WBB: NESCAC

[amh63]

Amherst beats a game Skidmore team in LeFrak 63-52.  It was close at the half with Amherst only ahead by a point.  Amherst got behind and only took the lead late in the half.  In the second half, it was another story as Amherst Meg Robertson starts to take over underneath.  Foul shooting greatly improved and fewer three's taken and of those made, more made.  More experienced players in the game and Amherst controls the tempo better.  FYs still needs to find their way on offense...but their defense is still strong.

[amh63]

Amherst plays the tonight in the first game of their tip off tournament.  Expect it to be webcasted.   Looking forward to see how Coach G blends the newer players into the offense and how the team defense adjust to different styles of play.
Meg Robertson took over the other night offensively with 25 points.  Player still adjusting to the rules and what the refs are allowing.....yes even in the women side of the game
Amherst wins 80-56 over RPI in a game thar was not really that close.  Amherst played everyone that was dressed and everyone scored.  Amherst had a team of mostly FYs on the floor with over 8 minutes to go with all the starters out.  A starter returned to distribute the ball when RPI put most of its starters back in with 3 minutes to go....with the game still out of reach.....hoping to close the score.  It still remained in the 20's till the end.  Good shake out for the younger players.

[amh63]

Amherst wins their tourny  by beating a game Ithaca team...66-44.  Thanksgiving vacation has come to Amherst...therefore a brief pause before more games.  Some difficult games ahead for Amherst  to use to develop a team ready for Conference battles.  Still need to see how the team plays outside the home confines of LeFrak.

[Maine 1]

Time for some non-Amherst talk

As the teams start to play a few more games, we get a better idea of relative strenght.  Looks like Bowdoin will be the class of the Maine NESCAC teams.  They are off to a good start, and beat a previously unbeaten UNE team last night.  Cobly had a good start, but has lost 3 of its last 4 games, including a home loss to Regis last night.  Williams looks strong out of the gates, as does Tufts.  Amherst also has had a strong start.  Early on, the top four look to be Williams, Amherst, Tufts and Bowdoin, in no particular order.  It is always a little difficult to get a read on the Connecticutt teams (Trinity, Wesleyan, Conn College) because of the early season schedule, so we will need to wait until they start the NESCAC schedule to see where they will fit in.  Same for Middlebury. 

[amh63]

Maine 1...nice to get some inputs from the Maine schools.  This season will be more interesting in both the order of the school rankings and even the style of the play.
First, the order....many of the "stars" of the top teams for the past few years have graduated...therefore the new players to be blended into the teams will take time.  How fast school teams develop is the key,IMO.  With respect to style...the new emphasis on the "rules" this season will impact the play/style.  In the Williams game last night, the announcers mentioned the impact on the floor play.  Depth of teams and changes to defensive schemes must be considered...along with watching who will have a breakout season...on given teams.

[remsleep]

I actually feel bad for the officials in regard to this absurd point of emphasis on hand-checking....they know what is a foul and what isn't but their discretion is being badly compromised...let the players play and the officials officiate...it's been awful to watch

[amh63]

Remsleep....that is the most astute comment I have read/ heard on the new emphasis of rules. 
Each official now must settle in his/ her mind their interpretation of the emphasis.  It does give cover to bad calls regardless

[amh63]

Amherst back from the holidays.  Plays Emmanuel at home at 7PM.  Disappointed that at present there is no webcast available.  Could it be that the men's team is playing away at Westfield State at the same time?  Go figure.  Hope that fans get to watch online...there has been last minute changes lately.

[7express]

Eastern SHOULD have video of the Amherst/Eastern game Thursday night on LEC.tv and the Eastern announcers do an excellent job as I'm sure ECSUalum can point out.  Not that it helps much for today, but giving you a heads up for later in the week.

[NE Jeffs Fan]

Amherst game is on.  New announcers good.  Color commentator needs to get closer to mike.  Live stats frozen

[amh63]

Amherst wins over Emmanuel 77-56 at home.  Video available but stats off -line until second half.  Everyone dressed got into the game with 4 players in double figures.  Meg Robertson has a double double in points and rebounds.  Seems that Amherst was out rebounded and the TOs were the same.  However Amherst was more successful from threes and two's.  Amherst still leaving too many points on the foul lane.  Could cost them in closer games...did shoot more foul shots.

[nescac1]

Williams is off to a surprising 7-0 start, with all but one victory coming in blow-out fashion.  After losing a tremendous senior class and with no seniors on the roster, I figured Williams would drop back some, but they seem to have picked up right where they left off last season, thanks mainly to suffocating defense. The two returning starters, juniors Ellen Cook and Kellie MacDonald, have adapted well to leading roles, and both are looking like all-NESCAC players as they fill up box scores in various categories.  The combine to average 25 points, 12 boards, 8 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks per game.  The Ephs have received surprisingly strong production from a sophomore center platoon. Litman and Uwanaka split time at the five and combine to average 15 points, 14 boards and 3 blocks, combining to roughly replace all-American Claire Baecher's productivity.  Both are much improved with a lot more room to grow as players over the next two years.  The Ephs are still very young, with three frosh and one new transfer sophomore in the rotation, but those supporting players have all looked good at times and are athletic, quick and play good defense.   Williams may surprise a few teams this season, and by next year could be a legit contender once again. 

[amh63]

Amherst beats a game ECSU team in Willimatic Ct. tonight by 14, I believe.  Am not clear on the particulars as I was trying to follow the mens game on-line at the same time.  Must refer fans to the Amherst website for recap.  Meg Robertson again had a double-double....had 16 rebounds but fouled out with about a minute to go.  Amherst had too much height and speed and also too many turnovers.

[7express]

Amh: Robertson with 19 points and 16 rebounds both team highs.  Jamie Renner also had 18 for Amherst.

[Maine 1]

As we go into exams and the break, it looks like the NESCAC is taking shape.  Although it is sometimes hard to get a good measure during this part of the season, there are four teams that are undefeated. They are Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, and Tufts.  Wesleyan is 7-2, and played Williams very closely at Williams.  It is hard to say which of these four unbeaten teams will distinguish themselves once the regular season starts.  As Amherst continues to win, I am convinced that Gromacki  can win no matter who is on his roster.  Tufts looks very strong, and Bowdoin is clearly the class of the Maine teams, having swept the state with wins over both Bates and Colby, along with USM and UNE.  I would expect the four unbeaten to battle during the season for the top four spots, but also expect that we will see each of these teams lose at least one game in the league, if not more.  It looks like there will be a lot of balance, and none of these teams is a super team. I expect to see some very close games once league play starts in January.