WBB: Northwest Conference

[mkt]

Lots of great stuff already said so I don't have much to add.  The snow and postponement caused me to miss the L&C @ GFU game, but the outcome was pretty much what we expected anyway.  I did make it to the Whitworth @ L&C game, which as already observed did not have the expected outcome, especially with Wang still in street clothes.  When Whitworth won the tournament last year I thought it was a fluke but they've shown this season that they are indeed a tough and scrappy team, remarkably lacking in height as d3wbbfan observed, but with good skills and athleticism and given that they're mostly the same size they can interchange roles frequently.  E.g. Lahue in theory is their big person, but she put up more 3-pointers than anyone else:  8 of them, and made 4.  Somewhat reminiscent of last year's L&C team, when they went small and would put nobody taller than 5'9" Taylor Wang on the court.

So Whitworth might be one of the few good teams who L&C has a size advantage over.  Usually L&C's big people are either blah or cover-your-eyes-and-hope-for-the-best, but Casey Zinn exploded (by her standards) for a double-double, 11 points and 11 rebounds.  I thought L&C owned the defensive boards for stretches in the game, but looking at the box score I see that the rebounding was pretty even overall so my subjective judgement might be off there.  In contrast to Zinn, Daron Dean looked awful; she'd missed last season with IIRC a leg injury but in games that I saw earlier this season seemed to offer some veteran savvy.  Even in this game she was frequently asked to dribble the ball out of backcourt to break Whitworth's press.  She actually performed that task adequately, but looked bad otherwise and it was no surprise that she played only 9 minutes.

But Whitworth couldn't generate quite enough offense, and perhaps should've adjusted their defense to concentrate more on Katie Anderson. The teams in the NWC usually emphasize team ball but there are several players in the NWC who are capable of carrying a team on their back, and Anderson is one of them.

Well we all knew that the NWC has plenty of tough and dangerous teams, and Whitworth ran into one of the land mines.  I'll try to get out to the Whitworth @ GFU semifinal.  Whitworth would seem to be the underdog -- but they were last year too.  I'm expecting a good game, and a great tournament final.

[d3wbbfan]

Whitman defeats UPS, 77-60. Typical Missionaries' workman-like effort. (Also great to have an NWC at #1 again!) 30 for Johns. She's been scoring at will, of late. Her PG decision-making this season is 100 times better than last. Not trying to make every other possession a fast break. This has cut both her own turnover rate and the team's total empty trips *way* down. Anderegg and Traver had 12 each, White had 12 rebounds, while Coach Ferenz got her usual solid bench play from Ketner/Maeda/Brewer.

Loggers are gonna be right in it again next year. Their top 4 (Forshay/Ainslie/Agcaolli/Sheldon) are all back, and Loree Payne is right up there with the other 3 playoff coaches. To me, the 4 best NWC coaches made the 13-14 playoffs.....

Whitworth explodes for 50 in the 2nd half, and wins going away in Newberg, 74-55, over George Fox. Very few combined 1st half points. Thought that was trouble for the Bruins. The Pirates have exploded on O in the 2nd half numerous times this season (except for that one, recent upset at L&C.) I've just seen the Bucs score in buckets (pun intended) late too many times, for it not to be who they truly are. It's a big reason why I've been so high on them. I knew Whitworth would play like rabid dogs in this game, after giving away the home-court advantage. Man, they did, and then some! How often has Fox lost by 19 at home in the last 6-7 years? Can't be very many times...

Post game, the Bruin announcers didn't seem to think the team has much chance at all, for an at-large bid. They were thinking Whitworth advancing to the NWC final now gives the Pirates a huge leg up, over their own candidacy. I strongly disagree. I still think George Fox is an NCAA lock. Look at the numbers. A 20-4 DIII record. All 4 losses to the Whits. I just don't see any way Whitworth gets an at-large bid at the Bruins' expense, though. Despite this semifinal loss. Even with the "upset" win tonight, Whitworth's overall DIII record is still just 16-5. NWC teams are aware that playing NAIA teams can hurt their at-large calculations, as they are ignored by the NCAA, win or lose. And remember, the Bruins *did* beat the Pirates in their first NWC meeting. In fact, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if George Fox is still chosen to be one of the 16 host school locations. (To me, the main reason Fox won't be a 13-14 host is simply the added NCAA travel expense of having to ship 6 other teams, all likely from either CA, TX or MN, and getting them to both Walla Walla and Newberg - neither of which is exactly "easy access!" Just getting 3 teams to Walla Walla would surely save the NCAA some money. I just hate that geography comes into play here, however.)

Hey, I'm not gonna make a big deal about the all-NWC teams. They looked pretty solid to me overall. But how on earth does Arnoldy make the 1st team over Benner? I know Fox is a top team, and I guess they "automatically" deserve one player on the 1st team. And I know voters usually like to defer to a hard-working, classy senior, over a sophomore who has two more seasons. But holy smokes, Arnoldy's selection is still a major reach to me. Maybe they just voted for the Bruin player that Coach Meek asked them to. I know Potter's and Maltman's teams weren't big factors, but they're seniors, too. And they're both really good. Whatever....... 

I expect "The Battle Of The Whits, Vol. 3" to be just as tough as the first two games were. I know Coach Higgs will have her group super ready. Even though my #1 Missionaries are in, win or lose, I truly hope they haven't forgotten the sting of last year's home playoff loss to Whitworth. Besides, Whitman, unlike most teams, is *not* the sort of club that would benefit from a pre-NCAA loss. They both love and thrive on pressure. The more of it, the better. It's what makes Whitman unique, and a real threat to advance very deep in the tourney. Yes, they have both skilled players and a terrific coach. If needed, they can score late. Almost on cue, in fact. And they know how to stop the other team late. But above all else, they are experts on WINNING. They've won having a hot start. Or a cold start. Or an OK start. Or with foul trouble. Or with no foul trouble. Or with teams pressing. Or not pressing them. Or if their 3's are falling. Or if they're not falling. Everything that can possibly go wrong in a game for them already has. And they've still won them all. To boot, the team feels like it has unfinished NCAA business from last season. Even more fuel to their fire! The way I see it, all the Missionaries need now is continued health, and a little luck. Crossing my fingers! Good luck to my NWC brethren. Would love to see 3 teams qualify for the big dance again!!!!

[mkt]

The Whitworth @ George Fox game was closer and more tense than the score would indicate, it wasn't until about 2/3 of the way through the second half that Whitworth took control, and then was able to pile on points at the end due to GFU having to foul, and then score quickly, leading to the next foul and yet more Whitworth FTs.

Very low scoring first half, GFU especially couldn't buy a basket; they were missing the tough shots but they were also missing the good looks that they got.  Though at a height disadvantage, Whitworth was ferocious on the boards (outrebounding the bigger Bruins by a small margin) and quick and hard-charging on defense.  I don't think GFU lacked effort, but Whitworth was maniacal. 

And in the second half their offense finally started clicking, and they gradually pulled away.  Reminiscent of last season's Lewis & Clark team, they're small but determined and athletic.  I like watching their offense, it's sort of a women's Div III version of the drive-and-kick offense that's becoming popular in men's Div I:  get the ball into the lane (not necessarily with the dribble drive; Whitworth will sometimes work it in with passing), when the help defense comes collapsing in kick the ball back out for either a 3-pointer or a slash to the basket.  It requires very good court vision and decision-making by the balllhandler in the lane and good spacing and positioning by her teammates, but they ran the offense well against GFU and the flow and teamwork are fun to watch, with the players off the ball going to the right spot and the passer knowing that her teammate would be there.

Three teams from the NWC would be great and probably deserved.  I agree that Whitman and GFU are or at least should be locks.  But if Whitworh loses in the NWC final, will they still get a tournament bid?

And I'm expecting them to lose to Whitman.  But I didn't expect them to win Thurs night, and I didn't expect them to win last year, and well we've seen how those games turned out.  Whitman and GFU are powerfully good teams.  And somehow Whitworth manages to play as if they belong up there with them ... and maybe they do.

It was a heck of a regular season in the NWC.  Here's hoping the NCAA tournament is as exciting and rewarding for the NWC teams.

[dahlby]

The NWC definitely deserves 3 bids. Whitworth's win means that Chapman probably won't receive a pool C bid. A few upsets in the MW doesn't help Chapman's case either.

[d3wbbfan]

I'm hoping I can *finally* now get my long-hesitant friend mkt on the Whitworth bandwagon!

Because, for the 2nd straight year, the Pirates have managed to win 2 tough road games in 3 nights, have garnered the NWC's automatic NCAA bid, and cut down the nets in somebody else's gym. 68-65 Whitworth the final, temporarily de-railing the #1 Missionaries' 2013-14 winning ways.

It was a great game. Pretty much dead even for the whole 40 minutes. The weirdest thing? Whitman played one of their very best overall games this season, in defeat. Anderegg was a beast. 23 pts, in a season-high 38 minutes. Johns & Traver 15 each. Whitman led at the half, 26-23. White was in foul trouble all game, but stuff like that's gonna happen.

Not too many runs, but with it 31-25 Missionaries with 17:38 to go, Helen Higgs got a boost from her 2nd half spark, Katara Belton-Sharp, who hit 2 3's, in just 1:02. Each team also added a 2, so it's 33-all, with 14:59 left. A Traver 3 makes it 40-37 Whitman, at 13:14. But the Bucs then post a key 9-0 run, highlighted by a Kendra Knutsen 3, and it's suddenly 46-40 Whitworth. Whitman then gets 5 right back, to be back within 1. Then KC McConnell (who had her 2nd straight big game), scores 2 quick hoops. 50-45 visitors.

The lead stayed at around 4, until the biggest shot of the game. A dagger 3 by Kayla Johnson, with 1:37 to go, to extend the lead briefly to 7, 61-54. Some quick Anderegg points got it back to between 3 and 4, with still over 1:00 left.

A season-long Whitman bugaboo is that they are a below-average FT shooting team. Hey, nobody's perfect. But 3 key misses, by usual bench stalwarts Maeda and Ketner, during that key 0-9 run, hurt the hosts. But, on the evening, Whitman was a very respectable (for them) 20-27 at the line.

Whitworth has got to lead the league in FT %. And as mkt pointed out in his George Fox report, Whitworth made every late 2nd FT on Thursday. Well, guess what. After Lahue missed one with 10:44 to go, the Pirates made their last SEVENTEEN in a row (until a miss with less than :02 to go, likely done on purpose, leaving no-TO's-left Whitman with just a no-chance, full-court heave.) During that exact same stretch, Whitman shot 13-18. I'm sure Coach Ferenz would take that FT % every game. But 17-17 is 4 points more than 13-18 is, and in the end, that one stat proved to be the difference in the 3-point Whitworth victory. McConnell had 18, Kayla Johnson 16, and Belton-Sharp 10. The Pirates deserved it. And Whitman was not looking ahead to the NCAA's. To their credit, they were fully engaged, gave it everything they had, and played their usual great game. Over the years, I've seen a lot of teams with both an NCAA bid and host site already locked up, who would've given far less. As a result, I'm quite proud of the overall Whitman Saturday effort. They've won 15+ games this season, not playing nearly as well as they did tonight. Whitworth just played 1% better than them tonight. It happens. Overall, it was a *great* example of NWC WBB at its very best. And that's good for all of us. Right, BruinFan?

As a Whitman fan, it could surely be far worse. At least a loss now doesn't end their season. And as mkt said before, the NWC is extremely tough. There was no shame in losing this game. A very high level of play throughout, between two top D3 teams.

I'm fully expecting George Fox to receive their Monday invite. So good luck to all 3 NWC powers, as their NCAA journeys begin. Let's again show the right of the country how good this league is!   

[BruinFan]

I do think George Fox will be selected to join Whitworth and Whitman in the tournament. I expect that two of the three NWC teams will be in the same pod and have to play each other in round 2.

[d3wbbfan]

Just like last year, when host L&C had Whitman in their pod, while Whitworth got shipped out to Atlanta.

I just heard a live Helen Higgs interview on D3 Hoopsville. She said that while it was a long flight to go play at Emory last March, overall, they enjoyed it, despite the loss. She said otherwise, it would've felt just like a repeat of the NWC tourney they just played in. (Even though her team won it.) Both a valid and interesting point. The host said to Higgs that her team's resume is almost identical to what it was at this point last season.

Question for BruinFan. If you could choose, would you want the Bruins to be shipped out, or make another trek up to Walla Walla? Logic dictates your team would stay closer, and the AQ Pirates will be getting still more frequent-flyer miles. And one more. What option do you think Coach Meek would opt for? I realize he has no say - but I'm curious as to your take - on his take.

Crossing my fingers for you at the 2:30ET Monday NCAA DIII WBB bracket reveal. I'm real confident Fox is in. But, as you stated earlier, in Pool C, it's never certain until you actually see your team's name up on the board!

[Manny24]

Having witnessed first hand all of the games between GF and the Whits this season, I would guess that Meek has seen enough of the scrappy, sharp shooting women from Eastern WA. and would no doubt prefer to see someone else if they get an invite. He would, in my opinion choose to be shipped out. Unfortunately,  I agree as previously noted that they will more than likely have to at least see one of them one more time if they want to get out of the first/second round.

I think a bigger issue Meek and his team needs to overcome is a lack of confidence, to perform in the last 10 minutes, in a close game and finish strong. As previous Bruins teams have.  All of GF's losses this year, ( Whits) they have been in it but have lost the discipline required to stay in the game. Whether it be poor decisions/defense sending GF players to the bench with foul trouble and the Whits to the line (not a good game plan against either of those teams) or not changing out some of his players that appear to me to have turnover issues when in the pressure cooker. He has the bench to do it.

If they are gifted with an invite. Regroup, Re-focus,  and go out and have some fun!

 

[(509)Rat]

Women's committee put together a terrible bracket

Whitman hosts

Whitman v Chapman
GF v Whitworth

So we get to see a repeat of the NWC tournament...awesome.

[Manny24]

No Doubt, I'm sure GF is happy to be in, but not so to face the Whits yet again!

Congrats to all NWC teams! To bad only one has the opportunity to move on past the second round.

[wildcat11]

Women's committee put together a terrible bracket

Whitman hosts

Whitman v Chapman
GF v Whitworth

So we get to see a repeat of the NWC tournament...awesome.

This may stink but is this really that surprising they skimped on the playoff flight dollars?  I do like the NCAA better than the old NAIA days but the NWC getting hosed in multiple sports come playoff time (in terms of NWC rematches) has now become a time-honored tradition.

[(509)Rat]

Women's committee put together a terrible bracket

Whitman hosts

Whitman v Chapman
GF v Whitworth

So we get to see a repeat of the NWC tournament...awesome.

This may stink but is this really that surprising they skimped on the playoff flight dollars?  I do like the NCAA better than the old NAIA days but the NWC getting hosed in multiple sports come playoff time (in terms of NWC rematches) has now become a time-honored tradition.

They had the $ though. Paid for other flights they didn't need to. But you're right, everyone should be used to this by now.

[d3wbbfan]

The good news? All 3 NWC powers got in. The bad news? Basically, an NWC tournament redux (swapping out UPS for Chapman). Congrats to BruinFan, for the deserved at-large bid. Dave McHugh of D3/Hoopsville recently interviewed the NCAA nat'l committee head. McHugh asked him specifically about why the 3 NWC teams were kept together. He said something absolutely fascinating. He implied that the committee was *very* fearful that multiple NWC teams would advance to the Sweet 16, from different pods. And that would likely result in the NCAA having to fly out two NWC teams, instead of just one (which this pod guarantees), to a distant second-weekend site. (I guess that means that no matter who advances out of Walla Walla, they won't be hosting, even if it's Whitman, because they won't fly 3 other teams out. For reference, only 3 total flights are happening, the entire first weekend.)

Wildcat11 is a million % right. The always-huge DIII limit-air-travel-at-all-costs issue has been further ratcheted up at NCAA HQ, in just the past year, now to a near-fever pitch. Everyone, at every level of the process, knows that 3 NWC teams in the same pod is both extremely unfair and undesirable. In fact, I don't think any of the other 15 4-team pods have even *two* conference members in together, much less three. But the national committee is 100% hamstrung, The NCAA constitution says they can only spend something like 3.4% of their total budget on DIII. The only way that DIII can get any % increase now, is if a majority of the DI & DII schools voted yes to a change. And the chances of that happening? Negative infinity.   

Coach Higgs Tweeted today that it is truly a shame that only one NWC team can now advance to the Sweet 16. To her credit, she's not just being subjective. She's 100% right. But based on the comment by the Committee chair, that was basically their entire point. To quickly eliminate as many distant, plane-requiring NWC teams as possible.

This situation keeps happening to the NWC. And it will keep happening, for one other major reason. Nationally, the NAIA bears little resemblance to what it looked like 20 years ago. For example, there isn't a *single* NAIA league left in New England. 8 DIII leagues got automatic bids today. It used to be a 4-4 NCAA/NAIA league split, I believe. The NAIA survives today due to some geographic pockets of remaining strength. From loyal, longtime members, mostly from St. Louis and west. And while I will always have a soft spot for the NAIA, the fact that the NAIA DII Cascade Conference and the NAIA DI Frontier Conference remain in existence has hurt the NWC terribly, as NCAA DIII members. As does, to a lesser degree, the NAIA DII Calif. Pacific Conf, and NAIA DI Golden State Conf. I know that NAIA DI conferences give out athletic aid, and those schools likely want to maintain that setup, precluding a possible future move to NCAA DIII. But the NAIA DII doesn't give athletic aid. Even getting just the Cascade and the Calif. Pacific leagues into our region of NCAA DIII would help out the NWC a ton.

A further hit that the NWC takes from this is when they play any NAIA team in pre-season, the game results are not counted by the NCAA, win or lose. NCAA DIII win pct IS a criteria used by the committee. Whitman didn't need it this year, but their 13-14 win over Eastern Oregon counted for nothing. There's just NO good reason that Whitman should pay a "penalty", for playing a nearby, respected NAIA team. The two schools are similar is many ways, recruit many of the same kids, and are similar in talent. On the one hand, the NCAA refuses to spend $ on D3. But when Whitman attempts to do the exact same thing: play quality teams, of similar athletic/academic philosophy, who are as geographically close to them as possible, instead of traveling to CA, MN or TX to find/play other DIII teams, they are harmed, in regard to their at-large profiles. There is *no* NCAA concession made for the NWC, as to geography. (Obviously, these exact same issues affect each and every NWC team.) Yet the NCAA expects our league's teams to then "understand", when these exact same travel issues/expenses negatively impact both the NWC's profile and participation in NCAA championships. To me, that is just wrong, on several levels. And it has manifested itself, yet again, with today's bracket. When a process is in place that is patently unfair, a high-ranking NCAA official gets asked about it and says, "Nobody's happy about it. But it is what it is." And is still allowed to continue, year after year, it doesn't speak very well of an organization that is aways tripping over itself, and thumping its chest about how painfully fair and equitable it always is.

Well NWC, lets try and make some chicken salad this weekend, out of these chicken droppings....

[wildcat11]

d3wbbfan,

That was a great post/read.  +1 to you.  It's funny that when I talk to some of the local DII/NAIA folks they are quick to remind me that it was the NWC presidents back in 90's that decided to dump the State/Directional Schools and run for the NCAA logo.  They're correct the move killed a massively robust and at one time thriving NAIA culture in the PacNW.  I don't blame the NWC presidents because the gap between some of the privates and state schools was ever widening.  The privates with stronger athletic departments were left with a tough choice but in the end I feel like they made the correct one.

Since that time there have been a few PacNW NAIA schools that looked into going DIII (Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho) but the NWC presidents told them they would not be welcomed into the NWC. 

Bottom line, you're 100% right that playoff situation isn't changing.  As long as the NWC gets multiple teams into any playoff situation you can expect rematch situations.  It's our life/reality out in the far west.  If they do split up the NWC teams (it has happened once or twice) I would consider that a major gift.

[Pat Coleman]

Women's committee put together a terrible bracket

Whitman hosts

Whitman v Chapman
GF v Whitworth

So we get to see a repeat of the NWC tournament...awesome.

This may stink but is this really that surprising they skimped on the playoff flight dollars?  I do like the NCAA better than the old NAIA days but the NWC getting hosed in multiple sports come playoff time (in terms of NWC rematches) has now become a time-honored tradition.

They had the $ though. Paid for other flights they didn't need to. But you're right, everyone should be used to this by now.

For what it's worth, I don't think that's true. Put together a bracket that has fewer flights than one it would take to both fly a NWC out of that pod and fly another team in.