D3 WBB Daily: Stout wins first WIAC Tournament game since 2019, high-level NJAC semifinals ahead today
The WIAC quarterfinals are in the books. So are the UEC and AEC quarterfinals. And the GNAC Play-In Round. The SAA, HCAC, and NESCAC Tournaments already started this past weekend and we have officially reached conference tournament time.
Over the course of this week, we will get to just 64 teams still standing by the time Sunday night rolls around. When you think about that, it really puts this week into perspective. It feels like just the other day, we were talking about preseason expectations. Now, we’re seeing the season end hundreds of programs across the country. Every day this week, teams are playing in must-win games, and that makes this week a ton of fun to cover and follow.
Tipping Off
WIAC Tournament: UW-Stout, 70, UW-River Falls, 54
UW-Stout lived to fight another day inside Johnson Field House in Menomonie, Wis. last night, despite a serious push from River Falls who trailed by only a single point, 25-24, at the half. Stout, as I mentioned yesterday, had to have a win in this quarterfinal matchup to keep its Pool C hopes alive in Region 9, and the Blue Devils did exactly that, outscoring UWRF 25-12 over the final 10 minutes in a 70-54 victory.
It marked Stout’s first WIAC Tournament win since Feb. 20, 2019, when the Blue Devils took down UW-Platteville, 81-69, in a quarterfinal. It is a huge accomplishment for this team, who turned things around in such an impressive way after struggling for several weeks in January with five straight losses.
Stout moves on to play second-seeded UW-Whitewater on the road on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. and split the season series with the Warhawks, 1-1. Stout won the most recent meeting, 69-60, on its home court on Feb. 3.
Coming into the game, I thought it was pretty critical for Stout to limit UWRF’s 3-point opportunities, considering the Falcons have been effective from beyond the arc this season. Stout did exactly that, especially in the 2nd half, and limited UWRF to a 5-of-21 day from 3-point range.
Lexi Wagner has really stepped up for Stout as of late, and has established herself as a scoring threat. The mid-year transfer was 5-of-9 from 3-point range last night, and scored 22 points in the win.
UWRF’s loss ends a storied WIAC career for Macy Nilsen, who tallied 12 straight double-digit scoring performances to close her career. The fifth-year senior averaged 14.8 points per game over four seasons with the Falcons.
WIAC Tournament: UW-La Crosse, 81, UW-Platteville, 71
With six scorers in double figures, UW-La Crosse went on the road as the No. 5 seed and handed fourth-seeded UW-Platteville a season-ending loss. It was an impressive showing from La Crosse, whose inconsistencies have made the Eagles a tough team to count on at times. But the team that showed up in Platteville was clearly there on a mission and took charge after the first quarter ended tied at 22. La Crosse outscored Platteville 23-16 in the second, before Platteville won the third quarter, 21-16. Leading by just two entering the final 10 minutes, La Crosse took a similar path to Stout and jumped out to a 7-0 run. That momentum swing seemed to give the Eagles control, as they secure a semifinal spot.
The win marks head coach Moran Lonning’s first WIAC Tournament win, as she is in her first year at the helm of the program.
Interestingly, it also marked the second time in the last three years that La Crosse beat Platteville in the opening round of the WIAC Tournament.
We’ve seen the offense in spurts for much of this year, but La Crosse kept its rhythm going all game, and ended up shooting 50% from the field, scoring 40 points in the paint.
31 points came from the bench, including Lindsey Knuth (12), and Madisyn Kilboten (11).
Kailee Meeker led the way with an 18-point performance for La Crosse and also led the Eagles in rebounds, with 7.
La Crosse moves on to face top-seeded UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT on the road.
Other tournament notes
If this isn’t a perfect example of how conference tournaments go…A week ago, Colby-Sawyer beat Regis in OT, 80-76. And then last night, Regis turned around and beat Colby -Sawyer, 60-32! It wasn’t even close as Regis controlled the third quarter and gained separation, winning in the GNAC Play-In round, and advancing to a matchup against St. Joseph (CT) tonight.
Our closest game of the day saw Notre Dame (MD) keep its pursuit of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances alive in a 65-61 win over Cairn in the UEC Tournament. It gave Notre Dame its 20th win of the season in the process and came down to the wire, with Cairn converting on two free throws with 11 seconds left, cutting the deficit to two, before Notre Dame came through with a pair of key FTs on the other end, and sealed the win.
That wasn’t the only four-point game. PSU-Abington advanced past Gallaudet, also in the UEC Tournament, 91-87, in a high-scoring battle, as Abington advanced to its division final for the first time since 2015. Abington won as the No. 3 seed on the road and picked up its first win over Gallaudet since 2020.
The “best quarter of the day” belongs to St. Elizabeth, who took down Bryn Athyn in the UEC Tournament, 56-51 (again, some more press for the UEC!). Trailing by four entering the fourth, St. Elizabeth put up 28 points in the final 10 minutes, and outscored Bryn Athyn by nine. It marked the second straight year in which the Eagles beat Bryn Athyn in the postseason.
Other resources/coverage worth checking out
D3 hoops guru Bob Quillman continued his rapid production of exceptional Q-Cast episodes yesterday, sitting down with Millikin’s standout scorer, Elyce Knudsen. From the topic of how she ended up playing college hoops rather than college softball, to Millikin’s CCIW Tournament game today against Elmhurst, it was an outstanding conversation with one of the best players in D3 basketball right. Give it a listen here!
The D3hoops.com Conference Tournament Tracker is available to keep you informed and up-to-date, especially on a day like today, when we have 53 games playing out. Check that out here: https://www.d3hoops.com/seasons/women/2023-24/conference-tournaments/index
NJ.com wrote a great feature on NJCU’s Damaris Rodriguez (subscription required) and her legendary career with the Gothic Knights: https://www.nj.com/hudson/2024/02/damaris-rodriguez-looks-to-add-to-legendary-career-at-njcu-with-another-njac-title.html
Today’s action
Conference Tournaments playing tonight: ASC, ARC, CCIW, CCS, Commonwealth Coast, Empire 8, GNAC, ODAC, Landmark, MIAC, NCAC, NJAC, OAC, PAC, AMCC, MASCAC, Centennial, Liberty League, CUNYAC, Skyline, USAC, LEC.
Game of the day: #3 seed Kean at #2 seed NJCU (NJAC Tournament)
In a one-bid league like this one, a duel between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds is huge. With neither team in Pool C contention, both are literally playing with their seasons on the line, and the NJAC has been a deep league this entire season. Kean is the No. 1 scoring offense in the league while NJCU has the conference’s most dynamic scorer in Damaris Rodriguez. The teams split the series this season, 1-1, with Kean winning the first by a single point, and NJCU taking the second by just four. This is going to be a good one.
Potential for an upset? #1 seed TCNJ vs #5 seed Ramapo (NJAC Tournament)
Yes, I know I’m taking two games from the same conference. But in terms of potential top seeds falling, this might be the best chance to see that happen tonight. Don’t get me wrong…TCNJ has been terrific for much of this season. But the Lions have struggled against Ramapo this season, losing the first meeting at home, 67-58, and winning the second, 74-68. Interestingly, Scott Peterson’s model has TCNJ with a projected resume of 103 overall while Ramapo’s is 288th overall, so this would definitely be considered an upset if Ramapo pulled out a win. TCNJ is certainly the favorite, but this should be a very competitive NJAC semifinal.
Have a great rest of your day and best of luck to everyone taking the court tonight! I’m looking forward to seeing how these quarterfinal and semifinal matchups play out!