WBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Hope is #1 in shots blocked per game, with 8
Calvin is #9, with 6.1

St Mary's is #6 in steals/game (17), #9 in turnover margin (+8.9)

Hope is also....

#7 in scoring offense (79.3)
#3 in scoring margin (28.4)
#2 in FG% defense (28.2)
#1 in Win % (100)
#5 in steals per game (17.3)

[sac]

The boxscore from Hope's demolition of Finlandia deserves a goodgrief!

http://www.miaa.org/wbb/stats/0910/1218finl.htm

I imagine its a little hard to spot a team a 26 point lead before your first FG.


Santa was there.......



Hope will play 7-2 #19 Chicago tomorrow, they've both played Olivet........Chicago won by 16, Hope by 29

[jspiii]

News from the Holiday Tournament at Hope:
   1st game - Chicago, Il University 71  Lake Forest 54
Lake Forest was never really in the game. Chicago was too tall, athletic and well-disciplined. 6'2" starting center with 6 other players 5'11" - 6'1". 44 - 33 rebounding edge and a 43% to 26% FG advantage.
   2nd game - Hope 102 Finlandia 44
Due to the lack of competition, there is no stat that is really meaningful. Only one starter (Bruinsma - 16min) had over 13 min of playing time.
The biggest cheer, besides Olivia Allore hitting a three to go over the century mark, was Findlandia hitting a three to break an opening 26-0 run by Hope to start the game.

Hope should be well rested for the matchup against Chicago at 3pm tomorrow.

[Erm Schmigget]

Hope won.  The starters hardly played.  The bench got lots of "experience".

Usually I would be very happy about games like this, but I'm starting to get a bit cynical about this kind of opponent.  I love to see Hope's depth, but it sounds like the girls that got cut this season could easily have beaten this team.  I would rather see Hope play some opponents that challenge them to ask more from their starters and push the next "line"  to the edge of their abilities.

It's novel for a team to blow out their opponent, but it has come to the point, for me, of asking "when's Hope going to play some real teams?"  I'm sorry for sounding all "it's lonely at the top"     but I'm starting to see why the D3Hoops Top 25 voters have held Hope at #3 this season.  Where are the quality opponents?  I don't know their exact OWP and OOWP figures, but with just a quick look, you can sum them up with three letters: l...o...w.

I know this is a great team with great players.  We'll have a chance to see them prove it tomorrow night against Chicago.  At 7-2, ranked #19 by D3Hoops (#15 in another poll), and in the top tier of the UAA, Chicago could be their best test yet.  The Maroons' losses are to #24 Carthage by 2 and to #1 IWU by 7.  Those are good teams, and they almost beat them.  Lake Forest was 5-2 before tonight.  Those opponents' winning percentages are...not low.

I wasn't at tonight's last night's game, but I will surely be there this afternoon.  Here's Hopeing the Dutch will play well, but be tested some, and come out victorious, never mind the 32.1-point average MOV.

[jspiii]

Next Friday and Saturday, Hope travels to Oglethorpe, Ga to play:

  Friday: Carthage, WI Ranked #24, beat Calvin in Kenosha 58-47 on 12/4
  Saturday; Piedmont (2-5) or Oglethorpe (4-3). one ranked opponent, a 82-56 loss at #10 Thomas More

There should be a more accurate picture of Hope's team by the end of this year.

[hope1]

good they need some tough  games 

[Dark Knight]

It looks as though the knights found their touch against Olivet (1-9), shooting 59% overall and 50% (6/12) from three-point range.

Verkaik had 26 points on 12/13 field goals for a field goal percentage of 92.3%. This ties for second place nationally on shooting percentage (min. 10 made) in a game, based on D-III games through 12/13. Through 3 MIAA games she is shooting 76.4%.

[sac]

Hope beat Chicago 70-51........I'd call that a comfortable win, largest margins came at the end of the game.  Hope led by no less than 8 from 10 minutes remaining in the first half.  Starters played 25, 24, 23, 20, 20

http://www.miaa.org/wbb/stats/0910/1219chic.htm

[dumezrules]

Hope won.  The starters hardly played.  The bench got lots of "experience".

Usually I would be very happy about games like this, but I'm starting to get a bit cynical about this kind of opponent.  I love to see Hope's depth, but it sounds like the girls that got cut this season could easily have beaten this team.  I would rather see Hope play some opponents that challenge them to ask more from their starters and push the next "line"  to the edge of their abilities.

It's novel for a team to blow out their opponent, but it has come to the point, for me, of asking "when's Hope going to play some real teams?"  I'm sorry for sounding all "it's lonely at the top"     but I'm starting to see why the D3Hoops Top 25 voters have held Hope at #3 this season.  Where are the quality opponents?  I don't know their exact OWP and OOWP figures, but with just a quick look, you can sum them up with three letters: l...o...w.

No teams around here  will play the Dutch and really they have Div. 1 and 2 caliber players...therefore the only "good" competition would involve GVSU or other GLIAC schools..none of which are dumb enough to play Hope...thus you play out your schedule....

They will be tested by Calvin and St marys...be patient...

I think this is the most talent ever at Hope in womens bball.

[WWWRHH]

dumezrules:

I agree with you regarding the difficulty the Dutch face in scheduling opponents.  The problem is compounded by the emphasis placed on in region games by the NCAA combined with the geographic isolation of Michigan schools.  Since the 150 mile in region limit is determined by driving distance, schools in the northern Chicago suburbs and the entire state of WI are out of region.  Conference opponent Alma is the only D3 opponent north of Holland that comes to mind and Canada lies to the east.  Many of the comparable northern IN schools are NAIA.  The fact that the MIAA is composed of nine women's teams also reduces the number of non-conference games that can be scheduled. 

I know strength of schedule is an ongoing concern for the coaching staff and they work hard to schedule as many strong opponents as possible.

I also agree that this year's edition is a very strong team.  However, while Snikkers is probably the most talented player to ever play for the Dutch, I have doubts that this is the most talented team.  The 2006 National Champions were blessed with Ebels, Noll and Henderson, all of whom were excellant point guards (although Ebels primarily played the 2 position).  This year's guard corps are certainly not as experienced and probably not as talented as that group.

This is also a weak rebounding team compared to what we have come to expect.  Bruinsma and Kussmaul possess excellant offensive skills - good ball handling, a nice perimeter game and are real threats from the three point line - and are very good defenders.   When pared with Snikkers, those skills create match up nighmares for opposing coaches.

However, Chicago outrebounded the Dutch by a healthy margin and Carrie grabbed almost 30% of the team's boards.  Greene is averaging 2 or more rebunds per game than any of the post players (except Carrie).  Hope was able to overcome the rebounding deficit due to their superior speed, quickness and defense.  I am concerned that if Carrie suffers an injury, gets into foul trouble or has an off night (none of which has happened this year) the lack of a true power forward / center in the mold of Woods, Lange or Knox (all of whom spent the majority of their careers as dependable second unit players) could be a drawback.

I am not trying be overly critical.  Morehouse has proved once again that his system does not rebuild- it just reloads.  However, I'm not yet convinced this team is as broadly talented as other recent rosters, but if key players remain healthy they are once again a threat to go all the way.

[Erm Schmigget]

WWWRHH-

A few thoughts regarding rebounding.

I wouldn't go so far as to say they are weak compared to recent teams.  This year's team has 43/game, and the 06 National Champs had 43.8.  Also this year's team is shooting better (45.9% v 43.0%) and scoring more (80.8 v 76.5).  True that Carrie has by far the most on the team, but the other post players are all at or over 3/game in under 18 min each.

At 5-9 I wouldn't call Greene a post player either, but she is tough when she gets near the basket.  And not all of her rebounds come right under the basket, so her 5.4/game in under 19 min has to be considered good rebounding.

I don't think we need to worry about this team's rebounding so much.  They've shown that they can get out-rebounded by 10 and still win by 19.  However, I agree that they shouldn't have been out-rebounded that much in that game.  On the bright side, only 7 turnovers for the whole game.  

[realist]

Looking at Hope's team from an opponents viewpoint it is hard to see many flaws or weaknesses that can be exploited to advantage.  Calvin has the ability to give Hope a good run for their money, and Calvin winning at least one game this year wouldn't surprise me, but if that doesn't happen it wouldn't surprise either. I am sure Hope's coaches have reviewed the games they have lost the last few years, and have done everything in their power to make sure they have covered those areas. At this point it would seem that Hope is fairly ranked at #3, and if they do the job at hand they may get their chance to prove they deserve a higher rank.

[WWWRHH]

It is hard to make direct comparisons based on statistics, and my concerns regarding rebounding are largely based on the performance against Aquinas, Wittenberg (although the starters played limited mins.) and U of Chicago in which the battle of the boards was lost.  Some of the season stats are suspect due to the games against Rochester, Finlandia and Olivet - teams that are not competitive on any level.  Also remember that the final season stats from the championship season reflect stronger opponents and six tourney games against some very impressive competition.

The championship team had stronger conference opponents and at this point in the season had played the CCIW crossover challenge against Carthage and top ranked Wheaton.  They also faced a tough Franklin team in the Kalamazoo holiday tourney and both Calvin and Albion were very good teams that year.  I think the Dutch benefitted from the stronger schedule and that is what helped them win very close games against DePauw and U of Washington-St. Lousi in the tourney.

No team is perfect and I still think the end-of-season '06 and '08 versions were better than the current '10 team (in some ways last year's team was my favorite, but I think they exceeded expectaions) .  However, this year's team may be the best defensive roster ever assembled and that defense is turning turnovers into points.

Greene is a very good rebounder by any measure, and probably works harder on the boards than anyone on the floor.  She takes great pride in that aspect of her game and I was very impressed with her energy and determination when the Maroons made their run in the second half.  The tips and slaps that prevented Chicago from getting a couple of rebounds and her aggresive help defense did not show in the stats, but I am sure I was not the only one that noticed her efforts. 

I would lke to see Greene's level of agressiveness on the boards from the post players, but like I alluded to in my previous posting, I think the 4's are really primarily 3's at heart and in skill set.  Having big, skilled players that can play away from the basket is a good thing especially with Carrie so dominant in the middle, but yet  it create's a little bit of a nagging concern in the event of  foul trouble etc.

I suppose we should be happy that we are reduced to comparing "our" team to previous one or two loss editions rather than their opponents., but I wish they were being consistently challenged by good teams.  Tougher opponents would better prepare the Dutch for a return to the final four.

[realist]

WW et.al  I do not know what more I can tell you my friend.  IMHO this years Calvin team compares favorably with the one that lost two players in 5 minutes to a good Hope team.  No hard feelings.     Frankly, if Hope can pull 2 out of 3 versus Calvin this year they are going to know all they need to know as they advance in the big dance.  My friend, relax, enjoy the ride, and make plans for March.   Once again, imho, the pressure of wanting to win it all on their home court worked against your team the last two years.  You are much bettter off at #3 than #1.

[Erm Schmigget]

WW et.al  I do not know what more I can tell you my friend.  IMHO this years Calvin team compares favorably with the one that lost two players in 5 minutes to a good Hope team.  No hard feelings.     

Hard for me to believe that you could be blaming those injuries on vicious play by Hope, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.  I was at that game, telling my Dad before any injuries that something like that was going to happen if the refs didn't start calling jump balls quicker.  Lo and behold, 2 Lady Knights left the floor for the season while trying to tie up the ball.  The whistle should have blown sooner, and after that season we now have more jump balls than steals in some games.  But if it saves a knee or 2, it's worth it.  If I seem passionate about this, I am.  I couldn't stand how long the refs were waiting to call a jump ball before, and I'm fine with how quickly they call it now.  It made me sick watching your girls blow their knees while the refs swallowed their whistles.

Rant over.  Sorry 'bout that.