WBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

After a back-and-forth first half that ended in a tie, unbeaten Denison put a hammerlock on Susquehanna and ran away to a 67-53 victory.  The Big Red held the Crusaders to just 18 second-half points on 4/22 (18%) shooting.  Serafina Nuzzo, usually the assist queen, picked up the scoring mantle today and led all scorers with 21, making 9 of 17 shots.  DU got points out of 10 players, and rebounds from 11. 

Next up for the Big Red at the Land of Magic Classic is York (Pa.):

Wednesday's games:
Denison vs. York (PA), noon (at Daytona Beach) -- video($) and live stats
Hanover at Wittenberg, 2:15pm -- audio and live stats
Kenyon vs. Bates, 5pm (at Las Vegas) -- video($) and live stats
Bluffton at Ohio Wesleyan, 8pm -- video and live stats

NCAC non-conference record stands at 34-28.

[David Collinge]

Denison 58, York (Pa.) 31 -- Denison returns from Florida with their perfect record intact, having fine-tuned their defense with two dominating performances.  Today, the Big Red held York to a total of 11 field goals in 40 minutes (23%), forced 22 turnovers, including 11 steals, and outrebounded the Spartans by 15.  Shaina Kaiser and Serafina Nuzzo led the victors with 12 & 10 points, respectively.

Hanover 64, Wittenberg 60 -- The Tigers led the unbeaten Panthers at the half, 33-26.  By the time Wittenberg got their 34th point, however, nearly half of the remaining time had elapsed, and Hanover was up by 8 and not looking back.  The visitors stretched their lead to 16 at 3:59, before Witt closed the game on a 15-3 run to make the final score respectable.  Witt hit 58% in the first half, but could only connect seven times (23%) after the break.  Katherine Hueuter led a balanced attack with 12 points.

Bates 76, Kenyon 60 -- The Ladies kept pace in the first half, trailing by just 4, but couldn't maintain after the break.  Bates hit 10 of 19 three-pointers, while Kenyon could only hit 29% of theirs and 37% of their overall shots.  Maureen Hirt hit all five of Kenyon's treys, finishing with a game-high 22 points.

OWU 83, Bluffton 62 -- The Franchise had the Bison outscored by themselves until the closing minutes.  Pam Quigney ended up with 28, ably assisted by 17 from Kayla Gordon and 15 from Tyler Cordell.  OWU's reward?  A date with #2 Hope tomorrow.  (Bluffton's punishment?  The consolation game against #4 WashU.)

Non-con record moves to 36-30.

[David Collinge]

Busy slate for Thursday:

Kenyon vs. St. Norbert, 3pm (at Las Vegas) -- video($) and live stats (try here)
Hope at OWU, 3pm -- video and live stats
Mt. St. Joseph at Wittenberg, 4:30pm -- audio and live stats
Defiance at Wooster, 6pm -- live stats
Hiram at Washington & Jefferson, 7pm -- no coverage
Oberlin at Heidelberg, 7pm -- no coverage

[David Collinge]

Brief recaps today, sorry.

St. Norbert 50, Kenyon 45 -- KC held 8-1 Norbs to 27% shooting, but allowed 37 free throws, which the Green Knights made just enough of (22) to win.

Hope 85, OWU 58 -- The Franchise were all in double figures again (Gordon 18, Quigney 16, Cordell 12), but Hope is just our of our league.  Hope handled Wittenberg with similar ease, and likely will get our champion in round 1 or 2 of the NCAAs.

Wittenberg 71, Mt. St. Joseph 54 -- Witt connects on 54% of their shots while holding MSJ to 36%.

Defiance 53, Wooster 38 -- Scots' struggles continue.  When your A/TO is .24 (8 assists, 33 turnovers), chances are you will struggle.

Hiram 50, Washington & Jefferson 38 -- WashJeff is certainly struggling, too, just 4-6 on the year and 1-3 against the NCAC.  Hiram wins despite shooting just 25% because a) WJ was worse (24%), b) Hiram took care of the ball (just 6 turnovers), and c) they played good D (16 WJ turnovers, including 8 Hiram steals).

Heidelberg 69, Oberlin 58 -- Heidelberg's first win on the season is a come-from-behind job, as Oberlin led by 2 at the break.  A² continues to impress with 17 points, 8 assists, and 7 boards, but Oberlin as a team got outshot (42% to 36%) and outrebounded (42-37, including 17 second-chance points for the 'Berg.)

Non-con record slips to 38-34.  

[David Collinge]

Two New Year's Eve games:

Hiram at Carnegie Mellon, 1pm -- video and live stats
Adrian at Oberlin, 5pm -- video and live stats

[David Collinge]

Hiram 63, Carnegie Mellon 55 -- I got to see parts of this game, and those parts featured Hiram with much better ball movement on offense and much more aggressive (and effective) zone play on defense than the Tartans.  This is a squad that has improved a lot under Andrea Preston.  Chelsea Kovach and Jess Cowan led a typically balanced scoring attack with 13 apiece.

Adrian 65, Oberlin 60 -- Down 13 with about 8 minutes left, The Yeowomen reeled off twelve straight points to close within one, but could not get over the hump as the Bulldogs hit seven of 10 free throws down the stretch to hold on.  A², now being openly touted for NCAC POY by Oberlin SID Mike Mancini, led all scorers with 22 and all assisters with 7.

Happy New Year!  We're off until the 3rd, resting for a few days on our 39-35 laurels.

[David Collinge]

Back in action tomorrow!

Oberlin at Kalamazoo, 6pm -- audio and live stats
Wooster at Earlham, 6pm -- no coverage

Tuesday, Hiram will be playing at CWRU, and there's two more non-conference games scheduled for Jan. 25.  Plus there's the indefinitely postponed Allegheny/Buffalo St. game.  One victory in any of these games will clinch at least a .500 finish, and a winning record if the Gheny game is not rescheduled (which I strongly suspect will be the case).

So, especially tomorrow, Go Yeo and Go Scots!

[David Collinge]

Go Yeo and Go Scots!!!!


Oberlin 60, Kalamazoo 45 -- Kelly Warlich poured in 23, including a torrid 5 of 6 from the arc, and Oberlin held the Hornets to just 15 first-half points.  A² had a quiet shooting night, just 6 points on 2 of 8 shooting, but contributed 9 of Oberlin's 18 assists (on 24 baskets.)

Wooster 78, Earlham 68 -- Taylor Keegan had a perfect shooting night, including 5/5 from the arc, scoring 19 points as Wooster kept the Quakers winless on the season.  The Scots had four scorers in double figures, hitting slightly more than half of their shots (26/51) and slightly less than half of their treys (10/21).

With the doubleheader sweep, the NCAC moves to 41-35 against all comers, and is assured of a winning season as a conference.

[David Collinge]

Tomorrow's game:

Hiram at Case Western Reserve, 7pm -- live stats -- CWRU is 5-5 overall, but just 1-3 against teams from their former conference

[David Collinge]

Denison's hot start has captured the attention of at least some of the D3hoops.com Top 25 voters.  The Big Red make their poll debut (for this season) this week with 21 votes, making them the effective #28 (tie).  Denison's highest-ever (and only) ranking in the 12-year history of this poll was #23, achieved in the final poll after the 2006-07 season, which was also the most recent appearance in the Top 25 by an NCAC member (not including DePauw).  The highest ranking achieved by our conference was by Ohio Wesleyan, who ended the 2000-01 season with a #6 ranking and a trip to the Final Four.

[David Collinge]

CWRU 60, Hiram 44 -- Hiram shot a paltry 19% for the game and committed 19 turnovers.

41-36.

[David Collinge]

Wednesday brings a return to conference play:

Allegheny at OWU, 6pm -- video and live stats -- Game 1 of a W/M doubleheader
Oberlin at Wittenberg, 6pm -- audio and live stats -- Game 1 of a W/M doubleheader
Kenyon at Denison, 7:30pm -- live stats

Hiram and Wooster are idle.

As a reminder, here's the current conference standings, unchanged since Dec. 11:
Conference standings:
Allegheny 1-0
Denison 1-0
Kenyon 1-0
Ohio Wesleyan 1-0
Hiram 1-1
Oberlin 0-1
Wittenberg 0-1
Wooster 0-2

[David Collinge]

Denison 72, Kenyon 69 -- In what may be the best rivalry in the NCAC, Kenyon had their backyard neighbors on the ropes, leading by 13 with less than 8 minutes to go.  After a DU timeout, the game changed completely, as the homestanding Big Red went on a 22-4 run to seize a 5 point lead with just 22 seconds remaining.  A three-pointer by Maureen Hirt at 0:15 gave the Ladies hope, but Serafina Nuzzo nailed two critical free throws with 0:13 left to restore the two-possession lead and ice the victory.  Shaina Kaiser led all scorers with 27, while she and Nuzzo combined for 11 of DU's 18 assists (on 28 hoops).  Hirt was Kenyon's top scorer at 22, while Kayla Ernst (20 & 11) and Morgan Korinek (15 & 10) each recorded double-doubles.

OWU 92, Allegheny 86 -- The Bishops led for most of this game, but a late run by the Gators gave them a one-point lead with 3:00 left.  OWU responded with a 10-0 run to cinch the crucial home victory.  Kayla Gordon had an unstoppable 29-point game, hitting 11 of her 15 shots, while Tyler Cordell added 26 on a barely less-impressive 12 of 18.  Overall, the Bishops shot 49% to 'Gheny's 46%.  The Gators were led by 21 from Jill Gregory and a double-double (16 & 10) from Daryl Ford.

Wittenberg 67, Oberlin 56 -- In the third exciting game of the night, Wittenberg overcame a three-point deficit with 5:23 left with a 9-0 run that blossomed into an 18-4 game-ending run.  Sarah Watson (20 & 8) and Katherine Hueter (19 & 11) provided a tough one-two punch for the Tigers, while Oberlin's Allison Anderson was held relatively in check with 12 points, six boards, and six assists.

Updated Conference standings:

Denison 2-0
Ohio Wesleyan 2-0
Allegheny 1-1
Kenyon 1-1
Hiram 1-1
Wittenberg 1-1
Oberlin 0-2
Wooster 0-2

[David Collinge]

Saturday's slate:

Kenyon at Allegheny, 1pm -- live stats -- Game 1 of W/M doubleheader
Oberlin at Wooster, 2pm -- live stats
Hiram at Wittenberg, 3pm -- audio and live stats -- Game 1 of W/M doubleheader
Denison at OWU, 7:30pm -- live stats -- first place on the line

[kiltedbryan]

Hope 85, OWU 58 -- The Franchise were all in double figures again (Gordon 18, Quigney 16, Cordell 12), but Hope is just our of our league.  Hope handled Wittenberg with similar ease, and likely will get our champion in round 1 or 2 of the NCAAs.

Defiance 53, Wooster 38 -- Scots' struggles continue.  When your A/TO is .24 (8 assists, 33 turnovers), chances are you will struggle.

DC- I drop in here from time to time to read and catch up on the women...and those two points jumped out at me.  Hard to have much tournament success when you run into the absolute cream of the crop right off the bat.  Have NCAC women's teams ever been sent East/South and managed to avoid something like the Hope draw?

And 8 assists against 33 turnovers...ouch.