WBB: Northwest Conference

[Handles]

Which point guard for LC will make Ely work a lot more?  I'm not sure anyone can make her work as much as the Whitman defenders did last Saturday. 

What about Ely shutting down the freshman Williams??  Ely is one of the best defenders in the conference.  She has shut down 6'0 forward, tough shooting guards, and quick scoring point guards.

I agree it will be one of the biggest weekends in the conference so far!!

[Lutefisk]

Herring was outstanding in the recent game I watched...

[Handles]

I agree that Herring is playing pretty well......But that entire LC team is playing well and that is why they are winning.  I'm not sure that Herring alone can stop Ely and the Loggers.  What I liked about the Loggers is that when Ely was shut down others stepped up and produced.  Their freshman from Oregon dropped in 27 points and Riordon seemed to get back on track as well.  If the Loggers can defend like they did earlier in the year, holding opponents under 50 points, it could make for a very interesting game.

Still waiting to hear from you Swiss?

[BruinFan]

Bruins up 14 just under 8 minutes to play.

[BruinFan]

Anyone see the Lewis and Clark vs. George Fox game in person?
It did not sound pretty. Tough to score.

Congrats to Gardner, Kuenzi, and Keener the 3 Bruin seniors have now been a part of 50 conference wins during their career.

Can Lewis and Clark bounce back tomorrow against UPS? If not, I don't think they will be able to catch up during the 2nd half of the  season. It will be GFox and UPS battling for the top 2 spots.

[NWCSportsFan]

I was at the L&C-GFU game.  It was ugly, especially the officiating.  It was 17-7 Fox at halftime.  L&C played a very diliberate game, often seeming not wanting to take open shots.  Fox missed a lot of easy shots due to the physical nature of the L&C defense.  I believe UPS will handle L&C tomorrow night, and it will be a two team race, GFU and UPS in the second half.

[Lutefisk]

So much for my predictions!!!  LOL... 

[northernstar]

Kudos to George Fox for continuing dominance in the Northwest Conference.  Although I believe them to be not as strong as last season, they are getting the job done.  Although they have been in some tougher battles this year, the only team that looks like they have a decent shot at knocking them off, would be Puget Sound.  That should be a fun game to watch, just as the first meeting was earlier this month!

[Handles]

It is incredibly difficult to predict anything in this conference.  Congrats to UPS for getting the job done on Friday night and totally dominating LC on Saturday night.  Friday night, once again, becomes a huge game between UPS and Fox!! What are the predictions for that game??? 

[Handles]

BruinFan,

I'm really curious to know what you think about the outcome of the Fox VS. UPS game??  Can the Loggers win?

[BruinFan]

Handles,

Yes I think that UPS can win. Ely is a great guard with a knack for stealing the ball. George Fox sometimes has too many turnovers and in a close game on the road that can be the difference.

With the second half of conference play beginning this week, here are my predictions for the final standings.

GFU  15-1
UPS  14-2
WW  11-5
LC     11-5
PAC  7-9
PLU   5-11
WM   4-12
LIN    4-12
WIL   1-15

I do think there is one certain prediction that can be made in this conference. George Fox and UPS will be in the conference play-off championship game playing for the automatic bid to the tournament.

[Handles]

I would agree with your comment about Ely!!  She is playing at a different level and the only team to shut her down was Whitman.  But Whitman could not stop the rest of UPS.    If the Loggers play defense like they did at LC, everyone is the conference is going to struggle.

Do you really think LC and Whitworth will tie for the 4th place spot??  LC looked pretty dominating until this weekend.

Could this be another year where 2 NWC teams get to dance??

[BruinFan]

LC and Whitworth both finishing at 11-5 is a stretch. I think it is more likely that LC will lose 3 games in the 2nd half (visiting GF, UPS, and the Whit's) than Whitworth only losing 1. I just had a hard time finding another loss for Whitworth other than at GF. They host the Tacoma schools and LC.

I would not be surprised if Whitworth finished at 10-6 or 9-7, but will stick with my original prediction just for the fun of it. I will be surprised if Lewis and Clark wins more than 11 games.

As long as UPS and GF only lose to each other, I would hope getting 2 teams in the tournament is possible since it is the conference that produced last year's champion.

[Handles]

I think your predictions are pretty accurate.  Its tough to go to eastern washington and win games and LC gets to make that trip this weekend after dropping two.....They very easily could drop two more this weekend.  Both Whitman and Whitworth play very well at home.  UPS also still has to make that trip and if they are not prepared they could get bit over there as well.

Besides the Loggers, I'm not sure if anyone else can challenge George Fox?

[northernstar]

It is tough to make predictions, because usually you are proven wrong almost the very first weekend.  However, God hates a coward, so here we go:

CURRENT STANDINGS
George Fox      8 - 0
Puget Sound    7 - 1
Lewis & Clark   6 - 2
Whitworth        4 - 4
Pacific (Ore.)       3 - 5
Pacific Lutheran 3 - 5
Whitman          2 - 6
Linfield             2 - 6
Willamette       1 - 7

PREDICTED FINAL STANDINGS
UPS   15 - 1
GFU   15 - 1
LC     11 - 5
WW  10 - 6
PAC     7 - 9
WM     5 - 11
PLU     5 - 11
LIN     3 - 13
WIL     1 - 15