University Athletic Association

[jaybird44]

Wash-U's women played their best first half of basketball last night that I have seen all season.  Bears race out to a 10-0 and never look back, en route to a 49-21 halftime lead and an 85-54 victory at home over Carnegie Mellon.

The shooting woes of the past several games did not materialize last night, as Wash-U shot 46% from the field and 5-14 from the arc.  Tartans were held to 26% shooting in the first half and 1-14 from the arc for the game.

Jordan Thompson emerged from a shooting slump to score 16 points on 6-10 shooting, including 3-5 from 3-point land.  Alyssa Johanson added 10 points and Melissa Gilkey battled a bloody nose to post 12 points in 18 minutes.  19 players logged minutes, and 15 of them scored points.

Carnegie Mellon will get progressively better in the next 2-3 seasons.  Coach Hullah has a sizable core of freshmen that will pay big dividends with more experience.

Now, it will be very interesting to see how Wash-U starts its game Sunday vs. Case, after the Mathers' victory in Cleveland last Sunday...

[WUPHF]

Brandeis scores the big-time upset over Rochester 62-49.  The Judges had a 1-7 record going in to the game but had a big second half to get the win at home.

Emory is alone at the top of the UAA with an 8-1 league record, but that one loss was at home to Washington University who will host Emory on Friday and are only one game behind at 7-2 and tied with Rochester who will also visit the Field House this weekend.

If Emory gets the unlikely win on Friday, they would return home to host Carnegie Mellon, Case Western Reserve and Rochester and would appear to be a lock for the conference title.  Washington University could take over the lead for good on Sunday with Rochester also looking to make a statement.  Big weekend ahead.

[WUPHF]

Wins by Washington University over rival Emory and Rochester over Chicago tonight provide for a three-way tie for the conference title.  Emory, Washington University, and Rochester have identical 8-2 records with four games left in the season.

Washington University appears to be in the drivers seat with the season sweep over Emory and the three worst teams in the conference left on the schedule, not including Rochester, of course, who will likely need the elusive road wins in St. Louis on Sunday and Atlanta in the conference finale to win the conference title.

[mark_reichert]

Wins by Washington University over rival Emory and Rochester over Chicago tonight provide for a three-way tie for the conference title.  Emory, Washington University, and Rochester have identical 8-2 records with four games left in the season.

Not identical any more

Washington University appears to be in the drivers seat with the season sweep over Emory and the three worst teams in the conference left on the schedule, not including Rochester, of course, who will likely need the elusive road wins in St. Louis on Sunday and Atlanta in the conference finale to win the conference title.

Not in the drivers seat anymore either.  Rochester and Emory are tied, and if they both sweep Case Western and Carnegie Mellon, will be playing each other for the conference championship.  Somebody correct me, but a look through the past standings at the UAA site, leads me to think this is the first time in UAA Women's basketball history that there will be at least one finale game determining the championship and the WashU-Chicago game won't be part of it.  I mean other schools as well as WashU have won the championship free and clear without involving the final game but when it's come down to the final game(s) that game has always played a part.  Now the action will be in Atlanta.

[sumfun]

Wash U loses tonight?  Will they make the tournament?  Emory pulls out a close one, and sorry to see how far Chicago has fallen.  I assume the interim coach will only be "interim."

[WUPHF]

Not in the drivers seat anymore either.  Rochester and Emory are tied, and if they both sweep Case Western and Carnegie Mellon, will be playing each other for the conference championship. 

Respect to Rochester for getting the win last weekend despite having half the team foul out and the season sweep.  Washington University falls to NYU again this evening with Brandeis and Chicago left on the calendar.

To answer the other question: Washington University will make the tournament, but an early exit seems likely.

Rochester and Emory remain tied at 10-2 after the victories tonight.

[jaybird44]

I feared that a loss at Brandeis would have put Wash-U's tournament hopes in dire peril.  Late 3s by Maddy Scheppers and Nishi Tavernier saved the Bears' bacon, heading into the final Saturday next week vs. Chicago.

Bears need to get stronger, IMOH.  Too many rebounds lost on tie-ups; problems getting the ball powered to the rim or backboard--so instead of FTs, the Bears often settle for in-bounds situations that get turned over; and it has become tough elevating shots over the rim in traffic.

[deiscanton]

Well, it's been a while since I last posted.   Been a tough season for my Judges on the women's side, but the UAA race has still been interesting.

The "unofficial" UAA women's "title game" in Atlanta between Rochester and Emory tomorrow-- a first for those two teams.   First time since 1991 that a team other than Wash U, NYU, or Chicago will win the title and the automatic bid.   From my experience with men's soccer earlier this season, it is really great to have a plaque delivered from the UAA that says Team Champion on it.  BTW, the 1991 champion was Carnegie Mellon. 

Let's have a great contest tomorrow afternoon, Eagles and Yellowjackets.   To the winner goes the automatic bid, and I hope that the loser will not have their bubble popped, but any team on Pool C is "on the bubble" because of the small number of at-large slots for the tournament.   I remember a time when there were only 7 Pool C slots.-- 20 Pool C slots is an improvement, but it is not half the field like in Division I.

Hopefully, Brandeis can break their UAA road game losing streak tomorrow, but it will be tough to win at Coles Center against an NYU team that knocked off Wash U. 

[sumfun]

Congrats to Emory and Coach Thomascutty.  Good luck in the tourney.  Will be interesting to see which other UAA teams get at large bids.

[jaybird44]

I would think that Wash-U and Rochester will get Pool C bids...although two seasons ago, Wash-U also had a 20-5 record and barely got a Pool C ticket.

It appears that there were few upsets that would gobble up available spots in the at-large musical chairs game.  Hopefully the items of secondary criteria, namely Wash-U's victory over Ohio Northern and a narrow loss to DePauw, can be used if needed.  A win over Emory will help too, but I believe there will be some angst among the Bears until the selections are unveiled.

[7express]

I think Rochester is safe.  Wash U should be in too, but imo, is in worse shape then Rochester is.  Luckily, most of the teams predicted to win their conference did (Southern Maine, Babson, DePauw, New Paltz) so not a lot of pool C slots were stolen.

[jaybird44]

I agree 100%. 

[pbrooks3]

Bears win 45-40.  Their bigs played huge & tough in the final 10 minutes.  They alone pitched a shutout on Texas-Dallas in the last 6-7 minutes. 

[WUPHF]

Rochester over Emmanuel 70-66 and Emory over Whitworth 72-66 with all three UAA teams advancing to the second round.

[jaybird44]

Great to see Kristin Anda pick up a career-high 16 points...I thought she might have a great game, and the generally-young Bears needed Anda's senior leadership.  She made two free-throws with :22.9 left for the final 45-40 margin.

Not sure how long Wash-U can stay alive with shooting in the 30% range...I guess as long as the Bears play similar defense, outrebound their opponents, and double-down on 2nd-chance points (20-4 edge tonight), they can get it done.

Wash-U meets Rhodes tomorrow...and Rhodes has a transfer from the U. of Tennessee that seriously considered becoming a Bear, before deciding to stay close to home.  That adds a bit of fun to the match-up...