Congratulations to Haley Kanner of Tufts on making the WBCA All-America team. In addition, sophomore Michela North of the Jumbos was named to the Honorable Mention All-America team along with Ellen Cook of Williams, and Shannon Brady and Sarah Binkhorst of Bowdoin. Tremendous individual achievements for each of these fine players from NESCAC. Carla Berube is also a finalist for Coach of the Year.

Now Tufts has to take on undefeated Thomas More and their All-American finalist for Player of the Year, Sydney Moss, in the national semi-finals. Quite a challenge, but Tufts is the team in Grand Rapids with experience from last year's Final Four. A nice piece in the Boston Herald points to this.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/on_campus/2015/03/tufts_women_get_second_chance_at_division_3_final_four

Let's go Bo's.

Polbear73, Carla Berube is rapidly completing her 13th season as Tufts' head coach in a NESCAC which is highly competitive as compared with the early years when Bowdoin won the first 8 conference titles. Very happy to see a NESCAC team in the Final Four for the 7th consecutive season. Good luck to Coach and her Jumbo team.

Gordonmann, I was fortunate to attend a basketball coaching conference at UCONN in the Fall of 1994. We saw Geno Auriemma's breakdown drills for their triangle offense which the Huskies ran with such precision that season and also witnessed first hand the intensity of their practices. In a continuation drill, the unrelenting all-out physical pressure on outlet passes caused Carla and then FY Nykesha Sales to square off and be separated by teammates. Those who saw those young women compete like that against each other were not surprised to see them win all those games in their magical season.
We also saw Jim Calhoun's practices involving, among others, the Marshalls and a skinny kid named Ray Allen. I great time to be at Storrs.

Carla Berube, the Tufts coach, is featured in several articles about the '94 - '95 UCONN national championship team. I found this link on the Tufts site but think it is worth posting for the wider fans of NESCAC and women's basketball.

This in depth article recalls the UCONN women's team of '95 that changed the face of women's basketball in America. Fans of the women's game at any level will enjoy the read.

http://thebiglead.com/2015/03/12/the-1995-connecticut-huskies-the-team-that-made-womens-basketball/

The coverage and love affair with that team and its myriad fans lives on. One of its members featured in the piece, Carla Berube, is heading to her second D-III Final Four with the Tufts University women, and represents the positive legacy of that memorable group of women.

This in depth article recalls the UCONN women's team of '95 that changed the face of women's basketball in America. Fans of the women's game at any level will enjoy the read.

http://thebiglead.com/2015/03/12/the-1995-connecticut-huskies-the-team-that-made-womens-basketball/

The coverage and love affair with that team and its myriad fans lives on. One of its members featured in the piece, Carla Berube, is heading to her second D-III Final Four with the Tufts University women, and represents the positive legacy of that memorable group of women.

Huge congrats to the Tufts women on achieving their second consecutive Final Four, beating the defending national champions from FDU. Both teams defend hard, but FDU shot 50% in the first half and only carried a 2- point lead. Tufts' guards defended the one-on-one dribble drives very well throughout the second half and the forwards gave great help. Tufts had 14 assists to just 3 for the Devils for the entire game. FDU fought very hard, but Tufts' guards, especially Lauren Dillon, made the clutch shots. Well done and good luck in Michigan!

I suppose it's true that you can't expect to win many games scoring 45 points....unless, of course, you're the kind of team that blocks 12 shots while holding your opponent to 31 points on 17% shooting. Then you can expect to win lots of games. Tufts plays games that often are not hailed as beautiful, impressionistic art, but if you have a taste for gritty, in-your-face, grinding defense, then they play "ugly" masterpieces. FDU understands the difference. Last year their high scoring offense managed 42 points in their national semifinal win, a number very close to the average of Tufts' opposition and six fewer than FDU scored in the first half tonight against Geneseo.

Quote from: amh63 on March 12, 2015, 10:15:23 AM
I guess all this chit chat is keeping folks busy until Friday...in particular the relative ranking of Bowdoin to Amherst, etc, etc....
The teams rankings NOW are what they are.  Amherst rankings during the season was also done by another org.   Those were often higher than D3hoops'.  The teams are positioned to play this weekend and the only thing I see how the rankings may impact the games are the color of the uniforms...home or away uniforms.
For the Bowdoin fans that want to break down past games to support their points, my advice is it is not often good for forecasting, etc.  Amherst played on the road in its two NCAA games to date.  Both games were solid wins over fine teams....one highly ranked, the host.  Both games were basically over at the half, based on the score and the play on the floor.  It was done with Amherst starting PG not in uniform.  I have seen in MBB and other sports, these same discussions.  For example...Amherst beat Wesleyan twice by 20 plus points during the regular season....only to lose to the Cardinals in the CAC final in the title game.  Last season in the Final 4, Amherst was blown out by the Williams squad that Amherst beat 8 straight times, including THREE times last season!
The same discussions happened in men' s soccer.  When Tufts won the National title, the conference fans all gave praise.  I suggest sit back and enjoy the play and cheer the winners and hope a CAC team takes the Title so we can all clap.

Quite agree, amh63. Although various opinions have been stated,  I'm not sure that I've heard anyone suggest that their position on the ranking merits of the two teams informs their prognostication for a hypothetical rematch.
The pride we all have in our home teams is matched only by the collective pride we share in our connection to such a remarkable group of colleges and scholar athletes.

I think all have made some valid points with regard to the rankings of Amherst and Bowdoin. What strikes me is two things. First, Tufts thoroughly trounced Amherst and that should have been a notice to the voters that the LJs were not like their teams of the past in some ways. Amherst's defense was not strong and they struggled in their half-court offense.
Second, it's important to note that both victories by Bowdoin over Amherst were not nearly as close as the final scores indicate. Although the final margins were 9 and 8, Amherst was behind by 10 just 11 minutes into the first game and never threatened. On the neutral court at Tufts, the Polar Bears were again up double digits after 11 minutes and cruising by 21 at the half. Amherst played a better second half, but it was only two threes in the last minute that made it appear respectable.
Personally, I agree with the poster who said that the poll  voters don't pay close enough attention to the games, because the weight of those two victories should have pushed Bowdoin ahead of Amherst in the polls. This laziness, Amherst's early ranking and national status from the recent past more than Bowdoin's early losses accounts for the ranking anomaly. The loss to Roger Williams was poor, but losing to UNE on their court was not. Tufts barely scraped out a win there early in the season.
As I mentioned earlier, I sure hope they get to play once more. They each represent themselves and their conference with distinction.

I have no illusions that defeating Montclair State in NJ will be easy, but I think that Bowdoin's SOS (12) and the fact that they have only lost to Tufts since November argues that they are the second best NESCAC team and a very tough "out" in the tournament. Their defense is solid and their offense does not require big point production from any one player. Their team rebounding is very impressive and I think the odds of the Polar Bears pulling the upset are higher than Massey suggests (33%). I put it much closer to 50%. Massey suggests that Amherst is a heavy favorite over Salisbury, and I agree, but I find it hard to see how they favor the LJs (75%) versus Bowdoin. BTW, they favor Amherst over Montclair St if that final should occur. I hope and expect Tufts to step up their game after their squeaker with St. John Fisher. In any case, it should be a fun, competitive, and exciting weekend.

Sweet 16 hosts are announced.

http://d3hoops.com/playoffs/men/2015/sectional-hosts-announced

Tufts, Montclair State (Bowdoin and Amherst regional), Thomas More, and Calvin, who gets to play at home because of the 500 mile rule, so George Fox has to travel. Amherst looked very strong at NYU and Bowdoin played tough to come from behind with a...HerCurlean effort...from Marle in Brunswick. Ithaca must feel jinxed. St John Fisher outplayed Tufts for 39:50, but lost because North and Morehead stepped up. Shoutout to the Cardinal women for an outstanding weekend and tournament.
 
Trinity and Bates men moving on as well, so five Sweet 16 teams from the conference. NESCACBBRULES!!

Polbear73, you mention the work of the Bowdoin starters and bench filling in admirably for Phelps and Campbell. I agree and one starter I was particularly impressed with was Marle Curle. Although she didn't have top games against Tufts, she had another double/double yesterday (plus 5 assists) in the Babson game just as she did against Amherst in the NESCAC tournament. Her speed and energy can cause great challenges for the defense, and teamed with Kate Kerrigan, they are a very talented young backcourt tandem. Good luck today against the Bombers.

I agree with each of your comments on inertia and past accomplishments and on the heavy weight that top teams carry on the all-star squads. Has it not always been thus? Hypothetically, I think the only way to get a real all-conference team might be to have the coaches draft their teams (and coach them) from the complete pool of players. Robertson was certainly a top tier player, but she, like many before her, has been unable to reach her prior form this season following her injury. That takes nothing away from her talent, effort, commitment, or leadership. As I mentioned in a prior post, I agree that another player, perhaps from Trinity, Bates, or Connecticut College, merited the slot based on their entire seasons.

The Scranton/Tufts matchup is likely to happen. NESCAC teams have met the Lady Royals with some regularity in the tournament, and I would expect this to be another great game. I doubt Tufts will shoot quite as abysmally if they meet this time, but I heard that that Meredith Mesaris impressed all who saw her. Tufts' twin towers would need to play strong.

All NESCAC conference teams and superlatives announced. Hayley Kanner of Tufts wins player of the year for the second time. Shannon Brady and Sara Binkhorst from Bowdoin are also first team selections, with Ellen Cook and Sam Graber rounding out the first team. North and Foley of Tufts make second squad along with Robertson and Doswell from Amherst and Wolfington from Colby. Mairead Hynes of Connecticut College is the rookie of the year, with Kate Kerrigan from Bowdoin and Cook the co-defensive players. Carla Berube is the top coach for a fifth time.

http://www.nescac.com/sports/wbkb/2014-15/honors/allconference

Quote from: 7express on March 03, 2015, 11:04:27 PM
I think Tufts will easily hold that sectional, especially since Scranton just lost in the Landmark finals.

As for Tufts vs Pine Manor, Tufts should be the favorite but Pine Manor has nothing to lose.  I know its comparing apples to oranges, but 2 years ago USM went into the tourney 27-1 and played a team at home (smith) making its first NCAA appearance.  What happened that game??  USM got theirs doors blown off in a Smith rout.

I know what you mean when you say that Pine Manor has nothing to lose. First round tournament games lend themselves to upsets because of that psychology. However, Pine Manor is the smallest of "Davids," a D-3 schools with only 213 students, a 9-9 D3 record and a 420th ranked strength of schedule (SOS).  By analogy, "Goliath" (Jumbo?), Tufts, at 26-1 has 5000 students and the nation's #2 SOS. So you are right in saying that the comparison is apples to oranges on two fronts. USM did not have a tough schedule that year, playing NESCAC teams that were down including Colby, who was 1-9, conference and only lost by 6. They were not battle tested. Smith, on the other, hand beat Middlebury by 33, Trinity by 21, and Williams by 4 AT Williamstown, so they not only had nothing to lose, but also had every confidence that they could play with USM. They were 22-4 going into that game. Pine Manor lost to Coast Guard by 56 early and is playing better now, but with no starters over 5'7", it will be a daunting challenge to match up with the Jumbos.   

Ronk, thanks. I heard the Hoopsville response to your question. As you know, the drive from the Lehigh Valley to Maine or from DC to Boston is not short, and the NCAA has done some interesting things to send teams on the road. The neighboring USM and Bowdoin teams had to drive over 400 miles each to play one another in Wilkes Barre at Kings College in the 2003 regional semifinal. Eastern Connecticut University only had to go 225 miles from Willimantic. 1060 miles in total for the three teams. But Saint Patrick's Day in a flooded Wilkes Barre was a treat.