Saturday Superlatives: Frongillo scores 44, River Falls hands Oshkosh first loss
A look at some of the top performances and storylines from yesterday's action (Jan. 25, 2025).
As I do each Sunday, it’s time to take a look back on yesterday’s biggest storylines as conference play continues to unfold. I do this through the lens of some superlatives, and with a number of tight conference races unfolding, this edition of the newsletter gives me a chance to highlight some teams that are making significant strides but outside the Top 25 conversation, as you’ll see through today’s post.
Standout Individual Performance: Bri Frongillo, Emerson
Frongillo was stellar in what is Emerson’s best win of the season thus far, a 93-91 barnburner against Coast Guard in NEWMAC action. The junior from Hopedale, Massachusetts has had her fair share of high-scoring performances throughout this season, but Saturday was on another level. Frongillo tied the D-III single-game high for points scored within this season, putting up 44 of Emerson’s 93 in the victory. She shot 15-of-29 from the field, finished a perfect 11-of-11 at the free throw line, and etched her name into the Emerson record books by setting a new single-game scoring record.
As if to solidify the impact of her performance even more, Frongillo lifted Emerson to victory with a game-winning floater from the left side in the final seconds. That moment may have been the play of the day, putting an exclamation point on the dramatic victory. (Video below courtesy of FloSports)
Frongillo also dished out 12 assists, the second-straight game in which she recorded a double-double of points + assists. She provided the assists on each of Emerson’s first three field goals of the fourth, and either scored or assisted on the Lions’ first seven field goals in the final 10 minutes.
Other performances of note:
Johns Hopkins’ Michaela O’Neill recorded a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in the Blue Jays’ 97-55 win over Muhlenberg.
Mass-Dartmouth’s Carly Whiteside put up a solid double-double on the road at Bates, helping the Corsairs navigate an OT win in Maine. Whiteside finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Tufts’ Sofia Gonzalez had 20 points, 7 steals, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in the Jumbos’ 59-43 win at Connecticut College, accounting for half of Tufts’ total steals in the contest.
Standout Team Performance: UW-River Falls (64-59 win over No. 4 UW-Oshkosh)
We always say that in the WIAC, anyone can beat anyone on any given Wednesday or Saturday. Yesterday’s 64-59 victory for UWRF was a shining example of that. It wasn’t a game that followed UWRF’s typical formula for an upset, where they knocked down a bunch of 3s and overwhelmed the opponent that way. Instead, the Falcons stunned the nation’s No. 4 team by staying aggressive, persistent, and making life very difficult for Oshkosh’s offense. The Titans struggled to score consistently, and even when they did, UWRF’s patient offensive possessions seemed to yield a near-immediate response. The Falcons didn’t appear rushed on offense, especially down the stretch with it being a one-possession game for most of the final five minutes, and moved the ball with precision, creating open looks inside the arc while making sure not to end up stuck inside Oshkosh’s always-solid zone.
Conversely, I thought it was the best UWRF’s defense has played this season. Oshkosh isn’t a world-beater on the offensive end, but the Titans have playmakers. Yet, the Falcon defense didn’t give up a ton of short-range opportunities (Oshkosh had just 24 paint points), held the Titans to eight offensive rebounds and nine second-chance points, and did a solid job of staying tough on the perimeter.
UWRF’s guard play was top-notch, and that’s what continues to make the Falcons dangerous. If everything clicks, if they put together a quarter like they did in the third (outscoring Oshkosh 21-10), UWRF is capable of beating anyone in the WIAC. I think you also have to give UWRF a ton of credit for responded to a six-point halftime deficit in the way that they did. It’s hard to score against Oshkosh, and especially when you’re playing from behind, but the Falcons came into the second half with clear intent to tighten the gap, if nothing else. By the 5:41 mark of the third, they had the lead.
Now 3-4 in the WIAC, the question becomes if UWRF can carry this—particularly the defensive tenacity—into the next few games. They’ll get UW-Eau Claire next week, and then it’s even more of a gauntlet in February; UW-Stevens Point, Oshkosh, Stout, and Whitewater…in consecutive order.
Other notable team performances:
In a key OAC duel, Ohio Northern came away victorious over John Carroll, 71-54, out-rebounding JCU by +15 while also assisting on 21 of their 29 field goals.
Wartburg tallied its 25th consecutive A-R-C win, defeating Central, 70-58. The Knights’ last conference loss came two seasons ago, in a Feb. 18, 2023 loss to Loras.
After looking a bit shaky in the first meeting, Illinois Wesleyan held nothing back in its rematch with Wheaton on Saturday. The Titans were all over the Thunder defensively, forcing 26 turnovers, which IWU turned into 34 points in a 93-57 win.
UW-Stout is now tied with Oshkosh atop the WIAC standings, with the Blue Devils now 9-1 over their last 10, which coincided with the return of All-American Raegan Sorensen to the rotation. Stout shot 50% in a 74-53 road win at UW-Platteville on Saturday.
Surprise of the Day: Allegheny wins at Chatham
There’s a few that would qualify for this title, but within the PAC, Allegheny’s road upset of Chatham was huge. Prior to Saturday, Chatham hadn’t lost at home in league play, and along with that, carried a seven-game win streak into the matchup. But Allegheny changed all of it, going into Pittsburgh and walking away with a 75-65 win. All of a sudden, now Allegheny is No. 2 in the PAC standings and 10-2 in the league. Emily Lauer was fantastic for the Gators, putting up 28 points, in addition to Sarah Santicola’s 16-point, 16-rebound double-double. Allegheny was simply stronger on the boards, out-rebounding Chatham by +12, including 14 on the offensive end. For a team that went 12-8 in the PAC in each of the last two seasons and was 2-14 the year prior, this is a massive step forward.
Yes, I know Allegheny already beat Chatham earlier in the year. But that was November, and it was at home. Everyone knew Chatham was struggling to find chemistry at that point with all of their transfers. But this was a much different team that Allegheny just beat, and they did it on the road, which makes it so much more impressive.
Top NPI Risers: UW-River Falls, Whittier, Emerson, Franklin & Marshall
As expected, UW-River Falls made a huge jump in NPI after yesterday’s win over Oshkosh, rising 20 spots to #75. That’s still a ways out of Pool C contention, but certainly the right direction with a lot of critical games still remaining.
Whittier, who I noted in this section last week, has now won eight straight, and is 14-2 overall. The 72-66 win over Cal Lutheran on Saturday afternoon pushed the Poets’ NPI even higher, up to #44 overall. In terms of the SCIAC race, it was a massive result, with Whittier now 8-0 in league play, and the clear favorite.
Emerson is all of a sudden now climbing the NPI ladder as well. Who would’ve thought? The Lions are rolling, at 12-5 overall and 3-0 in the NEWMAC, now up 10 spots in NPI to #66 after Saturday’s 93-91 win against Coast Guard. Emerson trailed by 10 at the end of the opening quarter, but fought back, completing the comeback in a wild fourth quarter in which they put up 35 points. #66 isn’t close to the Pool C cut line, but there’s still some opportunities left for Emerson to raise that NPI by a good amount.
Franklin & Marshall also had a 10-spot jump to #71 on Saturday, benefitted greatly by their 57-50 win over Dickinson. Despite shooting just 29.6%, F&M found a way, outscoring Dickinson, 34-23, over the final two quarters. The Diplomats are now 4-4 in the Centennial and 13-6 overall, which helps Johns Hopkins and Gettysburg, the Centennial’s legit tournament contenders.
Check out the latest NPI WBB update on D3Datacast.com.
Today’s Games to Watch
WashU (11-4) at Emory (10-5), 12 p.m.
Berry (13-5) at Rhodes (5-12), 2 p.m.
Ozarks (11-5) at No. 25 Colorado College (14-2), 3 p.m.