January 29, 2023: WashU now No. 1 in UAA, Marietta upsets Baldwin Wallace, more from the weekend in D3 women's hoops
Welcome back! Putting together my Top 25 ballot on this Sunday afternoon. Quite a few notable performances, both of the individual and team sort played out over the last two days. Here’s a look at some of my thoughts from the weekend’s action…
Marietta did it again, for the second straight weekend. The unranked Pioneers, a team many voters somewhat gave up on after a rough start back in November, have now taken down consecutive Top 15 opponents, in Ohio Northern and Baldwin Wallace. Yesterday’s 59-49 win at #10 Baldwin Wallace further added to a building Pool C resume for Marietta, as the Pioneers put together an incredible defensive effort., holding BW to a shooting percentage of just 25.5%. Devin Hefner came off the bench with a team-high 11 points for Marietta in 30 minutes. Marietta now has three projected RRO wins, and is now a potential Pool C candidate out of Region 7.
Baldwin Wallace was not the highest ranked team to fall on Saturday, though. #9 Babson ran into trouble at unranked Springfield, and ended up falling by 10. It wasn’t like Babson did anything wrong, necessarily. The turnover number was low (9), and the Beavers were a perfect 15-of-15 at the free throw line. But they just didn’t get enough shots to go down. Springfield was 27-of-61 from the field; Babson was 22-of-59. Springfield was incredible in a must-win game for their Pool C chances, and is now 3-1 in the NEWMAC. The NEWMAC has been one of the better, yet more underrated conference title races this season, with five teams separated by just one game atop the standings.
St. Vincent pulled off an exceptional win in Presidents Athletic Conference play, taking down #23 Washington & Jefferson, 57-53, on Saturday afternoon. St. Vincent is now half a game back of W&J which could create an interesting scenario as the rest of the regular season plays out. Neither team will be very much in Pool C contention, so winning the PAC tournament will mean everything. This win has to give St. Vincent a tremendous amount of confidence. Emily Cavacini scored 21 and Madison Weber had 19 in the victorious effort as they also out-rebounded W&J by 10, which is an uncharacteristic stat in conference games W&J plays in.
In a revenge type of situation, things usually go one of two ways. Either the team seeking revenge channels those emotions well and emerges victorious, or they have too much emotion, and let the momentum come and go. For eighth-ranked Hope, the Flying Dutch did not let Albion’s early-season win phase them, as they made a statement on Saturday but doing what they do best: staying disciplined defensively and utilizing their offensive depth. Or at least that’s what I took away from watching the 78-49 win over Albion. Albion had just eight points in the third quarter, and shot only 33% for the game. Meanwhile, Savannah Feenstra and Claire Baguley each scored in double figures and eight players had at least five points in the win. Really liked Hope’s effort in that one.
S/O to Trinity (CT)…not only are the Bantams atop the NESCAC standings, 19-1, 6-0 in league play, AND going to move higher (I would think) from #15 in the Top 25 tomorrow, they also beat Amherst for the first time since 2007 (Yes, 16 seasons ago) yesterday, winning 51-45. Amherst is having somewhat of a down year, but you cannot count out anyone in that league. Trinity is looking more and more impressive to me, and dare I say, has a very winnable next four games to close the regular season, though all four are on the road, at Williams, Middlebury, Bates and Tufts.
Also a big S/O to UC Santa Cruz’s Ashley Kowack, who is now at EXACTLY 1,500 points in her collegiate career after a 26-point showing in yesterday’s 94-35 win over Bethesda. Her layup with 8:55 in the fourth quarter officially made her UCSC’s all-time leader in career points, and then she drained a corner three on the next possession, reaching exactly 1,500. Kowack will have two big-time opportunities this next weekend, as UCSC battles Mary Washington and Christopher Newport on the east coast. And while I’m on the topic, I’d be remiss not to mention Kaylee Murphy, another outstanding member of that roster, who hit 1,000 rebounds in Thursday’s 55-point win over Pacific Union. She is the first player in program history to eclipse 1,000 boards. Congratulations to both of them.
Sunday is the day in which the UAA shines, and today’s action did not disappoint. Emory nearly upended WashU, but the Bears found a way, and with the 60-57 win, are now ALONE atop the UAA standings. As I’ve said before, with no conference tournament, the UAA standings matter a whole lot more than they do in a conference where the Pool A bid is determined by a postseason tournament. At 13-5 overall, and 6-1 in league play, WashU has been impressive time and time again in a league where the cross-country travel and parity can really wear on a team’s stamina. The Bears are certainly in consideration for my Top 25 ballot this week. They have to be. They are No. 1 in a conference with 3 Top 20 teams right now. And WashU isn’t one of them. This is shaping up for a scenario where four UAA teams reach the NCAA Tournament.
Case Western Reserve nearly shocked NYU in Brooklyn, but the Violets found a scoring surge late, with a 12-1 scoring run that closed the game. CWRU did a lot of really nice things on both ends of the floor, and had a great defensive approach to NYU, but the Violets were incredibly effective in getting to the paint. 44 paint points for the nation’s #6 team, who is back to its winning ways, with four straight victories and counting.
In terms of the weekend’s big wins, #16 Rochester’s home victory over #7 Chicago is right up there, as the Yellowjackets took down the Maroons, 75-65, this afternoon. Four starters scored in double figures led by Katie Titus with 20. An 11-of-24 mark from three-point range helped tremendously, and there were points where it seemed Rochester could not miss from beyond the arc. So much of how I view teams in terms of my ballot isn’t as much in regards to the losses they take, but the overall body of work, and the response to that loss as well, especially in big games like this one. Rochester had lost three straight entering this one, but came up with a major resume-building win over a talented Chicago team.
#3 Christopher Newport picked up a solid victory on Sunday, moving to 20-0 in an 88-64 win over NJCU. Head coach Bill Broderick has a fantastic squad this year that seems to meet every challenge thrown its way. Saturday’s win over Pratt produced what might have been the most lopsided score of the weekend, winning 107-34. CNU freshman McKenna Snively came off the bench in that one, dominating offensively with 32 points in 27 minutes, connecting on 8-of-12 three-pointers. That is a performance she will remember for quite a while, as she became just the third player in program history with eight or more threes in a single game.
I feel like this is probably enough info for today, but I’ll be back with a ballot breakdown tomorrow! Lots going on this time of year in the world of D3 women’s hoops. Fairly light Top 25 action the next couple days, but then again, you never know what might happen!