WBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Ron Boerger]

Big game in Seguin this evening as the undefeated conference leaders, with a combined 15 SCAC wins, face off at 6PM CST.  TLU will put their seven-game winning streak on the line against Trinity, winners of 15 in a row who have not lost since November 12th.  The game will be broadcast here.

Meanwhile, Austin College has quietly turned their season around (and/or found the lesser SCAC competition more to their liking than a very difficult non-conference slate).  After an 83-76 win last night over Schreiner, the 'Roos now lurk two games behind the leaders at 5-2.  Senior/graduate guards Natalie McCoy and Kacie West, plus first-year forward Sarah Putnicki take turns leading the team in scoring, averaging between 12 and 14 ppg in conference play.  Austin faces Colorado on the road Sunday before facing TLU for the first time at home Tuesday and then travel to South Texas next weekend for rematches with Trinity and Schreiner. 

[Riley Zayas]

Big game in Seguin this evening as the undefeated conference leaders, with a combined 15 SCAC wins, face off at 6PM CST.  TLU will put their seven-game winning streak on the line against Trinity, winners of 15 in a row who have not lost since November 12th.  The game will be broadcast here.

Meanwhile, Austin College has quietly turned their season around (and/or found the lesser SCAC competition more to their liking than a very difficult non-conference slate).  After an 83-76 win last night over Schreiner, the 'Roos now lurk two games behind the leaders at 5-2.  Senior/graduate guards Natalie McCoy and Kacie West, plus first-year forward Sarah Putnicki take turns leading the team in scoring, averaging between 12 and 14 ppg in conference play.  Austin faces Colorado on the road Sunday before facing TLU for the first time at home Tuesday and then travel to South Texas next weekend for rematches with Trinity and Schreiner.

Very interested to see how the Trinity-TLU matchup plays out. I really like what I've seen from Trinity's offense as of late, especially the duo of Maggie Shipley and Hailey Coleman. Trinity looks very much like an NCAA tournament team, and while TLU has home court advantage, they are also coming off a win last night against Southwestern.

[ronk]

 Just wondering how Maggie Shipley ended up at Trinity after leaving Amherst; she played her school ball in northern VA and I saw her in AAU as a rising junior. Amherst could certainly use her offensive talents this season.
I understood the move of Kelly Simmons(another Delmarva AAU player) because there was a family relocation to Texas.
Best wishes to Maggie and Kelly and Trinity this season.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Just wondering how Maggie Shipley ended up at Trinity after leaving Amherst; she played her school ball in northern VA and I saw her in AAU as a rising junior. Amherst could certainly use her offensive talents this season.
I understood the move of Kelly Simmons(another Delmarva AAU player) because there was a family relocation to Texas.
Best wishes to Maggie and Kelly and Trinity this season.

I did ask about this at some point.  The coach said he saw her in the transfer portal and new Amherst was really good, so he contacted her and it worked out.  There was no prior contact or knowledge of or by either party.

[ronk]

 i guess I didn't look at the transfer portal in that particular time frame or I would have relayed that to our coaching staff.

[Ron Boerger]

In a game that was possibly closer than the final score might indicate, Trinity defeated TLU 69-56 in a hard-fought battle to remain undefeated and stay atop the SCAC last night.   The victory increases Trinity's win streak to 15, their longest since the 2012-13 season (17 games). 

Behind hot early three-point shooting from Ashlyn Milton (a game-high 21, 5-11 from beyond the arc), the Tigers took a quick 11-3 lead as their full-court press took a toll on the Bulldogs, who managed to overcome those early struggles and, thanks to six missed layups in seven possessions by Trinity would close to within one, 16-15, by the end of the quarter.  That would be a theme for the visitors who would have some difficulty establishing an inside game despite their significant height advantage.  TLU would take their only lead of the game at 17-16 when Jayla Santa Maria (13 points) scored on the first possession of the second quarter, but the Trinity press would take its toll as the quarter progressed and the Tigers would take a 38-25 lead into the locker room.  The deficit would expand to 21 early in the second half after Hailey Coleman (14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists) completed an and-one, but consecutive threes from Kailey Mulkey (a team-high 16 points) would spur a comeback by the home team, as would the physical game becoming much more tightly called late in the period.  After a foul and tech on Trinity's Maggie Robbins (13 points) at the 1:34 mark resulted in four FTs and possession, Kailey Lacey's jumper closed the gap to single digits at 51-43.  Heading into the fourth, the tight calls would keep coming as TLU closed to within two, 54-52, after Shipley was whistled for the fourth foul called on the Tigers in 42 seconds (and fifth in 1:05) with just over seven minutes remaining.  Kelly Simmons' (10 points) three on the next possession would steady the ship, and Trinity's pressure would lead to easy points off turnovers and a 15-4 run to close out the game.

Trinity now comes home for five straight games including a mid-week rematch with TLU on Feb 9th, while the Bulldogs hit the road for five straight starting Tuesday at Austin College. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

The Hoopsville Marathon is here!



The show is hitting the air at 12:00 PM ET and going for at least NINE hours for the 8th Annual Hoopsville Marathon Show.

Show link: www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2021-22/marathon

This year's show featured coaches, administrators, student-athletes, and many others around Division III who gave us a sense of the season to date and what is to come. There is only a month or so left in the regular season, so there was plenty to talk about.

The marathon is also a chance to celebrate the final month of the Division III basketball regular season.

Guests include (in order of appearance, subject to change):

• Conner Delaney, Johns Hopkins men's senior
• Frank Marcinek, Susquehanna men's coach
• Dan Krikorian, Chapman men's coach and Co-Host of "Slappin' Glass" podcast
• Minority Coaches Panel:
  
• • Larry Anderson (MIT men's coach)
  • Kam Gissendanner (La Roche women's coach)
  • Jason Harris (UMass-Boston men's coach)
  • Gary Stewart (Stevenson men's coach)
• Gary Stewart, Stevenson men's coach and NABC Board member
• National Committee Chairs:
  
• • Michael Schauer, Wheaton men's coach and men's committee chair
  • Megan Wilson, Luther Associate AD and women's committee chair
• Dan Kenny, John Jay men's sophomore and volunteer firefighter
• Jina DeRubbo, Washington & Jefferson women's coach
• Cameron Hill, Trinity (Texas) women's coach
• Stephen Gabel, Nazareth men's senior
• State of DIII with Louise McCleary, Interim Vice President for Division III
• Jim Haney, Division III Men's Officiating Coordinator
• Fred Roggin, NBC4 LA Sports Anchor and AM570 LA Sports Host
• Top 25 Women's Double-Take with Gordon Mann and Scott Peterson
• "Happy Hour" with friends of Hoopsville and D3 basketball

[Ron Boerger]

Thanks for interviewing Coach Hill yesterday, Dave.  Good stuff and questions but I do wonder how he came to be a SF Giants fan.   

Trinity's game with Austin College, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed until Sunday afternoon due to the ice and snow that the area and especially the central and northern parts of the state saw yesterday. 

[TroyP]

Love watching these girls play, the third quarter they just have an extra gear! My kid made the most of her time, really enjoy watching her out there with some absolutely great teammates!

[Ron Boerger]

Trinity's winning streak is at a program record-tying 17 after easy wins at home over Centenary 84-48 on Saturday, and one of their more complete games of the SCAC season over Austin yesterday, 75-54.  They will face third-place Schreiner, who themselves defeated Austin 92-68 on Saturday, for a chance to set the all-time program record Tuesday.  That will be the midpoint of a five game stretch at home, with four games in six days after a rematch with TLU the following night, with the final home stand against Southwestern on Saturday.

Against the Ladies, Trinity couldn't sustain early momentum and trailed by one with 3:19 left in the half before taking a two-point lead into the break.  Three point shooting woes once again contributed to a tight game as the Tigers went 4-18 in the first half.  The third quarter was a totally different story as Trinity would score nearly as many points in the quarter (32) as the entire first half (34).  Hailey Coleman would lead the charge with 10 points and seven boards (four offensive) in the quarter, and Maggie Shipley would rebound from a scoreless first half with 11, both players individually outscoring the Ladies for the quarter.  The Tiger reserves took over the fourth quarter and built on the lead with Mollie Priddy matching Shipley with 11 including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.  On the day, Coleman's 17 would lead Trinity, with Ashlyn Milton's 14 (4-6 from three) in support.  Destini Powell would have 17 off the bench to lead the way for the Ladies, who would also get 11 rebounds each from Alana Jones and Jazzmyn Jones in winning the rebound battle 56-49.

Trinity picked up where they left off against Austin, sprinting out to a 28-8 first quarter lead as the 'Roo ladies were on the second leg of a back-to-back overnight travel weekend and were initially unable to respond to the Tiger pressure.  As it was in the determining quarter the previous day, once again it was the Coleman and Shipley show as Hailey would hit 5-of-6 in the quarter with Maggie adding six points, as did Carly Leong off the bench.   'Roo adjustments in the second quarter combined with continued Trinity three-point woes (1-9 for the half) kept the deficit from getting much worse, but the difference would be 41-18 at the half.  The lead would balloon to 36 at the midpoint of the third quarter.  Austin would outscore Trinity by 13 the rest of the way, primarily against the Tiger bench, but it was too little, too late.  Austin would actually win the turnover battle, forcing 26 Trinity turnovers while suffering only 21 themselves, but could only shoot 28% to Trinity's 49% in the loss.  Shipley's 13 would lead five Tigers in double figures, with Coleman adding 12 boards to her 12 points.  Natalie McCoy was the only 'Roo in double figures with 10 points.  Both teams shot poorly from distance (Trinity, 19%, Austin, 13.6%). 

[TroyP]

What an awesome game to watch! That was some incredible unselfish basketball. I still can't wrap my head around 122 points.

[TroyP]

The stat that stands out to me is the 36 assist. Great team basketball!

[Ron Boerger]

Not going to lose too many games you shoot 60% from three, either.  Hopefully there's no hangover tonight against a TLU team that put up a pretty stiff challenge in Seguin last month.

[Ron Boerger]

Trinity wasn't as sharp Wednesday night as the night before, with it being their fourth game in five days combined with TLU playing their usual physical game, but after a slow first start gradually pulled away from the SCAC's second-place team in a 72-52 win, their 19th straight victory.  The game was tightly called, with 43 fouls (and two technicals) almost evenly divided between the two schools.  The win locks up the top seed in the upcoming SCAC tournament for the Tigers.

As was the case on Tuesday, Trinity would sprint out to an early lead, this time 9-0 less than 90 seconds into the game, but after Maggie Shipley was forced to the bench after two fouls in quick succession with just over four minutes gone TLU would claw their way back into the game.  The threes that were so plentiful 24 hours earlier for Trinity were not falling, and after one TLU was within striking distance, trailing 14-9.  The Bulldogs would close to within three, 21-18, after Morgan Rodriguez' layup midway through the quarter, but would only hit two more shots the rest of the way as Trinity eased out to a 34-25 lead at the half.  The third quarter would be more of the same, as Ashlyn Milton hit her first two three attempts, Ava Limoncello tossed in her third of the night, and the Bulldogs couldn't find an answer.  After a scoreless first half, Maggie Shipley would find success driving to the basket, and her third layup (and tenth point) of the quarter would give Trinity its largest lead so far, 55-38, with just over a minute remaining in the third.  TLU would make a few brief runs in the fourth but could never get the margin into single digits the rest of the way.

Hailey Coleman and Maggie Robbins (before fouling out late) had 14 each to lead Trinity, with Maggie Shipley adding 12.  TLU got 9 each from Tanyse Moehrig (who was 4 for 4) and Jayla Santa Maria.  Next up for Trinity, their last home game of the season against Southwestern on Saturday before closing out the season at Dallas and a revenge-minded Schreiner; TLU goes to Dallas on Friday before closing out the regular season at home with games against St. Thomas, Austin, and Centenary. 

Speaking of Coleman - Hailey was 10 for 10 Tuesday night against Schreiner, on her way to 21 points (plus 8R/4B/4A/2Stl).  According to the Trinity announcing crew that is the best shooting performance by a D3 woman this season.  Trinity's game story says it's believed to be the most made FGs without a miss in school history.  Ashlyn Milton came close to matching that performance from beyond the arc where she was 7 of 8 as part of a career-high 33 point performance. 

[TroyP]

I would be curious to what the single game record for assist at Trinity is?

Also, curious to how the post season tourney works for D3?

Is it a 64 team tourney, is it conference tournament winners the only ones with automatic berths? Do they match local teams in the first round or do teams get seeded like Div 1 does for March Madness?