February 18, 2023: The upsets that were...then weren't + NESCAC Tournament starts today

Well, last night didn’t have the NESCAC in action, but the UAA certainly made up for that, with three phenomenal games across the country, as well as a near-shocker in the SCAC. Ultimately, this was a night of upsets that weren’t, as you’ll see here in a second, along with an upset that did end up as a final score. And overall, it was just a fun night to be covering and watching D3 women’s hoops.

• What do I mean by “upsets that weren’t?” Well, let’s start in the SCAC, where Texas Lutheran had #4 Trinity on the ropes all the way down to the final buzzer. Wow, was that a game. It was 23-22 at halftime, the product of a lot of poor shooting on both sides, but some tenacious defense at the same time. TLU was aggressive on the offensive boards, and ran a front court trap that was fairly effective. In fact, TLU ended up outrebounding Trinity by +2 on the offensive glass, and won the overall rebounding battle by +9. That’s not a number you see very often. Trinity somewhat pulled away in the early minutes of the 3rd quarter, but then TLU was right back in it, and refused to go away. It was tied at 59 with under 10 seconds on the clock, TLU seeming like it would wait for the final shot. But Trinity forced a turnover and Maggie Robbins came up with the game-winning layup with just over 3 seconds left. Trinity escaped a massive upset right there, especially considering they were playing at home, which would’ve made the impact of a loss that much worse. Definitely some areas to clean up in the next week or so.

• That wasn’t the only upset that slipped away. Carnegie Mellon led Chicago by 11 at halftime, 44-33, in a game AT Chicago. CMU maintained its lead for much of the second half, though the Maroons fought back incredibly hard over the final two quarters, refusing to go down easily. It set up a game-tying layup for Mallory Brodnik with a second left in regulation that tied the score at 68 and sent the contest into OT. CMU just didn’t have enough, and Chicago had the momentum by that point. The Maroons outscored CMU 16-10 in the extra period and prevailed, 84-78, despite being outrebounded by 12 and shooting just 33%. Credit to Chicago for the comeback, credit to CMU for playing such a complete game.

• Emory had NYU in a tight spot for most of the first three quarters, but NYU opened the 4th on a 13-5 run, taking an 8-point lead. NYU led by as many as 10 points with 4 minutes left, but Emory didn’t back away, scoring 8 points in the span of a minute, getting within 5. Morgan Laudick’s 3-point cut NYU’s lead to just 2, and though Emory had a 3-point look with 15 seconds left, the shot didn’t go down. The Violets prevailed 64-60, but it was incredibly close in Atlanta. NYU now sits alone atop the UAA because…read below.

• Case Western Reserve did pull off the road upset in UAA action, however, shocking WashU, who was undefeated at home, 61-57. It was a back-and-forth contest, though Case made its move in the 3rd, coming out of the locker room with an unmatched intensity. The Spartans outscored WashU 14-2 in that quarter, looking especially poised on both ends of the floor. WashU just didn’t have an answer offensively. It was very interesting, because then in the 4th, WashU bounced back like nothing had happened, putting 24 on the board. It was just a couple minutes too late. Isabella Mills was terrific for Case, with 27 points and 16 rebounds. That’s a D3hoops.com Team of the Week-type stat line right there.

• The UEC race might not be one a lot of people are following, but the league’s top teams battled last night, and it was Morrisville State who came out with the 10-point win at St. Mary’s (MD) on the road. In a one-bid league, getting the #1 seed is huge, and it appears with the regular season sweep of St. Mary’s, Morrisville State has accomplished that. Cara Walker will be a name to remember, especially if Morrisville State reaches the NCAA Tournament. She put up her 13th double-double of the season with a 24-point, 16-rebound performance. Impressive.

• I caught a few minutes of the Defiance vs. Bluffton rivalry battle, which went into 2OT with Defiance winning, 85-82. I bring it up, not because it had any real national impact (neither team is even in the HCAC title conversation with conference records of .500 or below), but because it showcased what D-III hoops is all about. It’s why most of us, whether we are fans, media members, coaches/administrators, or student-athletes, got into this in the first place. The stands were packed…the students were there…and they were excited to be there! After the win, a number Defiance students (or at least that’s who I perceived they were) ran onto the court, to celebrate with the team. The atmosphere was there, and the emotion from both teams could certainly be felt. More than the final stats, the game illustrated what is so special about college sports, and D-III in general. It’s about a community and a university rallying behind its team, especially in those rivalry matchups that matter so much each year, regardless of if both teams are undefeated or winless. There was such a great level of excitement that could be seen, even just through the live stream, that I thought it deserved a shout-out. It was great finish too, with Cait Good converting on the go-ahead layup with just nine seconds left in double OT for Defiance.

Alright, what’s on tap for today? Well, let’s take a look!

• Mary Hardin-Baylor battles Hardin-Simmons in a key ASC matchup. The Crusaders absolutely need a win here to preserve any chance of a Pool C bid, which is still a possibility, even at this point. HSU is seeking to go undefeated in conference play, and with a win, would complete the ASC schedule at 18-0. I’ll reach out to the ASC and see when the last time was that a team went through the conference schedule undefeated. Would have to think the last time might be the Howard Payne squad from 2007-2008 that won 33 straight games. 2 pm EST tip in this one.

• #20 Wartburg visits #24 Loras. Wartburg won the first meeting, and with Loras at home, the Duhawks will certainly be looking for some sort of revenge here. Don’t think this is the last time we see these two battle. The ARC Tournament plays out next week. This is a must-see matchup, quite possibly the best one of the day. 3 pm EST tip-off.

• The NESCAC begins its conference tournament today (which seems crazy) with its quarterfinal matchups. Postseason play is here! And yet with all the other great regular season finales on the slate, it might be overlooked a little bit. But there’s a ton of great matchups here this afternoon. Teams are playing with their seasons on the line, which often tends to bring out the best. Here’s the quarterfinal schedule (all game tip at 2 pm EST, find live stream links on D3hoops.com):

  • #8 seed Bowdoin at #1 seed Tufts

  • #7 seed Bates at #2 seed Williams

  • #6 seed Amherst at #3 seed Trinity CT

  • #5 seed Hamilton at #4 seed Middlebury

That’ll wrap things up for this post…check out the full slate of games on D3hoops.com! Have a great Saturday…I’ll check back in soon.