WBB: Landmark Conference

[saratoga]

Ronk:
Any insight as to why Meredeth only played 15 minutes?

[cuabigdog]

Ronk

yes , kat is with her family fullfilling family obligations pertaining to her religion..this has been the same thing every year and even tho she is missed greatly , Josie did an outstanding job filling in for her..the lady cards have a deep bench this year and are looking to repeat as Conf . Champions..Kat shold be back sunday..in my opinion, the cards have the capability of going 5-6 players deep on the bench...this should be an exciting year for women's basketball at CUA...

[ronk]

Ronk

yes , kat is with her family fullfilling family obligations pertaining to her religion..this has been the same thing every year and even tho she is missed greatly , Josie did an outstanding job filling in for her..the lady cards have a deep bench this year and are looking to repeat as Conf . Champions..Kat shold be back sunday..in my opinion, the cards have the capability of going 5-6 players deep on the bench...this should be an exciting year for women's basketball at CUA...

  I think it's plausible that the top 4 go 3-3 with each other and the others, especially Coach Cotton(Goucher), would like to mess things up with an upset of the top 4.

[saratoga]

Just read an interesting story of how Coach Bessoir became "Coach" of the mens team.
Seems the Scranton AD at the time, a no-nonsense, highly motivational former assistant at the U of Rochester felt the mens program had stagnated & under-achieved long enough.
Midway through the the 1969 season he said enough is enough & promptly fired the long time Royals coach, Nat Volpe.
He took over the team for the remainder of the year & much improvement took place.
Upon the conclusion of that year, Bob Bessoir went from freshman coach to varsity & he never looked back.
One of his first hires upon being named head coach was naming Mike Strong his assistant.
Strong remained with him through their first National Championship in 1976 & then left to take over the women's program.
Fast forward 35 years & one begins to wonder if history may soon repeat itself.

[ronk]

  The haves r playing the have-nots in Wed conf action. Will there b any upsets? Lady Royals play all their games with the other haves on the road in the 1st half of the season. Sat begins a string of 3 games against the other haves.

[saratoga]

Somewhat of a mini-shocker...The College of NJ knocks off Moravian in the Steel City.
Fresh off the big win at home vs. Catholic & just back in the Top 25, the Greyhounds must have left a lot of their game on the floor last Sat.

The team I have to give a ton of credit to is Amherst.
This is by far their least talented team in GP's last 5 seasons, yet they remain undefeated.
Unquestionably, if he coached Scranton with their talent, they'd have a very deep run.
As it is, fingers crossed they make the Landmark playoffs.

[kate]

Hi Saratoga!  i can tell you're heartbroken  !  Ya know what's even more amazing, is that Del Val beat TCNJ a couple of weeks ago.   Crazy D3 basketball!

[saratoga]

Hard to figure sometimes Kate.
I guess if there was going to be a let-down game, this would have been it.
I'm sure the Greyhounds will have re-grouped by the weekend.

[saratoga]

Catholic ladies totally dominate the Lady Royals.
That refrain is becoming far too common anymore...just substitute Catholic & add any name you'd like.
The current Scranton coach can no longer run out the best 15 players in the league & let their overall talent win games.
Now that there is far more parity in DIII, actual planning, recruiting, organization, scouting, teaching, X's & O's, reviewing & breaking down film & a thing called coaching wins games.
The days of the Lady Royals being able to make adjustments (based solely on talent) are history. The chances of them ever dominating again are history. Pretty soon, what we'll remember of them will be based on history.
With a current coach that seems either incapable of adjustments (either pre or in-game) or simply uninterested & without a passion any longer, the time for a full review of this program & the direction this university wishes to seek over the next decade & beyond has landed on its doorstep.
There are far too many bright, knowledgeable & energetic young coaches out there today waiting for the opportunity to make an impact.
One of the toughest decisions in athletics is knowing when it's time to gracefully step aside.
That review, is hopefully underway.

[subball]

Saratoga,  I have read many of your posts over the last couple of years and try not to take it too seriously, however I feel that with your last post you have gone a little too far.  As a Scranton alum it is upsetting to me that a Scranton "fan"  would talk so negatively about the program and coaches.  I have thought a lot about how I would like to respond to your post and figured that if I try to attack what you wrote I would be just as bad as you.  Everyone has their own opinion.  But as a past Lady Royal, someone that also coached at Scranton and is currently a college coach I can say without a doubt that the players at Scranton and the University of Scranton are LUCKY to have Coach Strong as a coach.  As someone that has actually been in the office, on campus and in the locker room and a part of the program I can tell you that Coach Strong is very passionate about his job, works every day to try and make his players better and prepare them for games.  But one thing that you may not understand is that it is much more than wins.  Coach Strong has helped hundreds of players become great people and successful in the real world.  That is after all what is it all about.  I just hope before you write your next post you think about the players, coaches and all Lady Royals you are hurting with the things you write.  You can respond or not.  I will not write again but needed to say that win or lose I am extremely proud to be a Lady Royal and of our Coach! 

[ronk]

Subball,
   You've eloquently stated the essence of the Lady Royals' program and what is important in the long run; your insight is appreciated. While I'm an acquaintance of Saratoga and have occasionally expressed disappointment with player execution and game strategy myself on this board, I agree that he has gone too far in his comments about Coach Strong. I continually witness firsthand(as recently as the Saturday Catholic game) that no one is more passionate during the play of the game than Coach Strong. I even wondered to his wife why he has to fire up teenagers to play harder and/or smarter.
   Thanks again for expressing your sentiments and best wishes for your own program.

[ronk]

  The Lady Royals came up with another strong 2nd half performance(comparable to those against Rochester and Emmanuel, considering the quality of the opposition) to defeat Juniata in a big game for their psyche. Rebounding, turnover disparity, shot clock violations, and harassing defense were aspects of how well they played today when their FG % was below average. Hopefully, they can build on this for the remainder of the season. It's still possible for a 4-way tie for 1st place at 11-3. 

[ronk]

  Juniata becomes 1st of top 4 to lose at home(to Catholic,tonite)

Projected order of finish:

Catholic   12-2
Mor         11-3
Scr          11-3
Jun          10-4

[cuabigdog]

14th straight home win helps No. 13 Cards clinch playoff berth     


  WASHINGTON – No. 13 CUA (20-1, 9-1) scored the first 20 points of the game en route to a 66-48 win over Drew (8-13, 4-6) on Saturday afternoon, and clinched a berth in the upcoming Landmark Conference Tournament.  The Cardinals forced 28 turnovers and converted them into 26 points and placed three players in double figures on the way to their sixth straight win.

The 2011-12 conference champion, CUA will now have a chance to defend its title later this month when the Landmark tourney gets underway.  The Cardinals win on Saturday increases their home win streak to 14 straight, including nine in a row this season.

CUA ripped off a 20-0 run right from the start, holding Drew without a point for the first 7:29.

Despite the Cardinals fast start, Drew was able to cut it to a 12-point game with 8:29 remaining in the first half on Whitney Mackay's layup.

CUA answered with six straight, opening up an 18-point bulge with 5:40 to play before the half.

The back-and-forth continued with the Rangers scoring seven of the next eight to pull within 12 with 2:39 remaining.

Drew then got even closer, getting to within eight on Mackay's jumper just before the buzzer.

Another Drew bucket to begin the second half brought the Rangers to within six, but baskets by Katarina Owunna and Jenny McGann pushed the Cards lead to 10 less than a minute later.

Drew continued to hang around, pulling to within five with 17:11 on the clock, but CUA then put its foot down, exploding with an 18-0 run to go in front by 23 with 12:12 to play.

The Rangers tried to make one final push, getting to within 16 on Jennifer Mateo's 3-pointer with 5:53 on the clock, but CUA did not allow Drew to get closer than 15 the rest of the way.

Owunna and Jill Woerner shared top scoring honors for CUA with 18 points each, while McGann added 14.  Grabiak dished out 11 assists, tying her career high, and Woerner ripped down 11 boards to complete the double-double.

[ronk]

  Lady Royals clinch a playoff spot by beating Drew; shortest player on floor is leading rebounder; effort needs to be amped up in the final weeks for a successful run in the playoffs.