November 9, 2022: Cortland and Ithaca battle into overtime, W & J makes a statement in Ohio
Good morning! Welcome back to The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops! What a day it was yesterday as D-III teams officially began their regular seasons. The slate certainly did not disappoint. I’ll get to that in a second, but first, a look at today’s Game of the Day…
Game of the Day: Stevens @ Kean, 7 pm EST
No Top 25 teams will be action this evening, but this one pits two potential NCAA Tournament teams against each other. Both are considered contenders in their respective conferences (Stevens in the MACF, Kean in the NJAC) and it will be interesting to get an early look at where each of these programs are coming off relatively successful 2021-22 campaigns. Kean is extremely experienced, with eight players on the roster listed as either “fifth-year” or “senior”. Something to keep an eye on.
Thoughts…
I had planned to watch a few minutes of the showdown between Cortland and #20 Ithaca. But I ended up watching much more than that, as it was by far, the most entertaining game of the day. Cortland looked really strong early, but Ithaca proved why it was a Top 25 team, overcoming a seven-point fourth quarter deficit to win 64-55 in overtime. What a game it was. It came down the wire, with Ithaca coming up with a few key stops late in the fourth, forcing overtime, before pulling away for a notable win. If you remember, Cortland beat Ithaca a year ago, and it seemed the Bombers were eager to avenge that loss. I anticipate we will see both of these teams ranked in the Top 25 come December/January. For them to be playing this way less than a month into practice is pretty impressive. Both offenses move the ball around the perimeter exceptionally well; Ithaca tends to do it with more passes than dribbles, while Cortland tends to rely more on its ballhandlers to open up shots for other players on the floor.
On that same note, remember this name: Zoraida Icabalceta. Don’t worry if you can’t quite pronounce it yet. What you need to know is that this freshman guard for Ithaca is special. No doubt she’ll be an All-American in years to come. Yesterday was her collegiate debut, and in my opinion, she was the reason Ithaca was in position to win when it did. She tied the game at 15 with a buzzer-beater three-pointer to end the first quarter, and was all over the floor as Ithaca began its fourth-quarter charge. Her final stat line: 19 points, 4-of-5 from 3pt range, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals. Not bad for a collegiate debut!
In yesterday’s post, I had mentioned Finlandia’s Natalie Bartle as potentially being the most notable D1 to D3 transfer considering she contributed at Omaha last season. It seems Bartle will be the focal point of Finlandia’s offense, as she scored 14 points and took 20 shots in a 69-68 loss to UW-Superior.
Washington & Jefferson really impressed me with its win over #19 Marietta. It was my Game of the Day for a reason. W&J, with plenty of returners, pulled off a massive Top 25 win ON THE ROAD to open the year, and I anticipate we will see the Presidents in the next D3hoops.com Top 25, which I believe will be released around Thanksgiving. Bryn Bezjak had 19 points, and Meghan Dryburgh and Adalynn Cherry each had 18. W&J can certainly score, and their offensive attack is going to be tough for any opponent to beat this season.
It felt really good to go to D3hoops.com and see a full scoreboard page. Plenty of great matchups to follow in this month of November!