WBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association

[almcguirejr]

IWU defeats Simpson 83-53

[jspiii]

Good Hope win tonight.

Miranda DeKuiper hit a couple 3's  that took a little wind out of DePauw's sails. After DePauw went a 9-0 run after halftime to tie the score 32-32. DeKuiper hit a 3 to go up 35-32, then 1:11 later hit a 3 to go up 40-34.

Never seen Snikkers as physical. she had numerous plays where she put a shoulder into the defender in the post to score, she probably should have made a couple more baskets. I was surprised she didn't get an offensive foul on at least one of those.

The offensive rebound edge, 23-12 for DePauw, was weird. A lot of DePauw missed shots went right back to the shooter and mostly were missed again. All of DePauw's shots were highly contested.

Real physical game for both sides, bodies on the floor, once a DePauw player was held back from going after a Hope player. On a separate play,  Kutney got a technical for arguing a call.

[AndersDY]

Here's what I thought was a big moment in the game:

                                                              08:19  49-40  H 9     GOOD! JUMPER by Katie Aldrich [PNT]
                                                              08:19                      ASSIST by Brooke Osborne
MISSED 3 PTR by Liz Ellis                          08:05
REBOUND (OFF) by Carrie Snikkers            08:05
GOOD! JUMPER by Carrie Snikkers [PNT]    08:00  51-40  H 11
GOOD! FT SHOT by Carrie Snikkers            08:00  52-40  H 12  FOUL by Katie Aldrich
BLOCK by Meredith Kussmaul                     07:47                     MISSED JUMPER by Ellie Pearson

I mention this because a Hope player, I think it was Kussmaul, was pretty clearly over the back of a DePauw player on the rebound, which got tipped directly to Carrie, who got the putback and the foul. Had the refs called it - and they should have- it would have been a one-and-one the other way for DePauw. Instead of maybe a 7 point lead, Hope had a 12-point lead and never looked back. Not sure it would have altered the final outcome, as I think Hope was the better team, but it was a difference maker.

Miranda getting a couple 3's close together was a big swing in Hope's favor as well. There were definitely some calls on which the DePauw crowd was right to object, but if over-the-back started getting called closely, I think a few of those would have been called on DePauw as well. DePauw certainly killed us in rebounding, and not always because of fouls; I saw 23 offensive boards in the live-stats late in the game which I can't ever remember hearing in any game, men's or women's.

Hopefully we'll get the chance next weekend to beat a team to prevent them from hosting their own Final Four, to get a measure of payback from the last 2 years.

[dothedew]

I'm not sure about looking at one simple non-call to swing an entire game...
I think one of the big plays was the Hope offensive Rebound at the end of the first half and then the 2 free throws...even though DePauw made a layup at the end of the half to cut it to 9.
This is the first time I have seen the Hope women play since I saw them win the NCAA's a few years ago. In fact, that year I also saw the "infamous" Hope/DePauw game in Greencastle. That is why this victory was extra sweet for the Dutch. There is ZERO love loss (or is it lost???) between these two programs.
Either way...congrats to the dutch and HOPEfully I can attend in Holland next weekend.

[pointlem]

Is revenue a factor in sectional location?  IWU listed attendance for its games this weekend at 1375 and 1400 (suspiciously round numbers, and their gym looked nowhere near capacity when I visited the very nice video stream).  Hope listed its weekend's attendance at 1806 and 1995.  (BTW, if normally attendance seems overestimated relative to the 3079 capacity + upper level chairs, tonight that number seems low, given the near full house, which made for an electric atmosphere.)

Perhaps revenue + justice + facility could equal Hope's hosting.  Plus maybe a little consideration from the NCAA after what Hope put out the last two years in being a good host?  

Looking at the IWU box scores, I see that their already superb team got stronger with a mid season DI transfer who led the team last night with 19 points in 23 minutes.  Regardless of location, the way they are crushing opponents suggests that they're going to be one tough team for anyone to defeat.  Ypsi must be smiling.

[AndersDY]

There is no way that 1995 was the correct number for tonight. It certainly was not a sellout, but the stands were definitely not more than 1/3 empty.

[oldknight]

I took in tonight's contest at DeVos and can say that hard fought matchups between good teams are sure easy to enjoy when you have no dog in the fight. There was even a Kevin VandeStreek sighting at the game.

Depauw has a nice club, is well disciplined, and plays hard on the defensive end. But in the end they just got mentally and physically exhausted taking on wave after wave of Hope reserves and a highly motivated Snikkers who saw 26 minutes of action. Carrie was more assertive on offense, taking 15 shots, and was quite disruptive on the defensive end with 6 blocks. The Tigers shot less than 30% from the floor but they got few good looks. In addition to DeKuiper, I thought Kussmaul was again highly effective off the bench for Hope.

[oldknight]

There is no way that 1995 was the correct number for tonight. It certainly was not a sellout, but the stands were definitely not more than 1/3 empty.

I agree that 1995 seems to be a bit low. Maybe Hope only is counting those who entered on a ticket sold for tonight's contest. Seriously.

I bought my ticket at Hope early this afternoon and after walking away from the ticket window my eagle eye noticed the print on the ticket read "Women's Round 1, Friday, March 5, 2010." Hmm, I thought, how did the young lady know I was such a gullible Knight? I briefly considered showing up at the gate in the evening,  wait to get denied entrance on a stale ticket, and then pursue contentious litigation against Hope based on the Michigan Consumer Protection Act among other legal theories. I couldn't wait to put Tom Renner in the dock to undergo a withering direct examination. The mind raced with possibilities. Then I remembered that to do so would require the talents of a skilled lawyer. I quickly returned to the ticket window for a replacement. I know the staff unwittingly sold a number of last night's tickets before I pointed out the problem.

[SKOT]

Is revenue a factor in sectional location?  

The Championships Committee has prioritized the following site-selection criteria
for all championships:
1. Quality and availability of the facility and other necessary accommodations;
2. Geographical location (which may include such factors as rotation of sites, weather,
accessibility and transportation costs);
3. Seeding; and
4. Attendance history and revenue potential, which shall be considered necessary to
assure fiscal responsibility.

This is from the 2009 tournament handbook.  I am assuming the criteria have not changes over the last year.  The words that strike me as interesting are the "rotation of sites" in #2.  Does that mean that they do not want teams hosting 6 (or even 4) games in a row if there are other deserving teams by their criteria?

[ChicagoHopeNut]

I hadn't looked super closely at the women's bracket before tonight but the more I look at it the more reiminiscent it is of the hard road the National Championship team had a few years ago.

Hope met #11 DePauw tonight. #7 Marymount next Friday and the possibility of meeting #3 IWU should both Hope and IWU win.  That's an incredibly tough road just to reach the Final Four.


Marymount did meet Adrian down in Ft. Lauderdale and won 66-58 in December so that is the only common opponent reference point I saw.

[almcguirejr]

Article from Holland Sentinel:

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/sports_hope/x324650864/Big-play-from-reserve-guard-helps-Hope-advance-in-NCAA-D-III-womens-hoops-tourney

Video: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/sports_hope/x2096602844/VIDEO-Flying-Dutch-down-DePauw-in-NCAA-D-III-Tourney

Grand Rapids Press Article: http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2010/03/hope_women_beat_depauw_advance.html

[pointlem]

I hadn't looked super closely at the women's bracket before tonight but the more I look at it the more reiminiscent it is of the hard road the National Championship team had a few years ago.

Hope met #11 DePauw tonight. #7 Marymount next Friday and the possibility of meeting #3 IWU should both Hope and IWU win.  That's an incredibly tough road just to reach the Final Four.

Good observation, ChicagoHopeNut.  And continuing to the next weekend, they would potentially have #2 Kean and #1 Amherst in the semi-final and final game.  Clearly, Hope, by possibly having to face five of the top 11 teams, has the hardest possible road, and Amherst, with none of the other top four teams on its side, might seem to have the easiest.

[fannie]

.... an excellent coaching move by the Hope staff - putting DeKuiper and Kussmaul into the game after the 6 minute scoring drought that started Hope's second half last night - SOMETHING needed to change after a number of missed shots close to the basket from the starting five. 

ANY idea when sectional sites will be announced?  I'm trying to be patient!!!!   

[rorurap]

Now the tougher "road" will be for the team that has to go on the road to play in the sectionals.  Its not just WHO you play but WHERE you play them.......

[NW Hope Fan]

Sounds like Amherst and Wash U have heard... Is there a time for an official announcement?