D3 WBB Daily (1/7/24): Middlebury upsets Amherst, Oshkosh's defense, Hope keeps win streak alive vs Trine
Recapping an action-packed Saturday in D3 women's hoops
Hope your Sunday morning is going well! We had yet another action-packed day of D3 women’s basketball yesterday, and several results that were especially impactful. I’ll certainly have some work to do on my Top 25 ballot today and tomorrow. As usual, I’m mostly recapping yesterday’s biggest results and storylines, as well as my takeaways on several teams across the country. Have a great rest of your weekend! Top 25 ballot breakdown coming tomorrow morning.
Tipping Off
Team of the Week? Middlebury
The Panthers put together a very impressive 2-0 week in NESCAC play, and beat both Hamilton and #10 Amherst on the road. It is the latter of those two wins, especially, that gives Middlebury this sort of status, as the Panthers went into Amherst’s gym and overpowered the Mammoths. Early into the fourth quarter, Middlebury led 57-43, and never really looked back, winning 76-67 in an upset of the nation’s 10th-ranked team. Amherst was also a perfect 11-0 entering the contest. Middlebury’s offense clicked incredibly well against a staunch and highly-regarded Amherst defense, shooting 47.2% and 5-of-12 from 3-point range. Alexa Mustafaj is one of the NESCAC’s more underrated players in my opinion, and can score so many different ways. She had 33 points in Middlebury’s win over Amherst after scoring 15 on Friday at Hamilton, and continues to be near-automatic from the FT line, shooting 86.7% on free throws this season. Interestingly, Middlebury also opened NESCAC play last season by beating Amherst and Hamilton on the same weekend, but the fact that these games were on the road, and those were at home, adds a lot of value for me.
UW-Oshkosh’s defense is something special
UW-Oshkosh continues to impress me. The Titans have barely played at home this year—Wednesday’s WIAC opener against UW-Whitewater was their first true home game—and that previous road experience through non-conference seemed to help yesterday at #17 UW-Stout, as Oshkosh came away with a 63-58 victory. It went back to Oshkosh’s defensive performance, which was especially prominent in the first half. The Titans did a great job of challenging just about every shot, pressuring and trapping Stout on the wings out of a zone defense. By halftime, UWO led 29-16, having held the Blue Devils to single digits in each of the first two quarters. There’s a reason why UWO ranks No. 1 in the WIAC in scoring defense, as the Titans play very smart on that end of the floor and don’t foul often. This is exactly why I had the Titans in my Top 25 this past week. Exceptional defense is tough to gain, and can be a challenge to maintain, but UWO has done that in just about every game this season. Credit to Stout for fighting back in a 21-13 third quarter, and creating a close finish, as that was great to see from the Blue Devils. But this is a huge win for UWO, giving the Titans a key head-to-head win, not just in the WIAC, but in Region 9, and almost certainly a regionally-ranked win, too. Lots of significance, even in early January, with that big result for UWO on the road.
Talking about road wins…WashU wins at Chicago for 5th straight victory
WashU’s performance on Saturday should hopeful give the Bears a little more attention this week from the Top 25 voters, as they went to Chicago and won 79-69, in a key UAA result. I talked about the significance of this game in yesterday morning’s newsletter, considering the impact it could have on the Region 9 regional rankings, and the intensity and emotion from both teams could certainly be seen. Both wanted a win badly, and it was Chicago who led for much of the game, including 59-50 entering the fourth. But WashU put together one of the best fourth quarters I’ve seen this week, outscoring the Maroons 29-10 over the final 10 minutes. It seemed that just about everyone on the floor for WashU scored at some point in the comeback, as Jordan Rich connected on a couple big 3-pointers, Jessica Brooks sparked the run, and Catherine Goodwin had a few critical shots of her own down the stretch. It was another impressive road win for WashU, who beat Wartburg and Chicago (both on the road) on consecutive weekends. They are playing like a Top 25 team, and have definitely turned the corner at the right time. The Bears have played of depth, quality post presence, and excellent communication on the floor, which all plays into a win streak like this one.
Hope’s free throw shooting helps Flying Dutch to narrow win over Trine
The history between Hope and Trine in MIAA women’s hoops is extensive and has formed a rivalry that certainly brings out the best in both teams each time they meet. There was no shortage of that excitement and passion inside DeVos Fieldhouse on Hope’s campus on Saturday, as #9 Hope edged Trine, 75-74. Jada Garner’s late free throws clinched the victory for the Flying Dutch, as she went 9-for-9 at the FT line in the victory and had 20 points. Trine’s 24-point third quarter put the Thunder right back in contention, down 58-54, entering the fourth. Hope maintained its lead however, and the free throw shooting had plenty to do with it. The Flying Dutch went 27-of-30 at the line, including 8-of-8 in the fourth quarter, and that kind of consistency is incredibly key when trying to hold off a late rally. Trine is a solid second-half team, and we saw that yesterday. But Hope continues to impress by its ability to win in different situations and in different ways, which is one of the reasons the Flying Dutch are a Top 10 team for me.
Fast Breaks
» Congratulations to Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Arieona Rosborough, who surpassed the career 1,000-point mark against UT-Dallas on Saturday. She scored 17 in UMHB’s 83-64 victory.
» Also congratulations to Emory’s Claire Brock, who scored her 1,000th career point in the Eagles’ UAA opener at Rochester. She is a very talented shooter, and had 23 points in the victory.
» Smith and Springfield battled into double-overtime in a thriller that was eventually won by Smith, 72-71. What a game. Springfield’s 28-10 second quarter kept SC in it, though the Pioneers executed well in both overtimes. Smith turned the ball over just 11 times as Jessie Ruffner led the way with 29 points.
» In a pretty critical MAC Freedom contest, Lebanon Valley came away with a 66-57 win over Delaware Valley. This is pretty key in Region 4, because both are likely to be regionally-ranked, which helps DeSales quite a bit. LVC’s win also could put them ahead of DVU in the region, and gives them a much better chance at a Pool C bid, considering LVC would be the first team on the table out of R4.
» Ohio Wesleyan trounced Oberlin in a 79-50 result that surprised me a little bit. Credit to OWU for the big win, but I did not expect that highly-anticipated NCAC matchup to have such a wide margin. Behind DePauw, I think OWU is the clear No. 2 team in the NCAC.
» Illinois Wesleyan’s Lauren Huber is expected to make her return to the court in a 3 pm ET matchup today at Augustana. Should be an interesting CCIW matchup, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the Titans look with Huber back on the floor.
» As time ticked away in yesterday’s WIAC battle between UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls, Platteville’s Barb Kling came up with an incredible, buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Down 71-70, the Pioneers missed a layup but got the offensive rebound and kicked it back out to the perimeter. The ball found its way to Kling, who fired up a 3 in front of the Platteville bench, and gave the Pioneers a 73-71 victory at the buzzer in one of Saturday’s most dramatic finishes. Kling was just 1-of-6 from 3 in the game, but that one proved to be the biggest shot of the day.
Looking Ahead
#21 Tufts at Babson, 1 pm ET
Guilford at #24 Washington & Lee, 2 pm ET
Centre at Millsaps, 2 pm ET
#13 lllinois Wesleyan at Augustana, 3 pm ET