WBB: NESCAC

[Pat Coleman]

http://www.nbcsports.com/cbk/862414/detail.html

[d3bballinboston]

wow a NAC school beating the best NESCAC team in the country!  This is pretty impressive.

[feces monkey]

Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
                          -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Bowdoin Class of 1825)

Maine Maritime hit the magic trifecta: 1.) Shot well from the floor (50%); 2.) Outrebounded the Polar Bears (which had a 10+ margin coming in); 3.) and put the clamps on Flaherty (4-for-20). A lot of really good teams have tried to do that Morrell over the past four years and couldn't, but MMA did. All the credit to them. The most impressive part was MMA didn't shoot particularly well from the free throw line (10-of-18), which is usually a killer in close games, and also ceded 30 more shots to Bowdoin.

Personally, I'm glad it was a Maine team that snapped the streak.

Perhaps I'm being pollyannaish, but I see nothing but good coming from this loss. It was a non-conference game, so no damage done to conference tourney seedings. It comes right before the final regular season push, which should refocus the team down the stretch. The whole streak thing is put to bed and will no longer be a possible distraction. Same for the No. 1 ranking. It's time to get down to business.

[nescac hoops]

ive heard of the sports illustrated cover jinx and i've heard of the madden video game football cover jinx - i think d3hoops is now in their company with the feature they did on their front page of the bowdoin steak no more than a week ago. wow. congrats to MM. i agree with feces, and think this takes the monkeys off their back.

[tothehole]

Congrats to Maine
By the by when was the last time Da Bears had more personal fouls than a visiting team?
Maybe when Longfellow was a student.

[atn alum]

at home?

vs Southern Maine earlier this season.

And yes, I know it was a rhetorical question...

[JeffRookie2]

Hey, I'm an amherst fan, but I don't pay much attention to the women. I know they are not nearly as good as the men, but where do they stand in the conference? What is the general conference rank? Obviously Bowdoin is number 1 and Williams 2. Who are the best players, first team, second team etc? I'm just kind of looking for a general league summary if someone would be so kind.

[frank uible]

See the NESCAC website.

[feces monkey]

This weekend will feature two contrasting days of action. Friday's slate features four games, all of them dogs, that hardly merit a mention. Williams, Bowdoin and Wesleyan will all be heavily favored, and with Amherst streaking right now, they are double-digits faves, as well.

On Saturday the games get a little meatier.

Williams (13-3) at Amherst (9-7): The Lady Jeffs started out 7-7 and were living up to predicitions of mediocrity, but the last two games have shown a little fight. Amherst handled both Bates and Wesleyan by double digits, and they could make a huge statement with a win over Williams. That kind of win still might be a year off. Ephs by four.

Bowdoin (15-1) at Wesleyan (10-3): The Cardinals had their eight-game win streak snapped by Amherst in their last game, and the Polar Bears' last contest has been well documented (although both will easily win on Friday). A win for Wesleyan could net them home court for tourney. Unfortunately, Bowdoin isn't pleased. Polar Bears by a dozen.

Bates (9-6) at Tufts (10-5): The Bobcats are basically playing spolier now, and Tufts can't afford a loss. I have no idea about this game, but I'll go with the home Jumbos. By six.

Trinity (9-5) at Middlebury (9-5): The battle for the seventh seed in the conference tourney should be a barn-burner. I like the Chickens, by three.

And now, the Game of the Week:

Colby (3-10) at Conn. College (8-6): Don't let the Camels' record fool you -- their non-conference schedule would make Brandeis envious. Not that I blame them; they're trying to build a program. The White Mules are just trying to dig out of the wreckage. Neither of these teams will make the tourney, but this game could give one of them a leg up in the race for the eighth seed in '08. Camels, at the buzzer, by two.

[nescac hoops]

feces,
i always like predictions. i don't see the bowdoin/wesleyan game being that close. the game could be that close but only if bowdoin clears the bench at the end of the game or wesleyan finds one of their own to ref the game, which is what is seems like down there a lot of the times. i think with what wesleyan lost last year in their two big girls, they really don't have an answer for flaherty and bowdoin's post game. and i might flip with you on the middlebury/trinity game -- that's a lot of traveling for the bants on the second day and i think midd may have more experience, and maybe skill, than trinity. i agree with you in regards to williams/amherst....lefrak is a tough gym to shoot in and i think amherst has some confidence now. however, they have always found a way to lose to williams. we'll see.

[feces monkey]

N'Hoops,

Interesting point about the travel. I guess I tend to discount that, but with Midd and Trinity being so close (from my perspective), I suppose it could be a factor. It all depends on whether the Bantams are staying at the Ladd Brook Motel in Pownal, Vt., after the Ephs game. I always slept well there, so that might negate any Panther advantage. If they are staying in North Adams, all bets are off.

LeFrak can make you dizzy (what kind of architectural style would you say it is? -- gotta love the '70s), but the Ephs have been there enough and are too talented.

[nescac hoops]

feces,
williams and midd are not actually all that close to one another....as it compares to other nescac traveling pairs. it might even be the greatest distance, though maybe tufts/bates is slightly longer. it's a straight shot up there to midd but takes around 2 and a half hours on a bus...maybe closer to 2 hours.

i don't know what i would call the amherst gym. to me, the roof always looks like one of those big party tents with the points on the ends. i guess ugly is the style i would call it. it's a tough place to shoot in but, like you've said, the ephs have played there enough (3 times for the seniors) to know that. more than anything, i think amherst has developed a "complex" and don't believe themselves that they can beat williams.

[Balder Eagle]

I know you hate our poll, but only eight of the 25 voters are SIDs. Gotta find another reason to hate on us other than that.

I'm more frustrated with your poll than hateful of it. At a fundamental level -- publicizing Division III women's basketball -- I'm appreciative of your poll. However, I think you are missing opportunities to increase its legitimacy, and thus its value. Hence, frustration.

And having nearly a third of your electorate as SIDs is not a negligible percentage.

As the season progesses monkey gets clearer and clearer but the rankings don't, one can only wonder what the next poll will reveal 

[mrmike88]

LeFrak is definitely like playing in a tent.

Amherst is playing much better of late than they were coming into the last matchup vs. Williams.  One big difference over the past three games (all wins) has been the turnover margin.  Turnovers killed Amherst against Williams last time (22-7).  If they can take better care of the ball like they did vs. Wes on Tuesday, this could be a game.

[whoarewebobcats]

Fecesmonkey was right on--Tufts beat Bates by 6 or 7. It was a mostly defensive first half until with about two minutes left both teams just played run and gun; I think between the two they hit five threes in the last two minutes of the first half. 33-28 Tufts at the half. Back and forth most of the second half; Murphy called a timeout (and was none too pleased) with 7:45 to go; by the 6:30 mark it was a tie game, but Tufts pulled away, mostly by keeping the ball away from Sarah Barton, and Teal Carroll and Maggie Fitzgerald couldn't replace her (obviously).

Sarah played about as well as I've seen her play, and this board knows I'm high on Sarah. She did all the things she's great at and really didn't turn the ball over too many times in the process. When she was out (about two minutes all game) Bates suffered. Katie Franklin has played well all season and did today; Lauren Yanofsky and Kellie Goodridge both played very well in limited minutes.

My biggest complaint about this team is that they don't pass well, which is pretty important with Murphy's offensive scheme and a creative player like Sarah running the show. Other than Sarah, Lauren, and Kellie, I think the whole team is subpar in terms of passing--contrasted to Tufts, it was really obvious, as the Jumbos consistently hit their scorers (11 and 33, don't know the names) immediately off picks, and could get the ball underneath sufficiently. Bates couldn't get the ball to Matia underneath in the first half, and she got completely out of rhythm by firing away from long range. Kudos to Val Beckwith for taking it to the hole several times and playing hard as she always does, but she also wasn't as effective as I've seen her. The freshmen, excluding Lauren, don't have the timing down and miss opportunities to hit the open girl. Also, the Bobcats, I think, have become too accustomed to hitting the guards who step out rather than the girls rolling around picks underneath (if you've seen their offense, you know what I'm talking about)--several times Matia, ShawnRose, or Val would be open sliding through the paint and the girl on the wing, whether it was Teal, Kellie, Maggie, or even Katie, would not hit them and throw it back to Sarah or one of the other wing players. Luckily, this is really mostly a transitional/learning year anyway, as we have next year with Sarah, Matia, and Meg as seniors with Val as a junior and an extremely strong soph. class with a year under its belt. I'd lobby for more PT for Lauren, who does everything and is a rare mix of athleticism and size--one she gets confident, she will be a near impossible matchup-- and Kellie, who to me is a much stronger defender and ball handler than Teal, who started. However, Teal is a fantastic shooter, so she deserves her time as well.

A nice showing by the girls, but they couldn't overcome the Jumbos today.