Saturday Recap: Saint Joseph's (L.I.), Redlands, each pull off Top 25 wins at home
St. Joseph's (L.I.) took down 22nd-ranked New Paltz, 66-65. Then later in the day, it was Redlands who defeated #17 Transylvania, 61-50
With 5:27 left on Saturday afternoon, it appeared #22 SUNY New Paltz would escape Patchogue, New York with a win. St. Joseph’s (L.I.) had given the Hawks an all-out battle for the previous 35 or so minutes. Oh, had they put up a fight. They had gone down 6-0 in the first 90 seconds, yet regained their composure with a momentum-shifting 11-1 run. But it was slipping away in the closing minutes, as New Paltz pulled ahead by seven, 61-54.
Then, in almost the exact same fashion as the first quarter run, the Golden Eagles were suddenly back in it. Charlotte Twohig, one of the major catalysts for SJLI, connected on a 3 with 3:55 to go, capping a 7-0 surge that tied the score. It would be three-and-a-half minutes before the Golden Eagles found themselves in the lead, but it wasn’t the length of time they led that mattered in the end. With 25 seconds left, Twohig went to the free throw line, and in two of her biggest shots of the game, made them both. Pressure? No problem.
Twohig’s free throws gave SJLI its 66-65 lead, and while New Paltz had three chances at a layup in the final seconds, none fell through the net. Upset secured. Certainly this will be a moment that those in the SJLI program remember for quite a while.
» Twohig played 36 minutes, the most of anyone on either roster, and finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and three steals. She shot just two FTs in the game, and those ended up being the difference in the end.
» SJLI turned the ball over 23 times, yet New Paltz had just 15 points off turnovers. Comparatively, New Paltz turned it over fewer times, 19, but that led to 23 points for the Golden Eagles
» Notably, New Paltz played without 5th-year senior and Preseason All-American Brianna Fitzgerald.
» This marks the fourth consecutive season in which SJLI has opened its season with a win, though the first that has come over a Top 25 opponent.
Ohio Wesleyan surges in second half of 72-58 win at Elizabethtown
» I was inside Thompson Gymnasium yesterday afternoon for this game as part of research for my book on Division III basketball. It was privilege to watch OWU play at the level they did against both Widener and Elizabethtown, and it was pretty clear that the Battling Bishops are a team to watch for as this season progresses. They can really score from anywhere on the floor and their full-court pressure on the defensive end disrupted both Widener and ETown’s offenses at several points.
» The rebounding emphasis, especially on the offensive end, really stood for OWU, who had 21 offensive boards and 26 second-chance points. A lot of that is a credit to Macy Miller and Kasey Schipfer, who give the Battling Bishops a true one-two punch in the frontcourt. That duo accounted for 13 of the 21 offensive rebounds, led by Schipfer’s 8.
» It was Miller and Schipfer, along with Lauren Denison, who headlined the scoring piece of the victory as well. That trio had 60 of OWU’s 72 points, led by Miller’s 22. She was 10-of-15 shooting in the second half, with 20 of those points coming over the final two quarters. Schipfer had a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double, and Denison converted on 4 3-pointers.
» The contest was tied at halftime, 28-28, but a 10-2 run right out of the gate for the Battling Bishops immediately shifted the pressure back onto Elizabethtown. OWU outscored the Blue Jays, 44-30, in the final 20 minutes.
» One more thought: This result said a lot more about OWU than it did ETown, in my opinion. ETown’s tremendous returning group is capable of playing (and rebounding) at a higher level, and I have zero doubt we’ll see that pretty soon as the Blue Jays continue a tough non-conference schedule and tip-off Landmark play in a few weeks. But for OWU to come into ETown’s gym, play with pace, stay aggressive on the boards, and ultimately start the year 2-0 with a pair of convincing wins was impressive to see. That performance certainly puts them into the Top 25 conversation for me.
Redlands completes 2-0 weekend in 61-50 home win over #17 Transylvania
» For the second straight night, Redlands put forth a high-scoring start, scoring 18 in the first 10 minutes. That early momentum set the tone, as the Bulldogs took back the lead from Transy with 2:09 in the opening quarter and never trailed from that point on.
» 20 assists for Redlands and a shooting percentage of 43.6% really seemed to go hand-in-hand, as the offense was fairly effective. 19 turnovers was the weak point, but overall, the Bulldogs put together a balanced effort on that end of the floor. Three starters finished with double figures in scoring, led by 14 from Colbi Zorich.
» Redlands is the first team to beat Transy in the regular season since Bluffton did so on Feb. 18, 2021, as part of a unique conference schedule due to Covid.
» Now 2-0, Redlands gets another Top 25 opportunity at home against Smith this coming Friday. Redlands is 2-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
Additional key results from Saturday’s action
» #16 Catholic, 67, Shenandoah, 61: The stats were fairly even on this one, as Shenandoah certainly gave the nation’s #16 team a run. But Shenandoah turned it over 20 times, compared to Catholic’s 11. While that did lead to some points off turnovers for Catholic, it also limited the number of Shenandoah possessions that actually ended with a shot. Little things like a difference of nine possessions on that front can make a considerable difference in a six-point game.
» #11 Gustavus Adolphus, 52, UW-La Crosse, 49: This was an excellent MIAC vs. WIAC battle. We saw UWL keep pace with a very experienced Gustavus team for a full 40 minutes with the game really coming down to the final 75 seconds or so. And credit to the Gusties, who put together a solid third quarter, shooting 8-of-16 from the field.
» St. John Fisher, 73, Chatham, 63: I can’t say I exactly saw this kind of a start coming from SJF. After beating a talented Susquehanna team on Friday, the Cardinals won at Chatham on Saturday to cap off a huge weekend. Head coach Sarah Cartmill, in her first season leading the Cardinals, had her team ready to go against an experienced Chatham squad, and by halftime, SJF’s lead was 45-29. Sidney Tomasso put 21 points on the board for SJF.
By the Numbers
4 seconds left in overtime when Alma’s Brooke LeRoux connected on the shot of the game, hitting a 3-pointer from the right wing. It lifted the Scots to a 60-58 win over Grove City, as LeRoux had 22 points to go along with 13 rebounds.
28 fourth-quarter points from Lewis & Clark in the Pioneers’ season opener in Texas, as they won, 68-59, at Southwestern. L&C trailed 52-40 with 8:40 left, but surged into the lead with a 15-2 run, eventually leading by 12 with six seconds left.
1,000 career points for UW-Stout’s Amanda Giesen and Gustavus Adolphus’ Emma Kniefel, as both reached the milestone scoring mark this weekend. Giesen scored her 1,000th point in the Blue Devils’ win over Calvin on Friday, and Kniefel reached 1,000 yesterday, scoring 14 points in Gustavus’ 52-49 win over UW-La Crosse.
More to come tomorrow morning, glancing back on Sunday’s notable results along with a look at five unranked teams that really impressed me this weekend.