WBB: NESCAC

[NE Jeffs Fan]

Don't see any audio, video or live stats.  They must be at a different tourney than D3 hoops classic?

[daoustian]

There's video.  http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/triplvh.portal

[amh63]

Amherst shakes of the holiday rust and beats Vassar 66-53 in first game in Las Vegas.  Stats and recap of sorts via Vassar can be found on Amherst's website.
Seems Vassar got no points from their bench.  Amherst still working out their rotation.  Got  a third of their points from the " bench".    Vassar got more points off the fast break , but lost the rebound battle badly.  Amherst still needs to work on the foul shooting and lower their TOs.
Meg Robertson got a double- double.
Thanks Daoustian for the video link...but too rich for my blood.

[amh63]

Amherst beats Marywood tonight 73-49.  Everyone played for Amherst.  Things of note are the 11blocks by Amherst and the control of the boards.  Amherst made 8-9 foul shots.

[amh63]

The details of the game are posted on the Amherst website.  The LJs' next game will be at RIC.  First encounter with RIC for the Lady Jeff's, I believe.
Some observations on the team to date.  Last season, the team was somewhat "short handed " and was led by three seniors that played many minutes on the floor.  This year, with no seniors and a bunch of talented FYs...the rotation of the team for conference games is still a work in progress.  It seems that the team is much deeper and there are many combinations that can be put on the floor.
The return of S. Holness from injury and the breakout play of Giddins have allowed Meg to get rest. There are a number of ball handlers to chose from that can run the offense and drive to the basket.  Outside shooters?  Whoever has the hot hand.  Seems there will always be on the floor, several outsider shooters available.  Rebounding, defense...team defense are still things to work on when new combinations are on the floor.  Game experience remains.

[nescacfan1]

Thanks amh63, for the kind comments. The scary part about Amherst is the way they beat a good Vassar team. They pounded them on the offensive boards, grabbing 21 offensive rebounds. It wasn't just one person either, but a team effort--Robertson and Holness had 4 each and 5 were listed as "team" rebounds. Also Holness appears to be back from injury and she is a prime defender, rebounder and scorer. As you described, Amherst has many options on offense and they play a swarming, pressing defense.

Williams defense, by contrast, focuses on intimidating shooters. They lead the nation in limiting opponents to 25% shooting. They average 8 blocks a game and defend shooters all over the floor. That means they are prone to getting out rebounded on the offensive boards because the are trying to block or alter shots. That doesn't match up well against Amherst which has size and shooters throughout their lineup. Oh and they can rebound too.

As much as I hate to say it, Amherst certainly looks intimidating right now.

[nescac1]

Finally one of the NESCAC top four picks up a loss as Bowdoin falls last night.  Still, hard to imagine NESCAC not ending up with four NCAA teams this year. 

Williams puts on yet another defensive clinic in last night's win.  I continue to be impressed / surprised by how well the Ephs have played despite losing so much to graduation, and relying so heavily on underclassmen (zero seniors and two juniors in the rotation).  The Ephs have allowed under 50 points in seven consecutive games, and limiting opposing shooters to 25.9 percent on the season, which is simply incredible!  The Ephs are better on D than they are on offense, as they rely very heavily on only three players on that end, one of whom (Katie Litman, who is one half of a very strong sophomore center platoon) did not play last night.  Oge Uwanaka picked up the slack in her absence, with the best game of her career: 12 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks. 

Hopefully whatever ails Litman is nothing serious -- if she is out for the Amherst game, beating the Jeffs on the road (which the Ephs, who I believe were clearly more talented than Amherst last season, weren't able to do on either occasion at Lefrak last year) next weekend becomes even more unlikely.  In fact, the Ephs have NEVER beaten a Gromacki-coached team at Amherst -- so long as the talent level is roughly even (which it looks to be right now so long as Litman plays, as both teams are undefeated with a scoring margin of 18 ppg) or favors Amherst, Amherst is essentially unbeatable at home due to his coaching excellence. 

[Maine 1]

I was surprised to see RIC beat Bowdoin, however, game was at RIC, and the first weekend after the Holiday break, may have caught Bowdoin off their game.  We will start to get a real look at the relative strength of the NESCAC teams with league play starting this weekend.  The top four teams all have had excellent pre-seasons (only 1 loss among them), but I am always leery about the strength of the pre-season schedules.  Amherst also plays at RIC this week, so it will be interesting to see how they do against them.  Looking forward to the regular season, but it is hard to see any of the other teams in the league making a run at the top four.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Hoopsville is back on the air tonight and starting the usual twice-a-week format. Tune in to hear from a number of coaches including Tuft's Carla Berube.

Show starts at 7 PM EST and Coach Berube will be on around 8 PM.

You can tune in here: www.d3hoopsville.com

You can also follow us and be social on Twitter (@d3hoopsville and #Hoopsville) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/Hoopsville). You can even email us at hoopsville@d3hoops.com.

Thanks and enjoy the show!

[nescac1]

The Ephs continue their trend of winning with ridiculously tough defense but anemic offense, beating St. Lawrence 50-38 while holding them to 23 percent shooting and forcing 24 turnovers (but shooting only 32 percent themselves).  The Ephs are now allowing fewer than 47 ppg on the year.  Once again Katie Litman, who is easily the Ephs' best interior offensive player, did not play for the Ephs.  Fingers crossed that she can return for the Amherst game. 

[amh63]

Amherst vs. RIC game in RI is scheduled for 7PM.   Same time as the MBB game at home with ECSU.

[nescacfan1]

DIII hoops rankings--Week 5:

Amherst 3
Tufts 7
Williams 10
Bowdoin 25

WBCA rankings:

Amherst 3
Williams 4
Tufts 7
Bowdoin 20

Only one loss between all four teams. A 43-1 composite record. NESCAC looks v tough right now.

[amh63]

Amherst wins a hard fought game at RIC 74-63.  RIc took the early lead but Amherst was ahead by 4 at the half.  Meg Robertson held down a bit in the first finish with 25 points.

[NE Jeffs Fan]

Nice win for Amherst by a team that beat Bowdoin.  Hopefully builds confidence as go head to head with Williams this weekend.  Will be a good match up for two young teams. 

[amh63]

NE Jeffs Fan.....Agreed, but there is another game on Friday with Hamilton.  One game at a time is my approach.
Watched the RIC game today via RIC's achives....since I watched the MBB game in LeFrak.  A little troubled that the WBB seemed sloppy in the first ten minutes of the game.....8 TOs and missed layouts, etc.  Concern is the flat play of Savannah H., one of my favorite players.  Was in the game to give Meg a breather but was taken out when she went 0-4 Three of the misses were on layups....two uncontested.  Not focused on the game or her play,imo.  Hope she wakes up for the conference games this weekend.  Back to back games are hard.