nine-point lead at halftime, but the Bantams put together a solid second-half and forced the game into OT. A low-scoring first overtime saw both teams combine to shoot 2-of-12 from the field, which sent it into a second OT that really challenged both teams’ fatigue and depth. Remember, NESCAC teams play twice each weekend in the span of 24 hours, which makes it even tougher to compete well in a 2OT situation.
But they didn’t just play two overtime periods in Middlebury, Vermont. They played three. And Middlebury walked away with a 90-82 win over Tufts, fighting through the first two OTs before controlling the third OT. The Panthers outscored the Jumbos 12-4 in those final five minutes, and get this: Middlebury hadn’t beaten Tufts since Jan. 21, 2006! Talk about breaking a lengthy losing skid. Augusta Dixon had the big stat line for Middlebury in the monumental victory: 35 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 assists, in 49 minutes. Wow!
OAC title race a little more interesting with Capital’s win
Capital pulled off a surprise on Saturday, beating Baldwin Wallace, 72-64, at home, and suddenly, the OAC race is a little bit tighter. Only one game keeps BW ahead of Ohio Northern, and Capital and Marietta are now tied for third at 9-3 in league play. Adding to the significance of the win for Capital is the fact that it marks the Comets’ first win over BW since the 2015-16 season, and came on the heels of a disappointing 54-36 loss at Wilmington on Wednesday. The key for Capital seemed to be its fast start, jumping out to a 22-13 lead through one quarter. For an upset bid, I think that’s a key element; opening the game with noticeable confidence that translates to early separation. Bri O’Connor was efficient for Capital as well, scoring 18 points on a 5-of-10 shooting day, along with a 6-of-6 mark at the free throw line and four rebounds. There is only three weeks left in the regular season before the OAC Tournament rolls around, and with this league especially, you just never know what might happen. BW is certainly the frontrunner, but who knows what will happen over these next few weeks?
Fast Breaks
Going back to Carroll’s win over Millikin, it snapped a 21-game home winning streak for Millikin, while simultaneously giving Carroll its 10th 15-win season in program history (credit Carroll Sports Information for those stats).
Texas Lutheran swept its season series with Colorado College in SCAC play, handing Colorado College only its second loss in league action, and putting Trinity (TX) solely in first place. TLU’s 59-51 win gives the Bulldogs a third-straight win over CC, marking the first time that has happened since the 2018-19 season.
Pacific emerged with a huge victory over #22 Whitman on Saturday, 54-52, as the Boxers remained tied with Willamette for first in the NWC. Whitman, on the other hand, is just 6-4 in the league and will almost certainly be unranked in today’s Top 25 poll.
Congratulations to Trinity (TX)’s Josie Napoli, as she reached the career 1,000-point mark this weekend. She’s currently averaging 15.9 points per game and had 27 in the win over Austin College on Friday. Remember, if you know of a new 1,000-point scorer in D3 women’s hoops, be sure to email me at rileyzayas@gmail.com.
I mentioned the triple-overtime duel between Middlebury and Tufts, but we had another triple-overtime contest on Saturday in the Midwest as well. Elmhurst went on the road and beat Carthage, 91-88, as the Blue Jays have now matched the combined win total from each of the previous three seasons. Great job there by first-year head coach Jason Pruitt.
Looking Ahead
Not much on the slate tonight, but here are the four scheduled games:
Grace Bible at Carlow, 6 pm ET
Pratt at FDU-Florham, 6 pm ET
Wentworth at Lesley, 7:30 pm ET
Lakeland at Alverno, 8 pm ET
Also be sure to catch Hoopsville tonight, as I know Dave has a great show lined up. You should be able to find it here (https://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/index) once it starts around 7 pm ET. I’ll work on my Top 25 Ballot Breakdown as always, and have that out tomorrow morning. Have a great start to your week!