WBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

Back-to-back action this weekend for everyone not located within 5 miles of state route 661:

Friday:
Earlham (1-9) at Allegheny (5-5), 6pm -- Live stats
Wittenberg (11-0) at Hiram (2-8), 7:30pm -- Live everything, including your choice of audio (nice of Hiram to provide a link to Witt's audiocast!)
Kenyon (6-5) at Oberlin (3-8), 7:30pm -- Live everything
Wooster (4-7) at OWU (9-2), ppd., no make-up date announced
Denison (7-4) is idle

Saturday (updated records with Friday's results):
Earlham (1-10) at Hiram (2-9), 2pm -- Live everything
Wittenberg (12-0) at Allegheny (6-5), ~3pm -- Live stats -- Game 2 of a DH, men vs. Kenyon at 1pm
Oberlin (3-9) at Wooster (4-7), 7:30pm -- Live stats and audio
OWU at Denison, ppd. until Sunday
Kenyon is idle

Sunday:
OWU (9-2) at Denison (7-4), 2pm -- Live stats and audio

[David Collinge]

Okay, so I guess that you people who don't live in Paradise are having some weather today.  Let me see if I can make some sense of the goings-on:

Kenyon 73, Oberlin 53
Wittenberg 83, Hiram 62
Allegheny 71, Earlham 46
Wooster at Ohio Wesleyan, PPD--make up date TBA

Updated standings:
Wittenberg 12-0 conference, 14-6 overall
OWU 9-2, 14-6
Denison 7-4, 15-5
Kenyon 7-5, 14-7
Allegheny 6-5, 9-11
Wooster 4-7, 7-13
Oberlin 3-9, 4-17
Hiram 2-9, 3-17
Earlham 1-10, 2-18

All of tomorrow's games are on, as far as I know.  With Wittenberg and Earlham already in-territory in the northeast, they might as well play.  Good luck and safe travels to all.

[David Collinge]

The game between OWU and Denison has been postponed until Sunday (2pm) due to a power outage in Granville.
(Deluding myself that anyone is reading this...) The Earlham/Hiram game will in fact have live video like normal.  Links updated above.

Upset alert!!!  Allegheny leads Wittenberg 29-26, early in the second half.  BUT...Witt has outscored the Gators by 12 in the second half; they lead by 8 with about 3 minutes to go.

Finals:
Hiram 65, Earlham 58 (OT)
Wittenberg 69, Allegheny 57
Wooster 70, Oberlin 58

Updated standings:
Wittenberg 13-0 conference, 15-6 overall...Magic number is 1
OWU 9-2, 14-6
Denison 7-4, 15-5
Kenyon 7-5, 14-7
Allegheny 6-6, 9-12
Wooster 5-7, 8-13
Oberlin 3-10, 4-18
Hiram 3-9, 4-17
Earlham 1-11, 2-19...Quakers are on the brink of elimination

[David Collinge]

Super Sunday final:
OWU 76, Denison 69.  OWU hit about 2/3 of their first half shots and raced out to an 11-point halftime lead.  Denison got right back into it in the second half, tying the game with 7:38 left.  A couple of Shaina Kaiser free throws tied it up again with 4:21 left, but a 9-2 OWU run over the next three minutes put the game on ice.  "The Franchise" was the story again; Tyler Cordell led the way with 23 points and 8 assists, complimented by 19 points apiece from Kayla Gordon and Pam Quigney.  Kaiser and Serafina Nuzzo wach had 19 for the Big Red, with Nuzzo adding 13 boards and 5 assists.  OWU stays mathematically alive for the conference title.

Updated standings:
Wittenberg 13-0 conference, 15-6 overall...Magic number is 1
OWU 10-2, 15-6
Denison 7-5, 15-6
Kenyon 7-5, 14-7
Allegheny 6-6, 9-12
Wooster 5-7, 8-13
Hiram 3-9, 4-17
Oberlin 3-10, 4-18
Earlham 1-11, 2-19...Quakers are on the brink of elimination

[David Collinge]

The Wooster-at-Ohio Wesleyan game, postponed by snow on Friday, has been rescheduled for Monday 2/15 at 7:30pm.  That's about as good a solution as we could've had, as OWU has an off day the previous Saturday and Wooster has an off day the following Wednesday.

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

Longtime readers of this space (yeah, right) had to have seen this one coming for a couple of years now...
Congratulations and felicitations to Allegheny senior guard and posting board mascot Brittany Bell, the NCAC Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 7.  Bell was sizzling from her customary position beyond the arc this week, draining 11 treys in 21 attempts over three games, two of them wins for the Gators in their effort to keep pace with Denison and Kenyon in the battle for homecourt advantage in the quarterfinals.  Way to go, Brittany! 

[David Collinge]

For your Wednesday hooping pleasure:

Hiram (3-9) at Ohio Wesleyan (10-2), 6pm -- Live everything -- game 1 of a DH, men vs. Wabash to follow
Wittenberg (12-0) at Kenyon (7-5), 6pm -- Live everything -- game 1 of a DH, men vs, Denison to follow
Allegheny (6-6) at Wooster (5-7), 7:30pm -- Live stats and audio
Denison (7-5) at Earlham (1-11), 7:30pm -- media blackout?

Oberlin (3-10) is idle.

[David Collinge]

Finals...
Wittenberg 56, Kenyon 48...as Witt owns the tiebreaker with OWU, they clinch the regular season title and #1 seed with the win.  Congratulations, Wittenberg!
OWU 63, Hiram 49
Wooster 66, Allegheny 58...minor upset
Earlham 71, Denison 68...major upset

Updated standings:
Wittenberg 14-0 conference, 16-6 overall...Champions
OWU 11-2, 16-6
Denison 7-6, 15-7
Kenyon 7-6, 14-8
Allegheny 6-7, 9-13
Wooster 6-7, 9-13
Hiram 3-10, 4-18
Oberlin 3-10, 4-18
Earlham 2-11, 3-19...EC stays alive for the #8 seed

[David Collinge]

Get yer Saturday games right here!  Hot, fresh, and delicious!

Earlham (2-11) at Kenyon (7-6), 2pm -- Live stats and audio -- Like every game at this point, a must-win for both teams
Wooster (6-7) at Wittenberg (14-0), 2pm -- Live everything -- Can Kym Wenz & co. keep Witt from being the third unbeaten champion in three years?
Hiram (3-10) at Oberlin (3-10), 2pm -- Live everything -- A win for either would be a big step towards securing the #7 seed, which is on the opposite side of the bracket from Wittenberg
Denison (7-6) at Allegheny (6-7), 3pm -- Live stats -- both teams looking to secure a top 4 seed and home game in the quarterfinals

OWU (11-2) is idle...nothing to play for anyway, as they have the #2 seed wrapped up.

[David Collinge]

HEADS UP:
Wooster leads Wittenberg by 5 at the half; Kym Wenz has 17 points, while Stephanie Boardman has 3 fouls.  
GETTIN' SERIOUS NOW
Wooster leads by 9 with about 4 minutes to go.  I wish I could recommend the viseo, but it shows the empty end of the floor almost as often as the busy one.   

[David Collinge]

Scots get it done:  Wooster 74, Wittenberg 61.  Kym Wenz with 35 points on 13/18 shooting, also nine rebounds.  Prediction: Player of the Week...again.  Carrie Dyer had 24 but got little help; Stephanie Boardman, fighting foul trouble, never got untracked and finished with just 5 points on five shots.

Other finals:
Kenyon 60, Earlham 41
Oberlin 57, Hiram 45
Denison 63, Allegheny 54

Updated standings:
Wittenberg 14-1 conference, 16-7 overall...Clinched #1 seed
OWU 11-2, 16-6...Clinched #2 seed; swept by Wittenberg; could still share conf. title, which requires Earlham to beat Witt
Denison 8-6, 16-7...Only way for DU to finish lower than fourth is to lose out, have Wooster win out, and have Kenyon win (at least) once
Kenyon 8-6, 15-8...KC can finish anywhere from 3rd to 6th, although 6th is a longshot
Wooster 7-7, 10-13...Woo was swept by Kenyon, but wins tiebreaker with either Denison or Allegheny
Allegheny 6-8, 9-14...AC's gets the #4 seed only if they win out and Denison, Kenyon, and Wooster all lose out; chance of that happening = 0.05%
Oberlin 4-10, 5-18...OC has clinched a playoff berth
Hiram 3-11, 4-19...HC's magic number is 1
Earlham 2-12, 3-20...EC loses tiebreakers with everyone, so must win out (@Witt, Woo) while Hiram loses twice (@OWU, @OC)

A very quick look at the tiebreakers for 3-6:
Denison vs. Kenyon ==> Denison (sweep)
Denison vs. Wooster ==> Wooster ("best win": Witt today)
Denison vs. Gheny ==> Denison (sweep)
Kenyon vs. Wooster ==> Kenyon (sweep)
Kenyon vs. Gheny ==> Gheny ("best win": OWU next week, which must happen for this tie to occur)
Wooster vs. Gheny ==> Wooster ("best win": Witt today)
Denison, Kenyon, Wooster ==> in that order (head to head)
Denison, Gheny, Kenyon ==> in that order (head to head Denison sweep, then Gheny over Kenyon as above)
Kenyon, Gheny, Wooster ==> in that order (head to head)
4-way tie:  Denison, Kenyon, Wooster, Gheny (head to head, then Wooster over Gheny as above)

[David Collinge]

Don't forget your President's Day Special:

Wooster (7-7) at OWU (11-2), 7:30pm -- Live stats

A game that, in the wake of Wooster's upset of Wittenberg Saturday, suddenly has significance in the conference race.

[David Collinge]

On again, off again:
Tonight's Wooster at OWU game has been re-postponed because of a re-snowstorm.  No makeup date has been announced, and those are in pretty short supply now.  OWU plays Weds; both teams play Sat.; and they're both in the quarterfinals Tuesday.  Perhaps Friday, Wooster can stop en route to Earlham?

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Wooster's Kym Wenz can use the day off to rearrange her trophy case; she now has to make room for yet another NCAC Player of the Week trophy.  It's her second this season and who-knows-how-manyth of her sterling career.  Wenz scored 22 against Allegheny, but who remembers that after the butt-kicking she administered to Wittenberg on Saturday, connecting on 13 of 18 shots for 35 points.  In so doing, she scored her 1500th career point, just the second Fighting Scot and 15th player in NCAC history to reach this milestone.  Congratulations, Kym!

[fantastic50]

Wooster-OWU will be made up on Friday night.

[David Collinge]

Thanks, Professor.  Who knew I had readers? 

Here's the Wednesday slate, if this new Ice Age will permit:

Earlham (2-12) at Wittenberg (14-1), 6pm -- Live everything -- Game 1 of a doubleheader; men vs. Wabash to follow
Kenyon (8-6) at OWU (11-2), 7:30pm -- Live everything
Allegheny (6-8) at Hiram (3-11), 7:30pm -- Live everything
Oberlin (4-10) at Denison (8-6), 7:30pm -- Live stats
Wooster (7-7) is idle

They're all big games, in one way or another.  If Wittenberg beats Earlham, the Tigers will clinch the outright title while eliminating the Quakers from tournament consideration.  Kenyon, Denison, and Allegheny are all still battling for the precious top 4 seeds, while Hiram is chasing Oberlin for the Wittenberg-avoiding #7 seed.  OWU, with no tournament seeding concerns, can fine-tune their machine for the postseason.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Only you could spin a 2-12 team AT a 14-1 team as a 'big game'!

(Of course, if it was the Indianapolis Colts, they'd rest their varsity for the post-season, and just play the JV!  Except unlike the 14-0 Colts, Witt would probably still win. )