WBB: NESCAC

[nescacfan1]

I saw Bates play and they have heart and discipline, but not the physical skills of the better NESCAC teams. Their tallest player is 5'11" Allie Coppola and she has some talent, but is not fast. Their other forward Nina Davenport is their lead scorer at 14ppg and is skilled. Those two can rebound well. They have a guard that can shoot ,Bernadette Connors, and they screen to get her open. Their other guards are not that big and slower down the floor, but perform well enough in set pieces. They play 7 players mostly. They will not likely make the tournament this year, but may challenge some teams on good nights. They barely lost to Colby, for example.

[Maine 1]

I think I say this every year in the early season.  Very difficult to draw conclusions based on the pre-season, as teams sometimes play a soft schedule.  Many of the NESCAC teams have very good records.  I was very surprised by the Colby-Bates game--given how bad some of Bates early losses are.  From what I have seen have Colby, they are pretty solid. I would expect them to compete for the 4-5 spot.  Bowdoin had a huge win over Tufts, Amherst is rolling as is Williams.  Conn College has been improving and is off to a very good start, and Trinity has a good record, but appear to have played a soft schedule. My expectation at this point is that Amherst, Tufts, Williams and Bowdoin will battle for the top four spots.  We will learn a little more about the Maine schools Saturday, when Bowdoin plays Colby.

[ronk]

amh63,
   Just learned that 1 of my 2016 prospects has committed to Amherst(GP must have hacked my list ); she's a W/F & lower D1-capable.

[amh63]

ronk.....I prefer to think that Coach G and you think alike and have similar lists of talented student athletes.  Any other particulars....school, physical attributes, etc. 
Coach G's FY players are getting time....two guards and a local forward.....all can handle the ball and are fast and quick and seem to be able to play defense.  Still Amherst needs some bigger front court players...to battle the CACbigs.  Amherst tallest player at 6'1" wants to play outside and shoot threes.  Does not like to battle hard for rebounds and tends to lose her "man".  I know, a little harsh...but defensive skills and toughness are critical in BB. Oh yes, Thanks for the info.

[amh63]

Last night, Amherst won handily over an overmatched RIC team. in R.I.  Every one got to play that was heathy.  The RIC team was game and finally got their offense together in the fourth quarter...believe out scoring Amherst.  Good road win.  Last game before exams.  Next game down in Florida!  Team needs the break in many ways.  Several injured players need recovery time.

[ronk]

ronk.....I prefer to think that Coach G and you think alike and have similar lists of talented student athletes.  Any other particulars....school, physical attributes, etc.
Coach G is FY players are getting time....two guards and a local forward.....all can handle the ball and are fast and quick and seem to be able to play defense.  Still Amherst needs some bigger front court players...to battle the CACbigs.  Amherst tallest player at 6'1" wants to play outside and shoot threes.  Does not like to battle hard for rebounds and tends to lose her "man".  I know, a little harsh...but defensive skills and toughness are critical in BB. Oh yes, Thanks for the info.

She's 5-10 and from NY St.(NOT a DC-area school or I'd give it to you)

[nescacfan1]

Williams played Wesleyan today and won their little three matchup 81-62. This not the margin that Amherst beat Wesleyan (41), but the outcome and the play make it clear that Wesleyan will struggle to match the elite teams. The Cardinals  have a really good first year post in Tara Berger who had a 16 point 10 rebound game, but even she struggled in the third quarter when Williams put their elite defenders, Litman and Uwanaka, on her, scoring only one point. They feature balanced scoring with Brenna Diggins, a junior forward, Maeve Vitale, a sophomore guard,Danielle Gervacio a senior guard and Kaylie Williams, a senior forward. The bench is not deep. They are just not fast and athletic enough to be in the top tier of NESCAC this year, though Berger could be a cornerstone of a better team, if she keeps working on her post game.

[Maine 1]

Two interesting games today.  Conn College beat Tufts.  Looks like this is not a strong Tufts team, and that Conn College needs to be taken seriously.  Second game was Bowdoin-Colby.  This game was close until mid-way through the fourth quarter, when Bowdoin blew the game open. I watched the second half of the game, and I think the Bowdoin was clearly the better team, and missed a number of easy shots.  Bowdoin was able to break the game open with a change to a zone press that bothered Colby.  Colby is a solid team, but may not have enough to battle the top teams. Bowdoin appears to be solid, well coached, with good inside and outside play. 

Will have to wait a few weeks for exams and break for the games to start again, but good to see some of the NESCAC teams playing each other this week. 

[nescacfan1]

just for grins, here is my totally unscientific, pre-christmas rankings of NESCAC women's teams:
1.Amherst
2. Conn College--yes really
3. Williams
4. Bowdoin
5. Tufts
6. Trinity
7. Colby
8. Middlebury
9. Wesleyan
10. Hamilton
11. Bates

waiting for January to see how it turns out. It's clear that below Amherst, the top teams are closer in ability than recent years.

[amh63]

Amherst wins over Adrian, 67-43, in Daytona, FL. Yesterday.  The first game since breaking for Exams.
Some players showed a little rust....all players dressed got minutes, I believe.  This afternoon, Amherst will face Salisbury, the team that beat them in NJ in the post-season last year.  Should be a test for Amherst.

[ronk]

Amherst ins over Adrian, 67-43, in Daytona, FL. Yesterday.  The first game since breaking for Exams.
Some players showed a little rust....all players dressed got minutes, I believe.  This afternoon, Amherst will face Salisbury, the team that beat them in NJ in the post-season last year.  Should be an test for Amherst.

  The good Montgomery County guards(Hackett and Seipp) have graduated so not quite the test that it was last year.

[amh63]

ronk.....thanks for the assurance .  Did check the roster to see if the guards that put a hurt on Amherst had graduated.  Still, Salisbury often starts three guards and two forwards...sometimes four guards. 

[amh63]

Amherst beats Salisbury, 59-35, in Florida...in a Sweet 16 rematch of two teams in last season post season.  Team heads home to NE where the campus got a nice snow cover today.

[nescacfan1]

Williams loses one and wins one in Nashville. The loss was to a very good Whitman team, avenging their elite 8 loss almost 4 years ago. Williams stopped passing the ball and turned the ball over 7 times in the 4th quarter in a game they could have won. In the next game, the Williams point guard, Fernandez, was back in form, dishing out 10 assists. She leads the league in assists and when she cuts down her turnovers, the team operates well. Litman and Caveney both had 19 points. Williams has a strong inside game with Litman and Uwenaka rebounding and scoring and good outside shooting with McCall, Caveney and Fernandez. Turnovers, fouls and sharing the ball are the issues for this team.
If Williams takes care of the ball, shares and stays out of foul trouble, Williams can give Amherst a good game next week. If not...

[Maine 1]

disappointing performance by Colby at UMass Boston. Seemed like Colby was unable to get any offense going for most of the game.  I did not think UMass-Boston was a very strong team, but they controlled the game, and only a late Colby run got the game into the single digits (10) at the end.  Colby play Husson Monday, and Husson handled uMass Boston.  Not sure what that means.