WBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[roaring0506]

DePauw 82
Wittenberg 60
Final

Senior Suzy Doughty and the freshman duo of Emily Marshall and Meghan Warner team up to lead the Tigers to there 6th straight win. 

Key Team Stats:
55.6% FG (35-65), 81.8% FT (9-11), 20 assists, 16 steals, 17 Offensive Rebounds

Key Individual Stats:
Suzy Doughty - 8 points, 9 asst, 2 steals, 4 treb, 2 TO (23 min)
Emily Marshall - 12 points, 11 reb (21 min)
Meghan Warner - 12 points (6-6 FG), 3 reb, 1 asst, 1 steal (21 min)
Caitlin McGonigal - 11 points, 3 asst, 3 steals, 2 reb, 2 TO (22 min)
Cassie Pruzin - 8 points, 6 reb, 3 steals, 1 asst, 2 TO (21 min)
Andrea Travelstead- 8 points, 4 reb, 1 steal (27 min)
Gretchen Haehl - 7 points, 3 assist (19 min)
Gwen Haehl - 7 points. 1 asst. 1 reb, 1 steal (11 min)

DePauw travels to Webster on Wednesday for there final game before Christmas.

[Borat...NOT]

Trinity won both of their games this weekend in Colorado Springs against DuBuque and Colorado College.  Trinity was without senior Jennifer Wieman who is out for a while with an injury.  Trinity player very sloppy Saturday against DuBuque and won 75-68.  Although they didn't play up to their potential, it was good to see them win a game that was ugly and sloppy.  They hit some big shots down the stretch when they really needed them.  4 Tiger players scored in double figures. 

On Sunday, they played an injury depleted Colorado College team who only had 7 girls suited up for the game.  This was a very physical game that the officials lost control of.  Trinity has a slim lead at half as many of their key players were in foul trouble throughout the game.  They again had a balanced attack with 5 players scoring in double figures.  They won by 13 or 14 points. 

These were 2 good wins for the Tigers.  Lauren Andrews has really been a huge boost for the team and was named all tournament team.  Beth Hannon was also named to the all tournament team and Meghan Scholbe was named tournament MVP. 

[DPU3619]

No change for DePauw in the poll this week. 

I figured we'd probably see Hendrix in the others recieving votes category this week in the d3hoops pol, and they did get 8 votes.  Trinity also recieved 1 vote. 

8-0 Illinois Wesleyan, DPU's only loss, continues on a steady ascent.  Up to 14th in the Coaches and 18th in the d3hoops poll.

[roaring0506]

DePauw out to a strong start against Webster.

DePauw 20
Webster 0
13:30

[roaring0506]

DePauw 62
Webster 20
Halftime

[roaring0506]

DePauw 94
Webster 51
Final

The Tigers shot 61% from the field, including 12-20 from the three point line.  Sophomore Cassie Pruzin led the way with 19 points (5 treys), with senior Caitlin McGonigal netting 15.  Liz Bondi returned to the court to add 10 points, as did Emily Marshall. 

And with her two steals in the first half, senior Suzy Doughty became the all-time steals leader at DePauw.  Congratulations Suzy!

DePauw will take a short recess until after Christmas when they will head to San Diego for the Surf 'N Slam Tournament hosted by Pt. Loma Nazarene.  The Tigers will face Kenyon in their first game on December 28.

[colincondi]

At the break, it looks like DePauw will be a runaway winner once again... I don't think anyone else is in their class...  DePauw is a legitimate national power and final four possibility... their depth is amazing.  I could easily see them running the table...

The conference appears to be three-tiered... DePauw; pretty good; not very good... the pretty good includes Trinity, Oglethorpe, Rhodes, and Southwestern... all of these teams can beat a good team on any given night, but none of them are top 25 caliber, in my opinion... Trinity was trounced by Howard Payne and Hardin-Simmons... Oglethorpe has yet to beat a quality team (a win at Emory was a decent win)... Rhodes was outscored 50-12 in the second half against Trinity and hasn't played the toughest of schedules... Southwestern has the impressive win against Hardin-Simmons... they are much improved again this year, but I think they and Coach Ruder are still a year away... I wouldn't be surprised to see them overtake Trinity before long as the top SCAC team in TX...

Hendrix and Sewanee are somewhat of question marks... Hendrix has a great record but have a cupcake schedule... Sewanee has surprising wins over OU and Thomas More, but a loss to LaGrange... they are much improved over last year, but still not that good...

The other three teams have a long way to go to be competitive...

Overall, I think the conference may be a bit over-rated... definitely not capable of having 2 teams in the top 5 or 10 as someone wrote in the pre-season... just look at the conference teams results against other top teams... way ahead of the GSAC, but not close to the ASC... DePauw is really the only team I see as being top 25 material, but they are a legit top 5

[DPU3619]

Hendrix and Sewanee are somewhat of question marks... Hendrix has a great record but have a cupcake schedule...

We're going to find out what the Lady Warriors have pretty quickly after the calendar turns.  Trinity & Southwestern at home the first weekend then @ DePauw. 

A couple other comments in the previous post I'd like to address, also.  Colin, you've got Oglethorpe in your "pretty good" category.  Until the Stormy Petrels figure out how to keep the opposition from putting that round thing through that orange thingy with the netting attached to it, they are in trouble.  75 pts/game allowed is far and away the worst in the conference. 

However, at the same time, I think saying the conference overall is overrated is a bit on the harsh side.  Trinity's probably a Top 25 team before it's all over and done.  You mentioned losses to HPU and HSU to open the season,  both of whom are in the top 15 nationally, but forgot nice wins over UMHB and also Rhodes by 30 in a game Rhodes led at halftime.  Southwestern is much better, including that nice win over Hardin-Simmons.  They might be the third best team in the conference.  Awfully early to tell, though.

[colincondi]

I don't expect Hendrix to win any of the three games you mentioned... there is no way they win at DePauw... if they beat one of the TX schools at home, then perhaps they are a better than I think or the TX school are not as good as I think...

Don't get me wrong... the SCAC is a solid conference, but I remember some saying that there might be two top 5 to top 10 teams, three top 25 teams, the SCAC being one of the best conferences in the nation, etc...  I don't buy any of that...

Trinity is good but not at the level they were a couple of years ago...  they got pounded pretty good by the only two top 25 teams they have played... the MHB win was a nice one, but nothing earth-shattering... I think Trinity very well may get back into the top 25 before it is all said and done... their conference schedule is favorable in that they only play OU and DPU once each and they've already beaten RC at home... they will wind up with a pretty good record so you are right, they may re-appear in the top 25... but if they lose to DePauw, that will make them 0-3 against other top 25 teams... my point is that they are good, but not sure they are at a "national" level...

Oglethorpe is giving up a lot of points, but they did last year as well... I think that is because of their style of play and pace more than anything... their press was pretty good last year, but their half court D was only average... if you can beat their press, you can beat them... they have certainly underachieved thus far, but I'm not counting them out just yet...

Southwestern could be the third best team, but you have to remember that RC beat them in TX, so don't discount them or OU... SW does have the benefit of having the same schedule as TU, which means they only play DPU once, as well as OU...

I'll still stick by my statements... I think the "pretty good" teams will fight for 2-5, with TU having the inside track at #2 because of their schedule... but with the conference record against top 25 teams at 1-5, and some losses to "others recieving votes", the teams besides DPU just haven't shown me they are top 25 material yet... the bottom teams in the conference are not very talented and bring the overall conference competitiveness down quite a bit with them...

but as you said, it is early...

[Ralph Turner]

Southwestern hosts a pretty good tourney next week

McMurry and UW-Stout are on the other side of the bracket and the Lady Pirates play Concordia-IL.

IMHO, UW-Stout's loss at Finlandia on the Upper Peninsula may be suspect.  We will see what All-American Kelsey Duoss can do for Stout.

In fact that UWStout-McMurry game features the first 2 pre-season All-American Centers in D3:  Kelsey Duoss and Tarra Richardson.

[Borat...NOT]

Trinity is a completely different team now than they were when they played HPU and HSU.  Not only were they working people into the lineup who hadn't played much in previous seasons, they were without Lauren Andrews because she was still playing soccer.  She has been an integral part of the team since her return.  I think if Trinity were to play HPU or HSU today it would be a completely different result.  I'm not saying I think Trinity would win but I think the games would be close games all the way to the end. 

I also don't think you can say that DePauw is that much better than Trinity.  If you remember last years games, Trinity played DePauw close both games.  If I recall correctly the game was either tied or a 1 point game in the last minute last year during the conference tournament before depauw won by 3 or 5.  As I believe DePauw is better this year I also think Trinity has improved greatly.  Trinity only lost 1 senior off last year's team and they added Lauren Andrews who missed last year with an injury.  They have also been receiving contributions from a couple freshman. 

[WLCALUM83]

Wisconsin Lutheran knocked off Concordia of Illinois earlier this season on their home floor. If the Cougars defend Southwestern like they did the Warriors, expect a press defense at least part of the game. WLC won, 74-58, on good outside shooting that game. (The Cougars are 4-4 overall, 2-3 in their conference). Given Southwestern's also got several tall players, it should be an interesting match-up.

[WLCALUM83]

Southwestern 32, Concordia, IL 28. Half.

[WLCALUM83]

Final:  Southwestern, TX 73, Concordia, IL 62. (Cougars missed 17 free throws in the game.) SW's depth may have worn them down as well.)

[DPU3619]

DePauw won #9 in a row this afternoon in San Diego, beating Kenyon 68-40.  It seems DPU actually trailed early, but they went on what I'm reading as a 30-2 run over the last seven minutes of the first half and the start of the second half. 

I'm glad to see Liz Bondi is back from injury and played well, scoring 11 and pulling down 7 boards.