Golden Bears grab yet another marquee road win
Western New England upset No. 20 Rhode Island College on Wednesday night in a 62-55 win that only strengthens the noteworthy resume the Golden Bears have built in just two games
The phrase “road warriors” is seemingly used too often, which dulls the meaning when a team like Western New England comes along. Because the Golden Bears have truly established themselves as a formidable contender away from home, even in this early juncture of the 2024-25 season. Nobody else in the country has knocked off two teams receiving votes in the Top 25, one of which was ranked No. 20, as the road team in both scenarios. WNE is establishing itself nationally already, and we’re not even a full week into the regular season calendar.
The Golden Bears took down Springfield on Saturday, a team that beat them, 74-56, a season ago. They hadn’t won against the Pride since 2018, yet walked away with a 70-63 victory in the birthplace of basketball. And then last night, WNE topped that big win by snapping Rhode Island College’s 28-game regular season win streak. The 20th-ranked Anchorwomen fell, 62-55, in what went down as their first home loss since Nov. 19, 2022.
Coming off a season that saw them eventually finish with a 22-6 mark, a league tournament title, and an NCAA Tournament appearance, WNE appears to be climbing even higher. Beating the nation’s 20th-ranked team on the road as part of a 2-0 start is certainly a big step in that direction.
Look at their starting five and that gives a clue as to why the Golden Bears have shown so much poise in these early high-impact contests on the road. WNE is putting four seniors and a grad student on the floor to start each game, and that includes the stellar trio of Lilly Hedge, Emma Novajasky, and Emma Kahn, who have been so impressive on the offensive end. Against RIC, Hedge had 18 points in 21 minutes, putting up a double-double with her 12 rebounds. And she shot 50% from the floor in the process. Novajasky nearly had a double-double of her own, with 12 points and nine boards, and converted on two key free throws with 33 seconds left to put the game away. Those are winning performances right there.
Even when RIC whittled down WNE’s double-digit lead to three with 3:05 in the fourth, the Golden Bears didn’t let the run continue. Nor did they panic. The experience of the five on the floor paved the way to the win, as Kahn immediately scored to push it back to a two-possession game, and the defense stepped up. RIC shot just 1-of-6 from the field over the final three minutes.
Carnegie Mellon, 80, W&J, 77
Carnegie Mellon clinches third-straight win as Tartans keep strong start intact
» Head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller’s time at CMU has started quite well, as the Tartans are 3-0 for just the second time in the last six seasons. That has included back-to-back victories by a combined seven points (vs PSU-Behrend, 78-74, vs W&J, 80-77).
» It was a battle down to the final buzzer, even as CMU held a 61-53 lead entering the fourth. W&J, unwillingly to fade over the final 10 minutes, instead sprung to life in the final five, putting together a 5-0 run that cut the Tartans’ lead to two. Then came CMU’s surge, extending the margin to seven with 2:30 to go, then again with 1:34 left.
» But even after that, W&J’s Jaden Wan made two free throws, cutting it to 76-71, then Wan came up big again, connecting on a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left off a CMU turnover. That made it a one-possession game, and twice more over the final 20 seconds, W&J cut the deficit to three, only to have CMU widen it again. A pair of missed FTs by CMU with 5 seconds left gave W&J one last chance, but the Presidents failed to get a good shot off, falling narrowly in a solid effort.
» Catherine Or and Anisha Chintala put CMU in good position for success, with each playing 35+ minutes and contributing on both ends of the floor. Or had 22 points and Chintala added 19, as the Tartans shot 43.1% from the field.
» Wan, a 5’10 guard/forward, really kept the Presidents in it on the offensive end, as the sophomore tallied a career-high 23 points, with eight of those coming in the final 10 minutes.
» CMU gets its next big test at Denison on Nov. 23, likely to be one of the Tartans highest-leverage non-conference games of the season. W&J, who played well on Wednesday night and is 2-1 with a Top 25 win over Baldwin Wallace, has a week off before PAC play tips off on Nov. 20.
Cortland beats Ithaca, 65-60
In the midst of Cortaca Jug Week, Red Dragon defense lifts Cortland to a notable win
» Cortland kept pace with Ithaca through the first two quarters, but never gained firm control, and trailed 32-31 at the half. Then the Red Dragons seemingly switched gears, pushed on the acceleration pedal, and scored 21 points in the third, while holding Ithaca to 10. That run seemed to ignite Cortland’s charge, and even as Ithaca came back to tie the score with 5:10 left, the Red Dragons never found themselves trailing.
» In fact, Ithaca converted on just one shot over the final five minutes, a 3-pointer with 2:01 left that briefly cut the deficit to two. Cortland maintained its advantage by staying locked in defensively, as Ithaca shot 29.7% in the second half.
» Kayla Campbell was Cortland’s go-to contributor in the win, shooting 6-of-11 with 19 points. That included a 3-of-5 mark from beyond the arc.
» Interestingly, each of the last four meetings between these two programs have been decided by single digits. Wednesday’s win for Cortland was the program’s first at Ithaca since Dec. 1, 2009.
Emory, 70, LaGrange, 66
Emory survives near-upset at LaGrange
» LaGrange’s third-quarter performance was the turning point after a fairly solid first half from Emory that saw the Eagles lead 40-32 at halftime. In the third, LaGrange outscored Emory, 17-6, tying the score with 1:58 in the quarter, before taking a 47-46 lead with 33 seconds on the clock.
» With 1:08 left in regulation, Zhyia Johnson, who had a stellar night shooting the ball, converted on a short-range jumper for a 64-62 LaGrange lead. Daniella Aronsky then tied the score with 29 seconds left, and while LaGrange had a chance to win it with just a couple seconds remaining, Britney Chavez’s 3-pointer missed, sending the game into OT.
» Emory never trailed in OT, as the Eagles recorded six of the eight points scored in the extra period.
» A significant amount of credit should go to LaGrange for keeping pace with Emory in the way they did. Johnson had 24 points in 44 minutes, and was a huge part of what went well offensively. If LaGrange keeps playing at that level, the Panthers will certainly in the mix for the CCS title at the end.
» We saw some great things from Emory’s Katherine Martini, who came off the bench and played 33 minutes.She led the team in minutes played, as well as in the scoring column, with 17 points on a 7-of-12 performance.
On the Rise
(Teams not mentioned above that notably improved their resumes on Wednesday night)
RPI is off to a 3-0 start, the first time since the 2018-19 season that the Engineers have done so. Last night’s 53-50 win over Coast Guard was the biggest of the three, as Coast Guard was a projected Top 100 team entering the season while RPI sat back around ~250. The victory pushed RPI up 76 spots in Massey Ratings to #147.
Mount St. Joseph took down Marietta last night, 83-69, in what I believe is the Lions’ first win in program history over the Pioneers. MSJ is now 2-0, and has the talent level to contend for the HCAC title with Transylvania, Hanover, and Berea.
Today’s Games to Watch (all times ET)
Asbury (0-0) at Hanover (1-1), 6:00 p.m. — This should be a great test for both teams. Asbury is in its season opener, but pushed D1 Morehead State well back on Nov. 4. Hanover’s offense seems to be on another level compared to past years for them, as they averaged 81.5 PPG at the Webster Tournament.
Marymount (1-2) at Dickinson (1-0), 7:00 p.m. — Marymount got its first win on Tuesday night over Lynchburg, but Dickinson will be a tougher test. I wouldn’t count the Saints out, though, even if Chandler Eddleton isn’t on the floor. Their defense could challenge Dickinson, and I expect Dickinson’s offense may have the same effect on Marymount’s offense.
#11 Gustavus Adolphus (2-0) at #13 UW-Stout (2-0), 8:00 p.m. — Big WIAC vs MIAC matchup here. It’ll be a quality test for both teams as Stout tries to beat the Gusties in Menomonie for the first time since the 1980-81 season.