WBB: NESCAC

[polbear73]

Worth mentioning on this board is the free throw shooting percentage of Marle Curle, sophomore guard for Bowdoin. The NCAA leader in free throw shooting, Kiley Shoemaker, from Wheaton (MA) has made 39 out of 41 attempts for a percentage of 95.1%. Marle has made 40 out of 41 attempts for a percentage of 97.6%, clearly the best in the country. She isn't listed on the NCAA stat sheet because you have to have a minimum of 2.5 free throws made per game. Marle is 3 made free throws short of qualifying. Her 97.6% is also better than any of the D3 Men as well. Hope she has a couple of games where she gets to the line more than 2 or 3 times to give her the numbers necessary to make the NCAA Statistical Leaders List.

As a team, Bowdoin is shooting 79.5% from the line this season.  Colby is second in the Conference at 72.9%.

This was my post from the other day lamenting the fact that Marle Curle was a few made free throws from being ranked #1 in the country in free throw percentage. I was hoping that in her next game she would get to the line and make 5 or 6 free throws to qualify for the rankings. Well, in her next game out on Tuesday January 20th, she didn't get to the line at all, making her chances of qualifying more difficult since her number of games has increased. She would now need a bigger number of made free throws in her next game than she has had all year. The basketball Gods must have been smiling down on her though, because last night against Colby, Marle got to the charity stripe 8 times and she didn't disappoint, as she canned every one of those 8 attempts. She has now made 48 out of 49 free throws and her percentage is 97.959 which the NCAA will round up to 98.0%. She has now met the qualifying standard of 2.5 made free throws per game, so in the next day or so when the NCAA updates their statistics, Ms. Curle will take her place at the top of the page as the Number One free throw shooter in Division III in the country, man or woman. Congratulations Marle, that's an incredible feat. She needs to keep getting to the line at least 2.5 times per game, to maintain her ranking (and of course keep making them when she does) so the only advice  I can give to her that might come in handy is....drive Marle... drive to the hoop...every chance you can.

Also worth noting is that the #8 free throw shooter in the country according to the current NCAA ranking with 54 made free throws in 60 attempts is also a member of the Bowdoin Women's team. That would be senior guard, Sara Binkhorst, who is knocking down her foul shots at a 90.0% rate.

Opposing coaches will be hard pressed to keep the Polar Bears from adding to their score late in the game, if the need to foul is part of their strategy. Putting either one of these players on the line is about as automatic as it gets. Nice weapons to have.       

[bowdoin74]

Jill Henrikson was also ranked #1 in the country during her tenure at Bowdoin in FTs, but I am unsure how long she held onto that spot.  Henrikson's .832 career free throw percentage is first all-time at Bowdoin, but it looks like her record is in jeopardy.  Those are extremely impressive stats by Marle Curle, and if she or Sarah Binkhorst earn the top spot, it will be well earned and deserved.

Henrikson's career will be fun to follow, having moved on from Bowdoin to coach at Smith and earn a masters in Exercise Science and Sports Studies, and now to the number one assistant at Tufts. 

[polbear73]

Jill Henrikson was also ranked #1 in the country during her tenure at Bowdoin in FTs, but I am unsure how long she held onto that spot.  Henrikson's .832 career free throw percentage is first all-time at Bowdoin, but it looks like her record is in jeopardy.  Those are extremely impressive stats by Marle Curle, and if she or Sarah Binkhorst earn the top spot, it will be well earned and deserved.

Henrikson's career will be fun to follow, having moved on from Bowdoin to coach at Smith and earn a masters in Exercise Science and Sports Studies, and now to the number one assistant at Tufts.

Pretty good coaching tree from Bowdoin Coaches Pemper and Shibles.

[amh63]

Want to mention that Amherst beat Trinity in Hartford on Sat. to uphold the honor of the LJs.  It was a game that allowed playing time for some of the "younger" players.
Next game up is a Little Three game in Middletown.  Afraid the game will be cancelled due to the big storm to arrive late today in New England.  Hard game to reschedule.  The game that counts for the conference is later In leFrak.. 

[amh63]

Amherst cancelled all classes and closed the school for Tuesday!
Doubt anything will be moving pretty soon.
One thing is sure, Bowdoin's recent announcements is causing interest.  Dowdoin's retiring prez has been there 14 years...a long tenure for a Prez in the CAC.  With the new found wealth...endownment growth...a new Prez with an M.B. A maybe maybe the road that Robert Frost suggested. 

[magicman]

Went to the NCAA's website which shows all the statistics, looking to see if it had been updated yet, showing Marle Curle as the nation's leader in free throw percentage. It had last been updated on January 19th so I was expecting it to be updated on January 26th but that day came and went without any new stats posted. It was finally updated on January 27th, although the website says it was updated on the 26th. It's too bad that the NCAA, with all the money it makes can't afford to spend a few dollars to make sure their website has accurate facts. They have listed Marle Curle as a freshman when she's a sophomore. They have listed her height as 4'0" which is an insult. Marle's correct height is 5'8".

They have also listed Bowdoin's Sara Binkhorst who is the #8 best free throw shooter in the country as a junior instead of a senior and have her height at 4.0. Her correct height is 5'7".

I looked at over 200 women listed on the free throw percentage individual statistics page and they have made that mistake on the 2 women from Bowdoin and a player from Utica College also listed as 4'0". On two other players they show no height listed and leave that stat blank. Better to leave it blank than show an incorrect number that is a far cry from reality.

Incidentally Marle is not only the percentage leader in DIII she is the number one free throw shooter in all of college basketball, men or women, in NCAA Divisons I, II, or III. She may not end up there or even stay for another week, but for 1 week she can say she was the best. Congratulations Marle and Sara. 


Edit 10:32 PM:  Meant to post a link to the NCAA Statistic showing the Free Throw Percentage Leaders. Here it is:

http://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-women/d3/current/individual/108             

[Pat Coleman]

Schools provide that roster/bio info to the NCAA.

[7express]

I'd update this info for the NCAA for free!

[magicman]

Schools provide that roster/bio info to the NCAA.

Pat,
Are you saying the school told the NCAA the girls were 4'0" tall and they were a year younger than they actually are? Why would they do that?

[bballfan13]

On a related topic.  Has anyone ever tried to access ncaa.com from their phone?  They have designed the site to be "mobile" friendly but it is terrible.  Try going to the NCAA bracket once they release them and you can only view the left side as it does not let you scroll over.  I've complained multiple times on the contact us page and I believe it gets sent to Turner Sports.  I've never heard back from them.

Yes, the NCAA has a lot of money, they just don't spend it the way I think they should 

[Pat Coleman]

Schools provide that roster/bio info to the NCAA.

Pat,
Are you saying the school told the NCAA the girls were 4'0" tall and they were a year younger than they actually are? Why would they do that?

No -- but if the school didn't fill in that data on the roster file it provided the NCAA, then that's one possible way their system might render it. If data is missing or in the wrong format, the website may still report out something.

[amh63]

Seems the latest Storm has resulted in the Amherst and Trinity teams to postpone their Maine games tonight to Sunday.  Had thought about that possibility after watching the weather report.

[Maine 1]

Looking forward to catching some of Bowdoin-Amherst today. I believe this game will be a good test of both teams,  and give us a sense of how strong Bowdoin is.  I expect a very close game. 

[amh63]

Maine1...agree!

[ronk]

  Was impressed with Bowdoin's Kate Kerrigan during the AAU season 2 summers ago; made big plays against lower D1-capables, then.