UPDATED January 25, 2023: Coaching news + Recapping Tuesday's action + Big-time matchups tonight in the midwest
This is the updated and current version of today's post
Welcome back to this midweek edition of the The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops! Let me start by correcting an error in yesterday’s post breaking down my Top 25 ballot. For some reason while I was writing it up, I referenced UW-Oshkosh as having beat UW-Stout twice in this season. Unsure why I wrote that as I had clearly written on my notes page as I was putting together my ballot Monday that the two split their WIAC series earlier this year. So why I didn’t think about that when writing up the last post, I don’t know, but that was my bad, and I’ll make sure I verify my facts better moving forwards. The WIAC is so wacky this year, it’s hard to remember at times who has beaten who. Anyway, wanted to make that clear.
Moving into yesterday’s news…
In a shocking turn of events yesterday afternoon, it was reported that Mary Hardin-Baylor head coach Mark Morefield was no longer an employee of UMHB and therefore, out as the head coach of the nation’s #22 program. The Cru was 13-4 overall, second in the American Southwest Conference, so naturally, this came as a bit of a surprise. UMHB declined to comment any further outside of confirming that Morefield was no longer leading the program and assistant coach Kendra Foreman is the interim head coach for the time being. A lot of you know, some of you don’t, but in addition to my national coverage of D3 WBB, I am the managing editor of True To The Cru, an independent media outlet covering UMHB athletics 24/7. Being close to the situation, I was even taken aback when the news first broke, and spent a good part of the evening trying to get to the bottom of things. Morefield had always been fairly well respected and certainly had led the UMHB program to new heights in seven years at the helm. The timing of the news contributed to that sort of “shock” factor, as you don’t typically expect hiring and firing to be done in what I’d argue is the most pivotal time of the year. I’m still working on getting the details, but for the time being, the university has declined to comment any further.
Getting to some scores from last night…#20 Calvin trounced Benedictine at home, 81-55, in the only Top 25 game of the evening. Calvin’s defense looked really sharp, and as to be expected, the regular starters played sparingly in a very late-season non-conference game. Gabby Timmer had nine points in 14 minutes and of the starting five, only Leah Harris finished in double figures, with 11. RyAnn Rohrer and Adelaide Douglass showed flashes of tremendous scoring ability in limited minutes, each finishing with nine and looking very strong in the post. Calvin will be a force for many seasons to come if these young freshmen and sophomores continue to progress in the way that they have.
Mary Schleusner excelled for Washington & Lee, in an 81-52 win over Randolph. Schleusner is definitely in competition for the honor of “Best freshman in the nation”, playing more like an upperclassman than someone who was in a high school game on a Tuesday night in January exactly 12 months ago. In 19 minutes of action, she had an impressive stat line of 14 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and four blocks. I don’t know of many other freshmen doing that! At forward, she is versatile, with some range on her shot, and is the top rebounder on W&L’s roster. She was recently named to D3hoops.com’s Team of the Week, and I was surprised to find out she is the first player from W&L in program history to earn that distinction. Definitely a name to remember in coming years.
S/O to Nichols and Curry, who matched each other score-for-score in Commonwealth Coast play. The offensive numbers were crazy, looking back at the box score, as Nichols emerged with a 100-92 win. Three of Nichols’ starters had at least 20 points, though just eight points came off the bench, and the Bison put up 30-point quarters in both the second and the fourth. Curry had a pair of 20-point scorers as well, and there were times when it seemed that every shot was falling through. Funny thing was, neither team shot above 45% from the field, 30% from 3-point range, or above 80% at the FT line. But when you play incredibly fast in transition, 100-92 games can happen.
I’ve watched New England play a few times this year, particularly in matchups against top-quality opponents. And I’ve liked what I’ve seen. This is a team I wouldn’t count out to make a run and potentially upset Roger Williams in a CCC title game in the not-so-near future. UNE trails Roger Williams by two games, but the two will meet on Saturday in a pivotal matchup. A win there for UNE could put them in position to win the league title if they have some help with a Roger Williams loss AND win out. They took down Endicott on the road in overtime, 74-69 last night. Faye Veillux led UNE with 32 points and 12 rebounds.
Also have to give some credit to Maine Maritime, who pulled off a 64-55 win over Husson to stay undefeated in North Atlantic Conference play. Husson was #118 in Massey, while Maine Maritime was #140, entering the contest. Maine Maritime has won seven straight and is playing great basketball at the right time of the year. The battle between these two at the top of the NAC standings will be intriguing to follow through the rest of the regular season.
A few big games on tonight’s slate…
#8 Hope at #11 Trine, 7:30 pm EST: WATCH: When these two played earlier in the year, Trine upset Hope in Holland. Do the Flying Dutch return the favor in Angola?
UW-La Crosse at #24 UW-Whitewater, 8 pm EST: WATCH: Though I am sold on Whitewater, I do think WIAC play has challenged the Warhawks a bit, and in all likelihood, a loss to UWL, especially at home, is likely to knock Whitewater out of the Top 25. Though Whitewater is the favorite here, UWL is perhaps the best defensive team in the league, and tough to score on in the paint. This won’t be a game decided before the fourth quarter.
#25 Gustavus Adolphus at Bethel, 8 pm EST: WATCH: Outside of Concordia-Moorhead, Bethel is the toughest team the Gusties will play in the MIAC. On the road against a cohesive squad, this could be a real challenge for Gusty. Bethel has looked sharp lately…can the Royals carry their recent success into this MIAC showdown?
UW-Oshkosh at UW-Platteville, 8 pm EST: WATCH: I have to highlight the WIAC one more time…this will be a battle no doubt, and UWP has been really fun to watch at times this season, such as in last Wednesday’s upset AT Whitewater. Oshkosh emerged with two solid wins this past week, and has played on the road just three times this month. Another WIAC duel that should come down to the wire.
That’s all for today. Hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying this week. 5 weeks until Selection Monday…or as Dave McHugh says it, “Matchup Monday”. By the way, be sure to go check out Dave’s recent Hoopsville episode, as he conducted some great interviews (when does he not?) with Transylvania HC Juli Fulks and La Verne HC Jason Pruitt. Would highly recommend checking that episode out here. It is crazy to believe we are already in late January. This season has truly flown by. And the best part of it still hasn’t even arrived.