What stood out on Wednesday
Looking back at some of my main takeaways/thoughts from Wednesday's most notable results
As we get into the rhythm of conference play, Wednesdays and Saturdays suddenly become immensely important. Many of the biggest conferences in the country play on those two days, including the WIAC, ARC, MIAC, NEWMAC, and ODAC, so more often than not, they turn out to be pretty eventful. Such was the case last night, with a number of notable upsets, dominant performances, and results that highlighted a massive slate of games. So as I plan to do on each Thursday morning through conference play, here’s what stood out on Wednesday night.
Scranton’s defensive performance separates the Lady Royals in 82-57 win
In the lone Top 25 vs Top 25 matchup of the day, Scranton left zero doubt. The Lady Royals’ defense has been talked about often, but to watch them overwhelm ETown’s offense in the way they did was noteworthy. 16 of ETown’s 19 turnovers came on Scranton steals, a testament to the Lady Royals’ defensive pressure and their ability to force the Blue Jays into tough spots on the offensive end. Once the ball got rolling, there was no stopping it, as any early momentum for ETown faded fast. Scranton outscored the Blue Jays, 60-38, over the final 30 minutes, though it was a second quarter stretch when the initial shift came. Megan Lammana’s game-tying layup with 6:29 left sparked a 10-0 run, pushing Scranton in front 38-30. Then a few minutes later, consecutive steals from Kaeli Romanowski led directly to four points for the Lady Royals. And in a great example of locked-in defense translating to offensive success, Scranton forced a missed layup with seven seconds to go, earning one final possession. Kate Gorski fired a one-handed pass up the floor to Maddie Hartnett, who then found Kaci Kranson at the top of the arc. Kranson stepped up and buried a long jumper, contributing to her team-high 24 points, as Scranton took a 13-point lead into halftime. It was plays like that where Scranton separated itself from a talented ETown team, making smart passes and hitting difficult shots, along with disrupting the opponent’s offensive rhythm and giving up no easy buckets. Scranton is now 12-0.
UW-Stevens Point’s 12-1 record is proving to be no fluke
Let’s be honest. Last season, UWSP started 11-0 against a fairly weak schedule (though it included a win over future NCAA Tournament team Concordia Moorhead), broke into the Top 25, then sputtered the rest of the way, finishing 4-10 in the WIAC. So in a similar start this year, 10-1 through non-conference play, there was a little bit of hesitancy as to whether it would be the same song, second verse for the Pointers. As Wednesday showed, that’s been far from the case. UWSP is one of two teams now 2-0 in WIAC play, taking down No. 7 UW-Whitewater, 68-57, in a game the Pointers led for all but 29 seconds. It was a complete performance from UWSP, who continually scored in the paint, out-rebounded UWW by +8, and made up for their 21 turnovers by scoring 21 points off UWW’s 19 turnovers. Alexa Thomson played big minutes, with 22 points, a trio of 3s, and seven rebounds, and UWSP changed the game with a 16-4 run in the third quarter. Despite 26 points from Kacie Carollo, UWW couldn’t keep pace, with the third quarter separating what had been a very back-and-forth contest up to that point. UWSP is now ranked 19th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency and 21st in efficiency on offense, a sign of the Pointers’ continued trajectory, evident through their 11-game win streak. Up next, a road matchup at UW-La Crosse on Saturday. The gauntlet of WIAC play never ceases.
Grinnell pulls off the biggest upset of the night
Grinnell came into Wednesday at 8-5 and an even 2-2 in MWC play. All odds pointed towards Ripon walking away with a sizable win over Massey’s #195 team, especially as the frontrunner to win the MWC had lost just once by double-digits this season, falling by 15 vs nationally-ranked Trine. But instead, Grinnell handed Ripon a 13-point loss, their largest margin of victory against the Redhawks since 2014-15. In what will surely be one of the memorable highlights of the Pioneers’ season, Grinnell found a way to extend its two-point halftime lead, defending exceptionally well down the stretch. Against a physical, cohesive Ripon squad, Grinnell applied constant defensive pressure, as the Redhawks shot just 31.4% over the final two quarters. It helped that the offense kept pushing too, highlighted by a 7-0 run from Adriana Perez midway through the fourth that extended the lead out to 61-46. Grinnell managed to go 8-of-15 from 3-point range while also scoring 30 points in the paint en route to pulling off what was statistically, the largest upset of the night.
Luther’s Haylie Strum continues establishing herself amongst the A-R-C’s top scorers
I mentioned in Tuesday’s ballot breakdown that within Coe’s impressive 12-1 start, the main flaw for the Kohawks was on the defensive end, as they graded low in efficiency on that end of the floor. Haylie Strum and Luther made sure to take advantage of that, as Strum went for 27 points and the Norse shot 44.3%, scoring a huge conference road win at Coe, 70-58. Whether you call it an upset or not, it certainly wasn’t an expected result, as Luther came in ranked #86 in Massey, while Coe was #20. But at 11-3 now, this is a Luther team to take seriously. Strum is a key factor in that, as she’s stepped up in some of the Norse’s biggest games so far. Only a sophomore, the 5’6 guard went for 18 against a Saint Mary’s (MN) team that’s now 3-2 in the MIAC, had 16 at Wartburg, and put up 17 against a solid UW-Superior team. It’s not just purely the scoring either, but the way in which she’s doing it, knocking down open mid-range jumpers and driving hard at the rim, shooting a whopping 60.6% this season — which ranks Top 10 in the country. A lot of that was seen against Coe, as Strum shot 11-of-15, answering the call for her team on a night when leading scorer Kailey Jones was held to just 7 points. That said, Jones’ 18 rebounds were certainly pivotal as well, with Luther finishing +8 on the boards.
Bethel’s second-half free throw shooting
Both St. Benedict and Bethel entered Wednesday’s matchup a perfect 4-0 in the MIAC, so a tight battle was anticipated. It played out according to script, with Bethel hitting a jumper as time expired for a 32-31 halftime lead. In total, the contest saw eight lead changes, and over the final two quarters, Bethel’s free throw shooting was the main constant for the Royals. They went 17-of-19 at the line in that span, including 7-of-8 in the final minute to hold off CSB’s attempts at a late surge. That was key in maintaining the Royals’ advantage on the road, and their offense overall was fairly consistent against the Bennies, shooting 47.3% and scoring 40 points in the paint. That’s the kind of performance needed to go into a tough atmosphere against a very good conference opponent and come away with a win. Bethel is now 5-0 in the MIAC and 9-3 overall.
Randolph-Macon remains on the rise
RMC has somewhat quietly put together an impressive resume, starting 11-1, with the lone loss coming to Gettysburg in mid-November. The Yellow Jackets boast wins over Johns Hopkins, Rhode Island College, and as of last night, Guilford, in what was a crucial ODAC test. The 71-53 win on the road saw the Yellow Jackets’ efficiency numbers rise significantly after shooting 44.8%, scoring 38 points in the paint, 23 points off turnovers, dominating in the rebounding battle, 44-23, and outscoring Guilford in all four quarters. The efficiency rise was excellent to see, considering that has been RMC’s main flaw up to this point. They had a few really impressive wins, but as a whole, weren’t grading out especially well. To win by such a convincing margin against Guilford, who is 9-4 (Massey Top 150 team) is a huge step in the right direction for this RMC squad, who certainly has the talent to make a push towards for ODAC title.
Coming up from The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops
Friday: The Top 10 performing freshmen on Top 75 teams
Saturday: The five biggest high-leverage games on the weekend slate