WBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Ralph Turner]

LaCollege  41, Millsaps 20  at the half.


Thanks, Frank.

I will post updates on the ASC in-game board. 

[pbrooks3]

If anyone has any updates on Centre-Spalding tonight, hope you'll post on the board. 

[frank_ezelle]

In similar fashion to last season, the Lady Majors got behind by a large margin and then played fairly even.  As Ralph noted, Millsaps was down 21 at the half and they ended up losing 73-56, a margin of 17 points.  Like Piedmont, LC is probably a fairly good team since they are the preseason 2nd place pick in the ASC East.

The stats at the half showed Millsaps with 14 turnovers, but they also had LC with 11 steals.  I believe the first half turnover total for Millsaps was actually closer to 20, about one for each point they scored.  Considering that Millsaps had 64 turnovers combined in their first two games and very close to a 100 after 3 games, it doesn't take much brainpower to see where their problems begin.

I still believe the Millsaps team has the talent to be a factor in the SCAC race.  Last year they averaged 22 turnovers per game, not great, but certainly better than 33 per game.  Since all of those players are back and with an extra year of experience, I'm thinking that somewhere down the line they will bring themselves back under control.  Playing an uptempo game is the style that Millsaps needs to play, but there is the law of diminishing returns and when you play so fast that you can't play under control, you are getting into the area of diminishing returns.

[frank_ezelle]

Happy days for pbrooks3 as the Centre women lead 55-27 at the half. 

DePauw lost a heartbreaker to Ill. Wesleyan, 77-76.

Hendrix rolled past Westminster, 70-50.

And OU had a laugher with Grinnell, winning 87-60.

[pbrooks3]

Thanks Frank for the scores.

[pbrooks3]

Is the DePauw loss an upset, or am I underselling Illinois Wesleyan?

[pbrooks3]

Nice opening night win for Centre over Spalding.  A lot of the young players got to see action tonight and several were big contributors.  It will take some time to mesh all of the new players into a cohesive unit.  i see good things coming down the road based on some outstanding recruiting.

[FlightofthePetrel]

Is the DePauw loss an upset, or am I underselling Illinois Wesleyan?

Ill Wesleyan is #10 in the preaseason poll and from what I've seen from them the past few years when OU has played them they are a very talented team.  I would have expected DPU to be the favorite, but this seems to be a mild upset... but not too shocking.

[FlightofthePetrel]

Oglethorpe Explodes on Wheaton 99-68

Four Petrels score in double figures as they improve to 4-0.

Findley has a great all around game with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Kulavic finished with 20 points, Richmann 16 and Grace 11.

Oglethorpe will be back in action against cross town rival Emory on Tuesday before #3 Depauw comes to town in a most anticipated matchup.

[pbrooks3]

Nice opening weekend for the Lady Colonels getting two relatively easy wins.  This is great for a young team trying to build chemistry and confidence.

[DPULefty22]

Is the DePauw loss an upset, or am I underselling Illinois Wesleyan?

Ill Wesleyan is #10 in the preaseason poll and from what I've seen from them the past few years when OU has played them they are a very talented team.  I would have expected DPU to be the favorite, but this seems to be a mild upset... but not too shocking.

It should be noted that Jenna Fernandez didn't play this weekend for the Tigers, so DPU was at less than full strength.

Of course, the Fernandez injury gives some other post players a chance for some PT, and freshman Katie Aldrich took advantage in DPU's win over Central - 20 points in 20 minutes! Looks like the Tigers will once again have the depth that's really been their hallmark over the last 5-6 seasons.

[FlightofthePetrel]

It should be noted that Jenna Fernandez didn't play this weekend for the Tigers, so DPU was at less than full strength.

Of course, the Fernandez injury gives some other post players a chance for some PT, and freshman Katie Aldrich took advantage in DPU's win over Central - 20 points in 20 minutes! Looks like the Tigers will once again have the depth that's really been their hallmark over the last 5-6 seasons.

That would make a difference... Is Fernandez out for a substantial period of time?

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps got hammered by Mississippi College Tuesday night, trailing by 10 at the half and losing by somewhere close to 30.  It was my first look at the 2008-09 Lady Majors and I surprisingly came away from the game thinking about baseball.

I wasn't looking forward to the end of basketball and the start of baseball--I was thinking back to the 2008 Millsaps baseball team.  That baseball team was one with high hopes as they came into the season with a combination of a solid returning roster and a talented group of freshmen.  On paper it all looked good; on the field it was a mess for much of the season.  The baseball team finally meshed by the end of the season and just missed out on winning the SCAC Tournament and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.  The key for the Lady Majors this season will be how long it takes to mesh.

The good news is that there is much more talent than last year, but in the short term that increase in talent seems to be the bad news.  Millsaps has 7 returning players from last year.  The average minutes played per game for those individuals were:  35.3, 34.1, 32, 25.5, 23.9, 19.1, and 13.3 minutes per game.  If the freshmen are going to help this team, those numbers have to drop this year for the returning players.  If the freshmen are good enough to start, then 2007-08 starters will have to adjust to coming off the bench.  It's not an easy transition for a team to make.  There is no closer team at Millsaps than the baseball team but when they were dealing with a similar situation last season they lost much of their team spirit and quite honestly, they stunk as a team. 

If everyone pulls together, then this team is going to be really good.  That "everyone" has to be all of the players, the coaches, and it also needs to include the parents and the other fans.  There needs to be one voice of leadership, one common goal, and a sense of unity.  It is simple in theory and often tends to be much more complicated in reality. 

I still have a lot of faith in the potential of this team even though the first 4 games haven't been the greatest of beginnings.  The next 4 games offer an opportunity to right the ship and to prepare for a climb up the SCAC ladder.  The 2006-07 Mens basketball team got off to a slow start and then were one of the best in the SCAC after the Christmas break and one of the best in the country in 2007-08.  The chance is still there for this year's Lady Majors to follow the same course.  Likewise, the chance is unfortunately there that this year's Lady Majors will once again be one of the teams that doesn't make the SCAC Tournament--it would be a real tragedy if that ends up being the case.

[Ron Boerger]

DePauw took (for them) a hard loss in San Antonio last night, losing to Lehman College 65-55.  They shot only 33% for the game but 35% from beyond the arc.  The Tigers drop to 2-2 and while Lehman (a CCNY school) improved to 4-2.   Emily Marshall had 13 in the loss, with Andrea Travelstead the only other DePauw player in double figures with ten.   Both women added 11 rebounds.

Lehman will play Trinity (an easy winner over Schreiner) today in the final D3 contest of this "Trip Sports Shootout."  It's not a tourney, just a bunch of D3 and NAIA teams playing a couple of games over the holiday weekend. 

[hoopsfan11]

Is the loss of Jenna Fernandez making that big of a difference, or is DePauw down some this year?  Maybe it is just early season fluke losses.  Still looking forward to the OU/DPU matchup next weekend.