WBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Jeremybozz]

Feb. 10
       7:00 PM     Virginia Wesleyan          Bridgewater   
VWC is struggling while Bridgewater is rolling.  Not to mention this game is in Harrisonburg...

      7:00 PM    Washington & Lee       Emory & Henry 
W&L need to get back on the horse after losing to a "distracted" Lynchburg squad.
           
      7:00 PM    Hollins                       Randolph        

     
      7:00 PM    Randolph-Macon       Eastern Mennonite
Tough game in Harrisonburg - RMC's looking for a W after falling to Roanoke. EMU feels the same, but substitute a weaker Guilford.
           
Feb. 11                         
     7:00 PM    Lynchburg               Guilford
After LC proved they weren't letting off-court issues distract them, I'm a believer.

Predictions?

Really? I didn't know the BC women played home games at EMU or JMU.

[eaglejacket1421]

I'm from right outside the area... Trust me when I say Bridgewater might as well be / pretty much is Harrisonburg...

[mamadukes]

I'll back that up Eaglejacket!  Just don't say it to the alum that stayed in Bridgewater!  YOU know how they can be Lovely place!
Looks like they had a real barnburner down that way tonight!VWC by 2 Any eyewitnesses?

[Bammer]

Good win for the Generals, always good to get an away win.  Tough 4 game stretch to finish the season, RMC, EMU, Roanoke and Bridgewater.  This is a good test before the ODAC tournament.  Looking forward to going to watch the game at RMC.  RMC with 3 premier players in the league will be a tough match-up.  It would be unheard of if the Generals could pull the upset and sweep RMC this year.  Good job Generals, finish strong.

[whitecaylxx]

I think the W & L / Emory & Henry game was a little close for comfort don't you?  The Generals will have to step it up considerably if they expect to get through this 4 game stretch.  How about those Bridgewater Eagles?  Ahh, the one that got away... 

[Bammer]

I agree that they will need to elevate their play over the next 4 games to the level that they were at 4-5 games ago.  I expect they will go at least 2-2 over that stretch and hopefully better.  This will probably be the best season ever in the ODAC for the Generals.  Mandy King has made quite an impact on this program and seems to be headed in the right direction.  Any predictions on the Saturday game at RMC?

[dukeofargyle]

"I think the W & L / Emory & Henry game was a little close for comfort don't you?  The Generals will have to step it up considerably if they expect to get through this 4 game stretch.  How about those Bridgewater Eagles?  Ahh, the one that got away..."

caylxx, 'ones' might be more accurate. Interesting to note that out of the 5 games that got away, 4 were won by a one-shot point range. The only resounding conference defeat of the season was early on, to VWC. The same VW who has now been defeated by this W&L squad, albeit by a smaller margin.

For the upcoming tough stretch, rebounds, knocking out the opponent's incoming passes & limiting W&L turnovers will be all-important. Nadeau's & Bolton's considerable defensive skills will be needed throughout the game and Herman must stay on the floor.

IMO, the Gennies have plenty of very talented offensive weapons. Even so (& I can't repeat this enough)- KEY to these upcoming games will be defense; defense; & more defense. A stifling, chaos-creating, in-your-face defensive display that, if exhausting, will be entirely worth the effort.

[generalee]

Now that it is getting down to the final laps - who does everyone think will be the player of the year, rookie of the year, etc.?

[eaglejacket1421]

For POY I initially wanted to go with someone off of Roanoke's roster just b/c of the spectacular accomplishment they've been able to achieve - Who honestly thought they'd be #1 preseason?

*Jaleesa Osborne is the heart and soul of that team. Her name also shows up in the scoring, field goal percentage, assists, steals, assist/turnover ratio, and minutes played statistical leaders. If Roanoke can somehow take home the ODAC regular season title, I'd give my vote to her.

Let's not forget that RMC is nipping at RC's heels in the standings. If they end up running away with the title the voting gets a little tougher. It has to go to either Molly Ariail, Amanda Hiltunen, or Lindsay Riesbeck.

*Molly's input on the success of Macon is undeniable. When she sometimes decides to not show up or not play to her full potential for whatever reason, RMC definitely feels the pain. She leads the league in scoring, is second in rebounding, 6th in FG %, 15th in FT %, 3rd in blocked shots, 1st in offensive rebounds, 5th in defensive boards, and does it all without cracking the minutes played list.

*Amanda has faced challenges this year that have tremendously caused her role on the team to shift. With the injury of PG Jen O'Briant, Hiltunen has found herself spending multiple minutes at the point guard position - yet somehow she managed to stay sixth in the league in scoring, second in field goal %, second in assists, second in FT %, 4th in steals, 3rd in 3pt %, 11th in 3pters made, (EVEN THIRTEENTH IN BLOCKED SHOTS!), second in assist/turnover ratio, and 6th in minutes played. She may just be the favorite, because take her off of this team, and they would struggle. She is invaluable and may have played herself into POY status. Those stats are impressive.

As far as Rookie of the Year is concerned - W&L's Ingram is an obvious front-runner. She's 3rd in scoring, 6th in assists, and first in 3pters made. She's also been a huge reason why W&L has been able to upset so many opponents this year. It's gotta go to either her or Bolton? Any other freshmen canidates??

[generalee]

Ingram?  What does she do defensively?  She scores, but does she defend?

[eaglejacket1421]

I can't really argue that point... but it's important to remember that Freshman of the Year doesn't necessarily have to be Super Woman if the freshman class isn't tremendous. She's controlling the statistical leaderboard at this point, so I tip my hat in her direction.

I'm open to any other candidates that play on both sides of the ball.

[Bammer]

Ingram is second on the team in steals, just behind Nadeau.  Against VWC with the Generals up by 1 with 30 seconds to go, Ingram came out of no where and blocked a lay up by VWC,  huge defensive play.  Also, she guarded Hiltunen and Guilford's Seufer this year and did a strong job against them.  I would think that her defensive work would aid her cause for ROY>

[dukeofargyle]

"Ingram?  What does she do defensively?  She scores, but does she defend?"

generalee, I would second eaglejacket's ROY pick here for Ingram.  Though I agree that her main strengths are in the offense & in assists, she's an aggressive player who never lets the ball out of her sight, thus producing many opportunities for swipes. She covers her man closely and can come from out of nowhere to block shots.

Mainly though, she's proved that she's as clutch as they come down the stretch of a close game.

[bballmom4]

I know that the stats for most of this players are really impressive, however, one must always remember that in order for these players to get these impressive stats, they have to have played as a team.  So who really deserves the vote, the one that just puts up the shots, or the defensive leader who is just a great all around player, always looking for the person who has the open look, etc.  Its too bad that you just can't be at every game to see the girls and how they interact with their team-mates and just "who deserves the award".  There are a few young ladies whose defense "wins the game".  That seems to go overlooked.  I guess I always just look for the unsung hero award.  There are a lot of them out there.

[Bammer]

What about coach of the year?  You could certainly go with Roanoke's coach but maybe Coach King of the Generals should get consideration also.  This is the strongest showing by the Generals in the ODAC in quite a while.