Top 10s tumble as Southern Virginia, Bridgewater (VA) secure marquee wins
No. 6 Washington & Lee and No. 8 Christopher Newport both fell in tough road battles in an eventful night in Division III women's basketball
Nobody could have predicted the scene that unfolded in western Virginia on Wednesday night. In the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, two programs from Virginia remained in the Top 10 with perfect records: No. 6 Washington & Lee, and No. 8 Christopher Newport. But by the time Wednesday night concluded, both had fallen victim to difficult road losses against underrated opponents.
It was a display of the talent level and parity found across Division III basketball in the state, one that has consistently produced title contenders, conference champions, and will be hosting the D-III Women’s Final Four for each of the next three seasons.
The upsets began in Buena Vista, Virginia, in front of a near-capacity crowd on the campus of Southern Virginia University. Hosting CNU in a marquee home matchup, Southern Virginia put on a show for its home crowd. On Nov. 11, just under a month ago, the Knights had pushed W&L to the brink, but came up short, 69-61. They struggled down the stretch in that one, picking up a quality loss that raised their profile. But the Knights weren’t interested in a “quality loss” this time around. And they didn’t let the opportunity slip away. Instead, they hold of it, racing out to an 11-0 lead that made it clear the Knights had no intention of backing down against the eighth-ranked Captains.
To CNU’s credit, the Captains answered promptly with an 16-7 run to close the opening quarter, and by halftime, the score was knotted at 32-32. Third quarters are known for making or breaking upset bids. Maintaining momentum through the intermission can be a real challenge, especially against a group as experienced and poised as CNU that was sure to come out of the break looking to put the struggles of the first half behind them. And the Captains responded in that sort of fashion early, going up 41-34 just over two minutes in. They went up by as many as eight, only for SVU to regain its footing with six straight points, eventually pulling back in front with 26 seconds left in the third.
The final quarter was back-and-forth, with the sort of pace and exchange of scoring that you’d expect from two top-quality programs down the stretch of a tight game. SVU went stride-for-stride with CNU, countering every score from the Captains and playing solid, disciplined defense as the contest reached a conclusion.
With 29.1 seconds left, SVU held possession, the score knotted at 65 apiece. Everyone in the gym knew the importance of this possession, a prime opportunity—and possibly the last opportunity—for SVU to gain control of the lead. Maria Savvun, going one-on-one against CNU’s Hailey Kellogg, drove left, then dribbled behind her back and went right for a go-ahead layup with 12.2 seconds left. Camille Malagar was called for a charge on the other end as CNU raced up the court to tie the score.
Those two plays, plus a pair of free throws from Savvun with three seconds left, sealed SVU’s 69-65 win in what is quite possibly the most significant regular season victory in SVU history. It was just the second time in 24 meetings that the Knights beat CNU, and the first under head coach Lynette Schroeder.
An hour up the road in Bridgewater, Virginia, the Eagles of Bridgewater College were on track to a massive win of their own, hosting sixth-ranked Washington & Lee. 7-0 for the first time since 2010, the Eagles had already proven they were following up last year’s 18-8 season quite well. But in their first big test against W&L in the second game of ODAC play, Bridgewater added validity to its perfect start.
A 7-1 start provided early momentum, and W&L struggled to find an offensive rhythm as the first quarter played out. Jay Garcia had seven of Bridgewater’s first 15 points, as the Eagles went up 15-7, and as it turned out, the early first quarter lead held for the game’s entirety. Bridgewater followed with a 16-12 second quarter, leading 35-25 at the half. While W&L cut into the deficit a bit in the third, Bridgewater closed the contest by scoring 16 of the final 24 points, holding the Generals to their first single-digit quarter since Jan. 31, 2024 in a nine-point second quarter against Lynchburg.
Throughout the night, Bridgewater’s defense stepped up again and again, disrupting any kind of offensive flow that W&L was working to create. W&L never shot better than 31.25% in any quarter, and was 16-of-64 from the field, and it didn’t help that Mary Schleusner, who had a double-double in the first half, didn’t convert on a single field goal over the final two quarters. The Eagles matched up well with W&L on the defensive end, and that proved key late in the game. The Generals cut the deficit to four at the beginning of the fourth, but a 9-0 run from Bridgewater hampered W&L’s chances at avoiding the upset. Alexis Edmonds’ 3-pointer stretched the lead to 13 with 3:21 left, as W&L went over six minutes without scoring.
It’s nights like last night that make it so fun to cover D-III women’s basketball, especially at this point, with more parity in the division than ever. It’s the monumental wins, the upsets that come about unexpectedly, and the big-time plays that shape these high-level matchups. We saw all of that in western Virginia over the course of last night. Congratulations to Southern Virginia and Bridgewater on their big-time wins.
Harrer makes OAC history as No. 19 Baldwin Wallace defeats ONU, 51-44
» In a historic moment in Ada, Ohio, Baldwin-Wallace head coach Cheri Harrer further etched her name into the OAC record book, becoming the conference’s all-time leader in wins across both men’s and women’s basketball. Harrer, who is in her 35th season at BW, won her 693rd game Wednesday night, passing former Capital head coach Dixie Jeffers for the most career wins at an OAC program.
» Harrer is now tied for 10th in Division III women’s hoops history for career victories and is No. 6 amongst active head coaches.
» To earn the win, it took overcoming a sluggish offensive start that saw BW put up just 12 points in the first two quarters. Fortunately for BW, ONU struggled too, and the Polar Bears only led 17-12 at the half.
» Things flipped in the third, though, with both squads exceeding their entire first half point total in the first 10 minutes out of halftime. BW ended up outscoring ONU, 39-27, in the second half, taking the lead on Kayla Jones’ jumper with 5:38 left. The Yellow Jackets, now 5-1, closed the game on a 7-0 run.
Coast Guard completes incredible comeback with 78-77 OT win over Trinity (CT)
» For as many top-notch performances as we had last night, Coast Guard’s fourth-quarter comeback stands out. Facing a talented Trinity (CT) squad looking to bounce back from Sunday’s loss to Smith, Coast Guard trailed by 19, 63-44, with 9:23 left.
» But that’s when the Bears countered. Julia Mann’s jumper sparked a 9-0 run that cut Trinity’s lead to 10 and it was part of a larger 20-2 spurt that put Coast Guard within two. Down four with 26 seconds left, Mann converted on a pair of free throws, and when Trinity’s Hannah Marzo went 1-of-2 at the FT line on the other end, the door was open for the Bears to complete the comeback. Dorothy Stotts stepped up with a huge 3-pointer with just eight seconds to go, sending the game into OT, tied at 71.
» Now holding all the momentum, and playing at home, Coast Guard battled through the additional five minutes, taking the lead once, though the score was tied for much of it. Stotts stepped in a big way yet again with just two seconds to play, going to the FT line with the game tied at 77. She missed the first, but the junior got the second to fall, giving Coast Guard the dramatic 78-77 win.
» “Taking those free throws at the end of the game, I just kept my composure and knew that my team had my back whether I made or missed," Stotts said postgame, per coastguardathletics.com.
» Stotts had 22 points for Coast Guard, including a 4-of-5 mark from 3-point range. Mann also had 21. The victory is the Bears’ first over Trinity (CT) since Dec. 2, 2006.
No. 12 Gettysburg pulls away late in Top 25 win over No. 21 Messiah
» In Gettysburg’s first Top 25 test of the season, the Bullets backed up their national ranking, outscoring the Falcons 18-9 over the last 10 minutes in a 61-47 win. It marked Gettysburg’s second-straight home win over Messiah as the Falcons took their first loss of the season.
» Shinya Lee set a new program record for career blocks, with 179, as she passed previous record-holder Sara Kinsley, who had 177 from 2008-12. Lee blocked five of Messiah’s shots, including back-to-back blocks within one possession as the clock ticked below five minutes.
» AB Holsinger bolstered the Bullets’ offense early, with 12 points in the first two quarters. Alayna Arnolie had 12 points as well, along with a career-high 7 assists. For Messiah, Charlotte Milanesi helped keep the Falcons in it, with an all-around solid effort of 7 points, 3 assists, and 11 rebounds.
Around the nation
The West Coast gave us a double-overtime barnburner last night, as Chapman took down La Verne, 104-101. It was a stark contrast from the matchup between the two just three days prior, a 68-56 La Verne win. While La Verne jumped out to a 23-14 lead, Chapman steadily trimmed the deficit, scoring 55 points in the second half, pushing the game into OT. Shanna Brown came off the bench with 30 points for Chapman and Layla Woods gave the Panthers a huge double-double, with 27 points and 15 rebounds. The win snapped Chapman’s four-game losing skid.
In a huge matchup in Texas, Mary Hardin-Baylor secured a season sweep over Trinity University (TX), following up the season-opening 58-45 win with an 80-65 victory in Belton. The Cru out-rebounded Trinity, 60-29, and had more offensive rebounds (30) than the Tigers had total rebounds (29). It led to 31 second-chance points and the +31 rebounding margin was UMHB’s largest in a game since Dec. 10, 2016. Adyson James had 24 points and 14 rebounds for The Cru, who are now 5-1.
Amherst’s stringent defense was put on full display against a 6-1 Colby-Sawyer squad, as the Mammoths improved to 6-1 with a 67-28 win. Amherst held CSC to just 3 points in the opening quarter, and shut out the Chargers in the fourth. It marked the third time in the last two seasons that Amherst limited its opponent to 30 points or fewer.
Back on the West Coast, Pomona-Pitzer picked up its fifth-straight win, and a quality one at that, defeating Cal Lutheran, 64-61. The Sagehens faced a 17-point deficit in the second quarter, but battled back, eventually taking a 5-point lead with 1:13 left. Shooting 13-of-18 from the FT line in the fourth quarter certainly helped, as did a 7-of-11 shooting mark in the final 10 minutes. Pomona-Pitzer is now 2-0 in SCIAC play, sitting atop the league standings, and has the second-best overall winning percentage (.750) of any team in the SCIAC right now.
North Central (IL) pushed for an upset bid against No. 22 Chicago, but the newly-ranked Maroons (who entered the Top 25 poll for the first time this season on Monday), emerged with a narrow 66-62 win. NCC certainly appears to be a dark horse in the CCIW yet again, having kept pace with Chicago through all four quarters, led by Biz Daly’s 24 points. NCC, now 4-3, also lost to RV Colorado College by four, 82-78, three weeks ago.
Preseason All-American Raegan Sorensen returned to the floor for UW-Stout for the first time since the season’s opening weekend. In a 74-61 win over UW-Superior, Sorensen scored 11 points in 7 minutes, shooting 3-of-3 from the field, along with 3 rebounds. Amanda Giesen was Stout’s leading scorer in the win, with 18 points.
Today’s Games to Watch (all times ET)
Framingham State at Connecticut College, 6:00 p.m.
Bates at No. 7 Bowdoin, 7:00 p.m.
Tufts at MIT, 7:00 p.m.