WBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Blaster]

I was looking at some of the ranked schools and it appears a conference like SCAC has a major uphill battle in attracting top talent.  Schools in the SCAC have high academic standards and the cost approaches $40,000 / year.  A lot of other schools can attract D-1 transfers because the cost is about a fourth and the academic stress is easier on them. 

Schools in the SCAC has performed well which must be contributed to great coaching.  After the research on other ranked teams, my hats off to the coaches in the SCAC for the great job they do.

[DPU3619]

I don't think that's just this conference. Look at a lot of the schools who have won the championship in the last dozen years or so: NYU, Wash U, DePauw, Trinity, Hope, Milikin, and even the Wilmingtons of the world. Those are some pretty prestigious learning institutions that aren't getting much, if any, true D1 talent in the door.

[pbrooks3]

Blaster, Wes is right. The evidence shows a lot of fine DIII academic institutions have produced winners. The SCAC has a lot of good things going for it. Being in the South Region has probably worked against the conference a bit compared to some of the other regions that are stockpiled with teams, but still an impressive resume. There is a great bit of diversity across the D3 ranks, including some conferences (i.e. WIAC) with substantially larger schools. Still I am impressed with our schools and the challenges of geography these teams deal with as compared to many other conferences.  Oh, yes, there is some good coaching as well!

[Blaster]

New rankings out and Trinity dropped out but I bet they are in the final rankings if they beat AC this weekend.  I did notice that they took away the wins from HX for "out of Region" but not the DePauw loss.  They also included all of the SCAC wins in the DePauw Great Lakes "in Region" wins???  Oh well, all you can do is try to keep winning games on the schedule!

[Blaster]

After more research, it looks like DePauw is in the same region as its other SCAC members but just "further" broken out from the basic 4 regions for ranking purposes.  Sorry to answer my own question.

[Ron Boerger]

After more research, it looks like DePauw is in the same region as its other SCAC members but just "further" broken out from the basic 4 regions for ranking purposes.  Sorry to answer my own question.

Conference games are by definition in-region for all sports.

[pbrooks3]

Maggie Prewitt led Centre with 26 as the Lady Colonels win @ Oglethorpe 80-67. Lauren Huter produced a double-double and Angela Tronzo came off the bench to score 12. Lady Colonels head to Sewanee for Sunday's game.

[pbrooks3]

Lady Colonels get it done this afternoon on the mountain winning 77-64 over Sewanee.  Lauren Huter scores 17 with 12 rebounds.  Maggie Prewitt tallies 13 along with 9 assists. 

Austin Ladies came back from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Southwestern with Katy Williams scoring a double-double.

[jekelish]

Southwestern was up 53-40 with about 8 minutes left before the 'Roos scored 17 unanswered over the next five minutes, and they pretty much cruised from there for the 6 point win.

[pbrooks3]

Southwestern was up 53-40 with about 8 minutes left before the 'Roos scored 17 unanswered over the next five minutes, and they pretty much cruised from there for the 6 point win.

Must have been a nerve-racking game to watch as a Roos fan! 

[Blaster]

Looks like the East is locked in for the tournament and the West will go down to the wire for 1st/2nd and 4th.  Congrats to Trinity for locking in W 3rd vs Centre the E 2nd.

DePauw 1E vs. S.western/Co College 4W
AC/HX 2W vs. Rhodes 3E

AC/HX 1W vs. Oglethorpe 4E
Centre 2E vs. Trinity 3W

Also great comeback by AC and great effort by Oglethorpe this weekend!

[jekelish]

So, anyone want to take a shot at predicting SCAC Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Coach of the Year and All-Conference 1st Team?

For me:

Player of the Year - Katy Williams

Newcomer of the Year - honestly, no idea

Coach of the Year - I'm not sure on this either, but I would kinda be surprised if it didn't go to Hendrix or AC

1st Team:

Katy Williams
Christina Byler
Emily Marshall
Maggie Prewitt
Becky Luetjen


(I originally had Danielle Hubenak over Marshall, but figured that DePauw needed to have someone represented and Hubenak was the odd person out)

[DPU3619]

Coach of the Year - I'm not sure on this either, but I would kinda be surprised if it didn't go to Hendrix or AC

We had a heckuva hullabaloo last year about this when Wendy Austin-Robinson won the COTY over Ron Sattele.  I think it could go to any one of Thad McCracken, Debra Hunter, or Kris Huffman without much explanation needed.  It's going to be hard to turn Huffman away if she gets to Championship Sunday with a 17-1 record inside the conference and wins over both other candidates.  Although, it's clear the coaches will reward a signifcant turnaround like one Debra Hunter has had this season.  She's going to double their win total before it's all done.

[jekelish]

Agreed, particularly about Deb.  I have to say, she and her team have absolutely crushed my preseason expecations.  I was figuring it'd be maybe a .500 year, but they have been simply outstanding.  I was going to put Deb Hunter as my choice, but didn't want to seem like too much of a homer.  The fact remains that what she and her team have done this year (thanks in LARGE part to Katy Williams...and I cannot stress enough how important Katy is to the team's success, which is why I think she should be the runaway winner for Player of the Year) are beyond anyone's expectations and I think they could (should?) be rewarded with a COTY award.  They have by so far surpassed preseason forecasts that it's not even funny.

And as for Katy, not only is she in the top four in scoring, leading in rebounding, second in FG %, but anyone who has watched any AC games both with and without her knows that quite frankly, and not to take anything away from the other players at AC (and there are some talented girls there), she absolutely makes that team go, and she is by far the most important player to her team that I've seen in the SCAC this season.  And, again based on what I've seen, it's not even close.

[Blaster]

Interesting choices.  I was thinking about this last week and to me stats do not always tell the whole story.  However, it is what most look to especially scoring.  Here is my selection for 1st team SCAC (oddly enough 1st team is much easier to decide than 2nd team)

Post/Center - Katy Williams (AC)
Forward - Becky Luetjen (CC)
Forward - Christina Byler (HX)
Guard - Maggie Prewitt (CEN)
Guard - Hubenak (TU)/Morris (HX)

Player of the Year - Maggie Prewitt (Cen) 2nd in scoring, 6th FG%, 1st in Assists, 4th in FT%, 2nd in Steals, 4th in Assist/TO, all without having to be on the floor the whole game. 


New Comer of the Year - Alex Adams  I know she doesn't have the stats because of how her coach distributes minutes but I saw great potential and believe she is a star in the making.

Coach of the Year - I agree with the three choices, I would say if one of these three wins the tournament, they deserve the COTY.

Choosing a second team and honorable mention can be a whole portfolio of options.  In this league finding multiple true Post players can be tough to fill the traditional 5 spot teams (only AC and MC list a Center/Post).