December 22, 2022: Trinity takes down Puget Sound, Babson escapes with 1-point win
We’ve arrived at the final day of D3 women’s hoops action before a four-day break for Christmas, and just four games are being played today. There were several notable results from yesterday’s action that I wanted to touch on in today’s article, but let me first say that Trinity (TX) did a very nice job of bringing two quality teams in Mary Hardin-Baylor and Puget Sound to San Antonio. It produced three high-quality games and head-to-head matchups between Top 25 teams only help us better understand where several of these teams are at about two months into the season. Kudos to all three programs for making that event happen. Hopefully we continue to see more of that in years to come as coaches schedule better and better.
We anticipated Trinity (TX) and Puget Sound playing in a really tight game, and that’s the way it went yesterday in San Antonio, with Trinity winning 78-69. That said, Puget Sound will rise in my ballot with the way the Loggers performed over the last two games against top quality opponents in Mary Hardin-Baylor and Trinity. But Trinity looked really impressive, especially in the fourth quarter yesterday, outscoring PS 24-12. PS actually led 58-54 after three quarters, and seemed in good position to spring the upset. However, Trinity just has so many weapons on the court, and once a few shots went down, the Tigers had no trouble taking the lead and extending it, closing the game on a 6-2 run. They also played their best defensively in that final quarter, holding PS to a 3-of-14 shooting mark. At this point, I don’t see anyone left on the schedule, except Schreiner, who will be able to go toe-to-toe with Trinity. The SCAC is theirs to lose.
Hanover nearly handed #9 Babson its second straight upset loss in Florida, leading by two through three quarters and 61-56 with 3:07 left. Babson just couldn’t score, no matter how hard they tried. But slowly the Beavers’ offense pulled even with Hanover, and Megan Bauman’s three-pointer put Babson in front with about two minutes left. The game went back and forth, but ultimately, Hanover struggle to convert down the stretch, and down one with under 15 seconds left, they missed two shots in a row, as time ran out on the upset bid. I can’t see voting Babson any higher than #15 or #16 in the next poll. Hanover is a good team, but are by no means on the level of “elite”. And you have to factor in that Christmas is a few days away and people want to get back home. But that was not a 9th-ranked caliber performance.
Our only overtime game of the year yesterday came in the duel between UT-Dallas, out of the ASC, and Austin College, out of the SCAC. AC is winless, but put up a tremendous fight against a UTD team that should finish in the top half of the ASC. The ‘Roos looked good as the fourth began, leading 39-33, but slowly the Comets (similar to Babson) chipped away at the deficit, eventually tying it with about four minutes left. I thought the defense from both teams looked fairly solid for most of the game, but AC’s defense collapsed in overtime. The ‘Roos definitely had less depth than the Comets, and it seemed to show in the extra period, with UTD outscoring AC 10-2, for a 55-47 win. UTD has had a fairly good start under first-year HC Joe Shotland. I’m looking forward to seeing how they navigate ASC play.
Randolph-Macon had a great week in Florida, taking down UW-Oshkosh and St. Norbert on consecutive days in Dayton, and has now won seven of their last eight. Yesterday’s win over St. Norbert was an eye-opener, considering it was a 12-point win. Catherine Kagey is an All-Region-type player, who stepped up once again yesterday with 22 points and 16 rebounds. She very well could be the ODAC Player of the Year, and at this point, could lead RMC to a conference title. The Yellow Jackets my favorite to win the ODAC right now, just based on the 10-2 start to the season. No team in the conference has two better non-conference wins than RMC.
Those are a few of my thoughts from watching yesterday’s relatively small slate play out. I do not believe we will be doing a Top 25 poll this week, with Christmas being Sunday, but I’ll put out my new Top 25 at some point in the next couple days. Considering several teams didn’t play this week, it won’t be the easiest Top 25 I’ve put together this season, but I feel pretty good about the schematic ranking I put together after yesterday’s games. So stay tuned for that. Have a Merry Christmas and a great rest of your week overall.
As always, I’m always willing to answer any comments/questions/thoughts/feedback either on this platform or via email, at rileyzayas@gmail.com.