WBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

whitecaylxx · December 04, 2008, 01:33:32 PM

Dukeofargyle:

You seem to be right - Washington and Lee does need to "steady down" and take care of the ball. Last night's game should have been the Generals. I know it was billed as a game of equals, but the Quakers gave the Generals many, many chances for a win. It is early though, and the new talent will hopefully take the reins and run with it.

As for Bridgewater - I'm surprised at their struggles. I know they lost point-guard Jessica Timberlake, but I think they have the talent to regroup. Any Eagles out there know what's going on??

EMU continues to roll with teamwork. The concept can't be beat!

eaglejacket1421 · December 04, 2008, 02:52:17 PM

Excellent week in ODAC play. Taking a look at some of these games, the ones that jump out at you immediately are RMC Lynchburg, Guilford W&L, and Bridgewater and Roanoke.

The RMC Lynchburg game, at it's beginning, was an ugly one. And by ugly, I mean a butt kicking. RMC was completely dominate over the Hornets for the first 10 minutes of the game. They were up by 20 at one point. Complacency seems to be the Yellow Jackets' biggest weakness. Whenever they get a huge lead they all seem to settle into a complacent game flow. Lynchburg took advantage of this attitude and made it a game. Someone asked if either team played defense, I will say YES defense was played. A couple of charges occurred, so I wouldn't blame defense on the high scoring affair. I would blame two high powered offensive minded teams, and the fact that RMC got complacent, let Lynchburg get back in it, and then had to put some serious points on the board to take the W. Congrats to Amanda Hiltunen for getting that 1,000th point and beyond. POY status? Maybe.

Guilford W&L. Overtime game between two teams in the middle to lower tier of the ODAC. This just shows how competitive this league is. Guilford is always a tough team to go against. They are 100% in your face 40 minutes of the game and have threats both inside and outside the paint. A plus that Guilford can take from a tight game to a weaker W&L squad? More OT experience. This is their second overtime game ALREADY this season. They won in OT over Emory and Henry who also are always tough, and now they have another OT win over this W&L team. These types of games so early in the season prepares them for the real barn burners later in the year.

BC and Roanoke. The fact that Roanoke beat Bridgewater so resoundingly really doesn't surprise me. Losing Jessica Timberlake hurt more than a lot of people were really willing to admit. She played, literally 37 minutes a game. The offense was obsolete without her in the game both physically and mentally. With her getting that much burn means her BACK UP point guard didn't see the floor much and even if she did she wasn't responsible for the same things Timberlake was. Then if you put Burkholder at the 1 you take away some of her ability to score because she has more things to worry about. Roanoke struggled without Hansen most of last season which gave Dunnagan a year to figure out how to win without her.

eaglejacket1421 · December 14, 2008, 04:12:15 PM

Big news coming out of the CAC - UMW defeated #1 Kean Saturday in Goolrick Gymnasium. That's 36 straight home wins in Fredericksburg.

This directly impacts the ODAC since RMC will be taking on UMW in St. Thomas on the 29th.

This will be quite a contest. Ashton Mitchell is UMW's go to post player and really their only inside threat. Ariail and Riesbeck should out size and out power her. She is more of a finesse post player whereas Molly and Lindsay bring blunt force into the paint. HOWEVER - Mitchell can shoot both inside and outside the paint and should not be taken lightly, she will challenge M and L's ability to guard post players outside of the lane, which has proven difficult in the past. RMC must take advantage of their size and pound the ball inside, and the post for RMC must beware Mitchell's ability to block shots.

As far as guard play is concerned - UMW has two senior guards, Katy Larson and Kaitie Clarkin to look out for. Both are deadly beyond the arc (especially Clarkin... an NBA three is a walk in the park for her) and Larson can take it to the rack with the best of the guards in Division III. Larson also has the ability to take the game into her own hands, which is a great tool for Mary Washington to make use of. Amanda Hiltunen will be tested defensively in this match up. I personally would put her on Larson: she is very quick and Hiltunen will match up with her well both offensively and defensively.

I'm going to predict a RMC win, simply because UMW is away from their home court and is a very young team in a true rebuilding year. Coach Applebury has done a good job tweaking her game plan for such a young line up and has found success in her veteran triangle of Mitchell, Clarkin, and Larson. I feel the youth might hurt them in this match up. This is going to be a close one and I just wish it was being played somewhere in Virginia (since the two schools are only 30 minutes away from eachother!).

Anybody know if it will be broadcasted???

mamadukes · December 15, 2008, 06:12:34 PM

I've found no links to the game, but will post broadcast info if any becomes available.
The outcome of this game depends on so much. Playing a few days after a long break can be trying to these athletes.
While I appreciate your knowledge of the UMW and RMC programs, eaglejacket, I think there may be a few surprises for you when you see this year's UMW squad.

But the true tests for both teams will be how they finish the season. It's far too early to know in either the ODAC or the CAC.

Jeremybozz · December 19, 2008, 10:27:02 PM

Bridgewater 56, Occidental 51 FINAL

George Fox is going to be a tough assignment on Saturday.

Jeremybozz · December 20, 2008, 05:33:10 PM

George Fox 64, Bridgewater 52 FINAL

BC did lead 30-28 at the half.

hoopstermom · December 20, 2008, 07:55:29 PM

VWC loses to Occidental 78-68 in the same tourney. Tough losses for both ODAC teams. At least Bridgewater picked up one win.

A few more games over the holidays - Lynchburg vs Augustana tomorrow, RMC vs Mary Washington and Cabrini (in St. Thomas!!) on the 29th and 30th respectively and W&L against Apprentice schoo on the 30th ---- then the season really begins. Can't wait.

whitecaylxx · December 30, 2008, 12:08:41 PM

Why is there no chatter about RMC losing to Cabrini??

mamadukes · December 30, 2008, 01:57:46 PM

Tough loss for both Virginia teams in St. Thomas. UMW fell to Montclair State with a buzzer beating three-pointing. OUCH!
I think probably both teams got the rust out last evening and look forward to a great game tonight.
Any idea why they don't play IN Virginia? I know they've never scrimmaged, but not a scheduled game.

mamadukes · December 30, 2008, 09:49:43 PM

Eaglejacket!
You owe me lunch! Eagles over Randolph-Macon 66-50.

eaglejacket1421 · December 31, 2008, 02:37:19 PM

Hahah, you're absolutely right mamadukes. I'll take you to Outback sometime! haha.

From the information I've gathered, and the fact that the score was 50-66, UMW didn't only win the contest but did so in a rather decisive manner. Ashton Mitchell dropping in double digit figures shows that she is not only a finesse post presence, but also a gal that can go toe to toe with the power play of forwards like Molly Ariail and Lindsay Riesbeck. I really wish I could have seen this game with my own eyes to truly analyze what happened. I'm curious about what Hiltunen was able to do, as well as Molly and Lindsay inside. I'm also curious about the defensive strategy that both coaches went with. It will be interesting to see when the stats come out and everybody gets a little more info.

No surprise that Katy Larson had a great game. She's working on CAC POY status in my opinion. The big surprise, and probably what put the Eagles over the top was 16 points from Ashley Reed. You can't scout for that, and having other people contribute on any given night has always been an advantage that UMW can count on. Kudos to her for stepping up big when it really mattered.

I'm with you mamadukes - I wish these two teams would schedule non-conference games on a yearly basis. They scrimmage almost every year, but the competition between the two is always fun to watch. Being only 30 mins away from each other is just the icing on the cake.

As far as R-MC's Christmas trip goes, they have to be a little concerned about traveling such a long way to pick up two losses. But knowing Coach LaHaye, I'd say that she and the rest of the Yellow Jackets will use the losses to learn about themselves and to figure out what changes need to be made in order to take home the ODAC title. The good side of all of this is it doesn't hurt their standing in the ODAC, which is what really matters. Look for them to make a real statement at the W&L game.

mamadukes · December 31, 2008, 03:17:28 PM

You're on Eaglejacket!
I, for one, am anxious to see the boxscore and play-by-play of these games. I hear the point spread at the half was only 4 points and the Eagles chipped away in the second half. They do that from time to time, as folks that have seen them play know. I, too, wish I could have been there. I'm sure more details will become available. Right now, I think RMC and UMW have a free day in St. Thomas. New Year's Eve in the VIrgin Islands, imagine that:

Many surprises from this freshman laden squad this season, but not from Ashley, Kaitie, Katy and Ashton. While they all haven't been starters, they are very experienced so their success should not be surprising!
Mama's proud of all her girls, even the ones that play in the ODAC.

I'm back to the CAC board!
Happy New Year!

dukeofargyle · January 04, 2009, 05:15:25 PM

Quote from: whitecaylxx on December 04, 2008, 01:33:32 PM

"You seem to be right - Washington and Lee does need to "steady down" and take care of the ball. Last night's game should have been the Generals."

Oh man, girls, sweeeeet! Steady as it goes. The sophs & freshman are growing up!!! Amazing, amazing game.

The Generals over Randolph Macon, 67-66. Meg Ingram was awesome. Herman, Bolton, Nadeau & Camp did a great job down low over the RMC' s strongest post game in ODAC. W&L up by 16 at half & Gennies out-rebounded RMC in first half. Forced a large number of turnovers on RMC in second.

Congrats go out from Lex to Molly Ariel for her great game and her 1000 points tonight.

whitecaylxx · January 04, 2009, 06:47:47 PM

Dukeofargyle - I knew when RMC lost to a team like Cabrini that W & L might be able to take RMC. Great win for the Generals - glad to see the playing time was spread around a bit. Season looks bright!

dukeofargyle · January 04, 2009, 08:28:30 PM

Yep; W & L led against Cabrini 'til about 2 mins left in that game. Interesting that RMC led at no time during tonight's game other than for 1 minute by 2 points right after tipoff.

3 things that were real rewarding in this game; even though RMC came back after the half and recovered their 16 points to tie it up, W&L kept their composure and answered with consistent defense to slow them down and the offense scored at key moments.

The second is that W&L has an emerging offense that could now quickly jell with Nadeau who is a tough, steady & composed presence controlling the baseline, Bolton who is an athletic player who gets great position to score, Ingram who sees the court well for assists & is hard to defend as she can score from about any position, and Herman who can apparently shoot from inside or outside the paint, & whose presence can change the dynamic of any game as soon as she steps on to the court (as long as she stays out of foul trouble). Add to these the ability for some swipes & sweet threes from Ridenhour, Long, Pfannenstein & Horan and you could have a team that should be capable of some impressive offensive output.

The third is that their defense put great consistent pressure on RMC; the W&L guards causing chaos and forcing turnovers on the yellow jackets and Camp's defensive abilities in the paint giving them few easy looks underneath. It's all about teamwork. We will see...could make the season real interesting, as you said.

Exciting game - kudos to both RMC and W&L.