WBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

The NCAC coaches select first- and second-team All Conference selections, seven women per team, with an honorable mention tacked on that, among other things, ensures that all nine teams are represented.  I plan to compile and publish my own all-conference teams in here next week, as well as my choices for Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Coach of the Year, and I invite anyone reading this to join in.  Actually, some of these are no-brainers; I can list six of my first-team players off the top of my head, as well as two of my three overall awards.  But I'll reserve the final list until I can devote a little more effort to it.

Women's individual stats--all games
Women's individual stats--conference games only

[Witt4ever]

Tournament bracket:

http://www.northcoast.org/wb/ncacwbrkt08.pdf

[David Collinge]

Today's slate:
Allegheny 67, Denison 59 (at Granville)...The Gators become the first team not in the top 4 to beat a top 4 team this season, and by doing so they break up what otherwise would have been an unbreakable three-way tie for 2nd.  Denison drops to the #4 slot, and will face the #5 Gators again on Tuesday in Granville.  IIRC, it was 'Gheny that spoiled Denison's perfect conference season late last season as well.  (EDIT: it was.)  Allegheny was led by their probable all-conference representatives Stephanie Wolf (17 points, 6 boards, 5 assists) and Brittany Bell (16 points including four more treys).  Denison was even or nearly even in most statistical categories, but could not overcome 22 turnovers that led to 25 Gator points.  Tuesday's rematch will also be a rematch of last season's conference championship game, won by the Big Red 63-47.
Ohio Wesleyan 94, Hiram 48 (at Delaware)...OWU does their part, and with Denison losing, OWU grabs the #2 seed by virtue of their season sweep of Wittenberg.  Like the Big Red, the Bishops' reward is to face this afternoon's opponent in a rematch on Tuesday, which will tip 30 minutes after the OWU men's quarterfinal game (also against Hiram).  OWU outshot their guests 50.8% to 34.5%, and forced 28 Terrier turnovers (sounds yummy!) while giving it up just 12 times.  Six Bishops scored in double figures, led by Kayla Gordon, making her bid for NCAC Newcomer of the Year with 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting. 
Wittenberg 68, Oberlin 52 (at Springfied)...Wittenberg grabs a share of second place and will open tournament play as the #3 seed, hosting...stop me if you've heard this before...their Saturday opponent, #6-seeded Oberlin in a Tuesday rematch.  The Tigers got another double-double (17 pts., 10 reb., both game highs) from all-conference no-brainer Katie Gregorevich, plus a combined 31 points from sophomores Stephanie Boardman and Carrie Dyer.  At the other end, Oberlin was held to 35.2% shooting and had 21 turnovers (vs. 19 baskets and just 5 assists.)
Earlham 64, Wooster 55 (at Richmond)...In a game where neither team shot particularly well (both about one of three from the field and three of four from the line), Earlham won by shooting more often, both from the floor (59 attempts to Wooster's 51) and the line (24 attempts to 15).  Earlham forced 21 Scot turnovers while giving it up just 8 times, leading to a 26-10 advantage in points off turnovers.  Tasha Merrill led the Quakers with 20 points, including 8 of 9 from the free throw line, while Wooster was led by Kaitlin Krister's double-double (17 & 10).  Wooster's luck didn't get any better after the game, when the NCAC exhausted the tie-breakers between the three 3-13 teams, and seeded them Hiram #7, Earlham #8, and Wooster #9, evidently by the casting of lots.  Wooster thus misses out on the tournament while Earlham is rewarded with a trip to Gambier to face the 16-0 league champions from Kenyon.

Final conference standings and tournament seeds:
1. Kenyon 16-0 / 19-6
2. (tie) Ohio Wesleyan 12-4 / 17-7 (seeded #2)
2. (tie) Wittenberg 12-4 / 13-10 (seeded #3)
4. Denison 11-5 / 15-10
5. Allegheny 8-8 / 11-14
6. Oberlin 4-12 / 5-20
7. (tie) Hiram 3-13 / 5-19 (seeded #7)
7. (tie) Earlham 3-13 / 4-21 (seeded #8)
7. (tie) Wooster 3-13 / 6-19 (misses tournament)
10. Wabash DNP

Tuesday's quarterfinals:
#8 Earlham at #1 Kenyon, 8:00pm
#5 Allegheny at #4 Denison, 7:30pm
#6 Oberlin at #3 Wittenberg, 8:00pm
#7 Hiram at #2 Ohio Wesleyan, 8:00pm

The games at Gambier, Springfield, and Delaware will all tip off 30 minutes after the conclusion of the men's quarterfinal games, each scheduled to tip at 6:00pm. 

Good luck to all teams this week! 

[David Collinge]

Here's my choices for the all-conference awards:

Coach of the Year: It's tough to overlook the incredible job that Sarah Jurewicz has done at Wittenberg, taking over the program under the most terrible circumstances and forging a second-place 12-4 season.  But I have to go with Kenyon's Suzanne Helfant, who took a fourth-place team not only to the top of the standings but an undefeated season.

Player of the Year: Anne Dugan, Kenyon.  Among the league leaders in eight categories, from scoring (3rd) to rebounding (6th) to steals (1st) to free throw shooting (1st), Dugan really can do it all.  Several times this season she simply took over the game at both ends of the floor.  Although there were other players who put up great stats, most notably scoring champion Katie Gregorevich, nobody has the whole package that Dugan has.

Newcomer of the Year: A really tough call, but I'm going with OWU's Kayla Gordon over Denison's Haley Dahlgard.  Gordon provided a strong post presence on the offensive end for the Bishops, scoring 11.6 per game on 50.7% shooting.  Dahlgard was effective both scoring (10.8 ppg, 36.7% from the arc) and handling the ball (2.1 apg, 1.43 A/TO).  I look for great careers from both of these athletes.

First team (listed alphabetically):
Anne Dugan, senior, Kenyon
Steffi Graf, senior, Ohio Wesleyan
Katie Gregorevich, senior, Wittenberg
Alisha Moreno, senior, Kenyon
Ellen O'Brien, junior, Denison
Carolyn Simpson, junior, Denison
Stephanie Wolf, junior, Allegheny

Second team (listed alphabetically):
Brittany Bell, sophomore, Allegheny
Stephanie Boardman, sophomore, Wittenberg
Haley Dahlgard, first-year, Denison
Kayla Gordon, first-year, Ohio Wesleyan
Roneisha Kinney, senior, Oberlin
Kaitlin Krister, sophomore, Wooster
Tasha Merrill, junior, Earlham

Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically):
Alyssa Clark, junior, Oberlin
Eva George, senior, Kenyon
Kelli Lester, senior, Ohio Wesleyan
Meredith Wilson, junior, Wooster
Stephanie Zunic, junior, Hiram

[David Collinge]

In addition to the great honor of being selected to my all-conference second team (), Tasha Merrill also picks up the honor of being the last regular-season winner of the NCAC Player of the Week award.  Tasha, who has been a warrior in a very difficult situation in Richmond all season, helped lift her team into the NCAC tournament with her 20-point effort against Wooster Saturday.  Congratulations, Tasha!

[David Collinge]

Here's a quick comparison of the actual final standings with the ones predicted by the coaches, media, and me:

Team	Actual	Coaches	Media	Me
Kenyon	1	2	1	1
Ohio Wesleyan	2	4	4	3
Wittenberg	2	3	3	4
Denison	4	1	2	2
Allegheny	5	5	5	5
Oberlin	6	8	7	7
Hiram	7	9	9	9
Earlham	7	7	8	6
Wooster	7	6	6	8

We were all pretty close, being slightly too optimistic about Denison and slightly too pessimistic about Hiram and Oberlin.

[jscwittfan]

Unlike their male counterparts, the Witt women win their quarterfinal game tonight, defeating Oberlin 79-49.  5 Tigers hit double figures in scoring, unsurprisingly led by 21 from sure-NCAC first teamer Katie Gregorevich.  They await the winner of tomorrow's postponed OWU/Hiram tilt.

[David Collinge]

Elsewhere...
Kenyon 73, Earlham 45 (at Gambier)...Kenyon got out to a 43-13 halftime lead that was more dominant than it sounds.  Considering Earlham's short bench (8 players dressed, 6 played in the first 38 minutes) and the enormous gap in talent and athleticism, this game looked like the varsity playing a game against an intramural team.  I give major props to Earlham's players for gutting out a long season and managing to pull down a few wins; they never had a chance tonight, and they knew it.  It looked like everyone on both teams had a good time.
Denison 75, Allegheny 66 (at Granville)...The Big Red rallied from a halftime deficit to avenge their defeat from Saturday.  Denison got balanced scoring, with five players in double figures, to offset the game-high 21 points from Allegheny's Emilie Simone.  First-year Shaina Kaiser was Denison's top scorer with 16, going 6 of 6 from the floor and 4 of 5 from the line. 

Inclement weather prevented the Hiram squads (both men and women) from making the trip to Delaware, forcing a postponement of the OWU/Hiram doubleheader until tomorrow.  The winner of that game will square off with Wittenberg Friday at Kenyon, with Denison facing the host Ladies in the nightcap.  Kenyon handled the Big Red in both meetings this year, including a 69-48 waxing in Gambier just two weeks ago.  However, it's worth keeping in mind that no current Denison player has lost an NCAC tournament game in her career.

[David Collinge]

Ohio Wesleyan 94, Hiram 49 (at Delaware)...OWU, unable to match their 46-point margin of victory from Saturday, had to settle for the 45-point victory tonight.  All kidding aside, it wasn't really all that bad.  Despite the fresh memories from their waxing four days ago, the Terriers hung basically even with their hosts for the first 10 minutes or so, before OWU's superior everything (size, speed, shooting, depth, athleticism, etc.) began to take its toll.  The OWU starters mostly sat and watched the second half as the reserves and scrubs played, including some inspirational moments from seldom-used senior Summer Quesenberry, who contributed seven points in five minutes of action in her final home-floor appearance.  OWU got scoring contributions from 13 players, led by Laurel Lawson's 13 points.  Hiram finishes the season with a 5-20 mark, while OWU advances to face Wittenberg in the conference Final Four that we all saw coming two months ago.

Friday's games:
6:00--#3 Wittenberg (14-10) vs. #2 Ohio Wesleyan (18-7)
8:00--#4 Denison (16-10) vs. #1 Kenyon (20-6)

[Witt4ever]

To watch the NCAC tourney:

http://athletics.kenyon.edu/x26430

Click the teamline logo, on the left, and enter any of the 4 teams playing to access broadcast.

----------------

also this route for both men and women's games:

http://www.teamline.cc/teampage?teamcode=1061

[David Collinge]

It may be a cliche, but it's very tough to beat a good team three times in one season.

Wittenberg 61, Ohio Wesleyan 45 (at Gambier)...The Bishops couldn't do it.  In fact, they never had a chance.  Wittenberg roared out of the gate, scored the game's first eight points, and never looked back.  This was a perfect storm of a game, with Wittenberg playing well on both ends while OWU played easily the worst of the seven games I've seen them in this season.  Last year at this time, OWU came to Kenyon to play in the tournament and, led by Steffi Graf, played poorly; history repeated itself tonight as the all-conference wing was just 2 of 9, recording 6 points (all after the game was decided) and 2 rebounds.  As a team OWU was held to a dreadful 24.2% shooting, allowing them to get walloped despite taking fifteen more shots than their opponents.  On the other side, the Tigers committed a shocking 31 turnovers, but when they held on, they scored, nailing 51.1% of their field goal attempts on the evening.  Stephanie Boardman led the way with 19 points on 8 for 9 shooting, and three other Tigers joined her in double figures.  No Tiger had as many as 10 rebounds, but collectively they dominated the glass 47-29.  All in all it was a very impressive night for Wittenberg.

Denison 43, Kenyon 41 (at Gambier)...Kenyon couldn't do it, either, but they sure gave it the old college try.  As the score suggests, this was a defensive battle from the get-go.  Neither team was able to reach the 30% shooting threshold on the evening.  Kenyon had the shot they wanted over and over and just couldn't hit it.  All-conference performers Alisha Moreno and Hilary Gowins, who were #1 and #3 in 3-pointers (and #5 and #7 in 3PFG%) in the conference this season, combined to go 0-13 from the arc.  I doubt if that's ever happened before, and it couldn't have happened at a worse time, as inside artists Anne Dugan and Eva George had a battle on their hands with Denison's Carolyn Simpson and Haley Dahlgard all night.  Denison, conversely, had a difficult time finding good looks against the Ladies' suffocating defense, turning the ball over 21 times, but owned the glass (46-35) which led to a decisive 12-3 edge from the free throw line.  Denison was led Sarah Perrine's 12 points, while Eva George topped Kenyon's list with 10.

So the careers of twelve outstanding seniors come to an end tonight, as the two most experienced teams fall.  Congratulations and thanks go out to Kenyon's Brittany Clair, Anne Dugan, Eva George, Hilary Gowins, Patty Hace, and Alisha Moreno; and OWU's Malley Adamsky, Kathleen Cooper, Steffi Graf, Kelli Lester, Lindsay Macklin, and Summer Quesenberry.  I've had a great time watching you play, and I think I speak for all NCAC fans when I wish each of you the best of success.

Tomorrow night the team with the most championships squares off against the team with the last three.  It's worth keeping in mind that no Denison player currently in uniform has ever lost an NCAC tournament game.  However, Wittenberg defeated Denison twice in the regular season, 81-73 in December and 65-55 in January.  Of course, OWU had beaten Witt twice before tonight, and Kenyon had beaten the Big Red twice as well.  Like I said, it may be a cliche, but it's very tough to beat a good team three times in one season.

Good luck to both teams. 

[jscwittfan]

I feel like Witt has someone looking over their shoulders through all of this.  An NCAC tournament title would be an incredible way to end this season.  Here's hoping the Tigers can do it!

[David Collinge]

Well, folks, it happened again.  This was a weekend to be 0-2 against your opponents.  Or maybe it was just a weekend to be Denison, like it has been every tournament weekend for the past four years.

Denison 66, Wittenberg 55 (at Gambier)

Congratulations to the DENISON BIG RED on their fourth consecutive NCAC Tournament Championship! 

Denison won this title with defense, holding both their weekend opponents under 30% shooting.  The Big Red shot just 30.0% themselves on the weekend (32.2% tonight), but it was enough to send them back to the NCAAs.  Denison enjoyed a 6-point edge in three-point shooting (not surprising, given that they took a staggering 26 three-point shots, hitting just seven) and a five-point advantage from the free throw line to account for the final margin.  Wittenberg won the battle of the boards, 52-42, and had a healthy 15 assists on 20 made baskets, but in the end it appears to have been poor shooting that did them in. 

Witt was led by sophomores Carrie Dyer and Stephanie Boardman, both of whom were named to the All-Tournament team.  Dyer's team-highs in scoring (17) and rebounding (12) gave her 28 & 18 on the weekend, while Boardman added 10 points and 9 boards, giving her 29 & 14.

Denison got double-figure scoring from four players, led by junior and All-Tournament selection Ellen O'Brien's 18 points and 5 assists.  Her classmate Carolyn Simpson contributed a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards.  Junior Sarah Perrine was named Tournament MVP for her 21-point, 9-rebound performance.  First-year Shaina Kaiser was also selected to the All-Tournament team, having recorded 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals in two games.  (The final member of the All-Tournament team was Kenyon's Anne Dugan.)

Denison now waits to find out on Monday who and where they will play in the NCAA.  Wittenberg goes home, having had a very successful season under difficult circumstances; they can and should be very proud of what they have accomplished.  Congratulations and best wishes especially to seniors Katie Gregorevich, Ali Rohlfs, and Ellie Stonecash.

[David Collinge]

Denison will open NCAA tournament play at DePauw, where they will face the defending national champions.

Hey, no sweat: been there, done that.

Go Big Red!

[David Collinge]

The NCAC All-Conference team has been announced.  The first team is exactly how I projected it would be further up this page (here), and the Player and Coach of the Year are Kenyon's Anne Dugan and Suzanne Helfant, again as I expected.  My only slip-up was not forseeing that OWU's Kayla Gordon and Denison's Haley Dahlgard would share the Newcomer of the Year Award (I gave it to Gordon).  I was somewhat less successful with the second team (which has 10 members!) and HMs, but all of the coaches' selections are very deserving.

Player of the Year: Anne Dugan, Kenyon
Coach of the Year: Suzanne Helfant, Kenyon
Co-Newcomers of the Year: Haley Dahlgard, Denison, and Kayla Gordon, Ohio Wesleyan

First team (listed alphabetically):
Anne Dugan, senior, Kenyon
Steffi Graf, senior, Ohio Wesleyan
Katie Gregorevich, senior, Wittenberg
Alisha Moreno, senior, Kenyon
Ellen O'Brien, junior, Denison
Carolyn Simpson, junior, Denison
Stephanie Wolf, junior, Allegheny

Second team (listed alphabetically):
Stephanie Boardman, sophomore, Wittenberg
Eva George, senior, Kenyon
Kayla Gordon, first-year, Ohio Wesleyan
Hilary Gowins, senior, Kenyon
Roneisha Kinney, senior, Oberlin
Kaitlin Krister, sophomore, Wooster
Tasha Merrill, junior, Earlham
Sarah Perrine, junior, Denison
Emilie Simone, sophomore, Allegheny
Stephanie Zunic, junior, Hiram

Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically):
Brittany Bell, sophomore, Allegheny
Carrie Dyer, sophomore, Wittenberg
Kelli Lester, senior, Ohio Wesleyan
Whitney McBurrows, senior, Earlham
Meredith Wilson, junior, Wooster


Congratulations to these outstanding women!