WBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

Okay, so I had about a half-hour's work into a post updating the race last last night when my ISP crapped out.    So here's an abbreviated version.

Kenyon 72, Denison 65 (at Granville)...Check out Anne Dugan's line: 23 points, including 8 of 8 from the line; 9 rebounds; 4 assists; 4 steals; 0 turnovers.  Add to that 13 second-half points (on 4 of 5 from the arc) from Hilary Gowins, and 20 assists on 24 baskets, and you get a Kenyon team that will be mighty hard to dislodge from the top of the standings.  Kenyon has now won on the home courts of each of its main rivals: OWU, Wittenberg, and now the defending champs.  Carolyn Simpson notched a double-double (22 and 12) in a losing effort.  Denison also had assists on all but 4 hoops, recording 19 assists on 23 hoops.  This must have been a beautiful game.
Wittenberg 80, Earlham 52 (at Richmond)...Witt grabs sole possession of second place, staying within striking distance of the Ladies, with an easy victory over the Quakers.
Oberlin 63, Hiram 44 (at Oberlin)...After a perhaps closer-than-expected loss to 9-7 Heidelberg Monday, Christa Champion was quoted as follows: "My team played great.  We did some new things today and used some different plays that I think will really help us out when we get back into conference play."  She wasn't kidding, as Oberlin raced to an 18-point halftime lead and never let up on the Terriers, holding them to 28.8% shooting.  Alyssa Clark had her second double-double of the week, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 boards to lead the Yeowomen.
Bluffton 60, Wooster 42...Wooster, playing without Kym Wenz for reasons unbeknownst to me, scored just 11 first-half points and had almost twice as many turnovers as baskets (28 to 15) on the evening in falling to the Beavers in non-conference action.

Updated standings:
Kenyon 8-0 / 11-6
Wittenberg 6-1 / 7-7
Denison 5-2 / 9-7
Ohio Wesleyan 5-2 / 10-5
Wooster 2-5 / 5-9
Allegheny 2-5 / 5-11
Oberlin 2-5 / 3-13
Hiram 1-6 / 3-12
Earlham 1-7 / 2-14
Wabash...DNP

Saturday's slate:
Oberlin at Kenyon
Wittenberg at Ohio Wesleyan
Denison at Allegheny
Earlham at Wooster
Hiram and Wabash are idle

[David Collinge]

Belated congratulations to Oberlin's Katie Thompson, named the NCAC Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 20.  Thompson, a first-year guard, scored 20 points in a perfect shooting performance (6 of 6 floor, 5 of 5 line) in the Yeowomen's upset of Allegheny last Wednesday.  Congratulations, Katie!

[David Collinge]

Saturday action:
Kenyon 78, Oberlin 61 (at Gambier)...Ninth straight victory for the league-leading Ladies.  Senior Patty Hace's 13 points led 14 Kenyon scorers.
Ohio Wesleyan 87, Wittenberg 73 (at Delaware)...OWU was in control for most of this very, very chippy game.  There were several hard fouls and occasional bursts of temper which marred an otherwise exciting game.  OWU had four scorers reach double figures, overcoming a fairly dominant performance from Witt's all-conference post Katie Gregorevich (25 pts., 9 reb.)  Nice to catch up with Tigerup07, now assistant SID for Witt and still the Voice of the (Lady) Tigers.
Denison 60, Allegheny 50 (at Meadville)...Denison moves into a three-way tie for second place behind Carolyn Simpson's 18 point, 14 board effort.  Allegheny could only muster five second-half field goals.
Wooster 57, Earlham 54 (OT) (at Wooster)...With Kym Wenz out nursing a knee ailment, Scot junior Meredith Wilson stepped up, nailing a buzzer-beating three to send the game to OT and another trey with 0:01.7 remining to win the game.  Wilson ended up with 19 points, complemented by soph. Kaitlin Krister's 17, and offsetting the double-double (20/10) effort from the EC's junior Tasha Merrill.  There must have been some tongues dragging at the end of this one, as just 15 players saw action with seven of them logging at least36 minutes.

Standings:
Kenyon 9-0 / 12-6
Wittenberg 6-2 / 7-8
Denison 6-2 / 10-7
Ohio Wesleyan 6-2 / 11-5
Wooster 3-5 / 6-9
Allegheny 2-6 / 5-12
Oberlin 2-6 / 3-14
Hiram 1-6 / 3-12
Earlham 1-8 / 2-15
Wabash...DNP

Coming up Wednesday:
Kenyon at Hiram
Denison at Wittenberg
Oberlin at Ohio Wesleyan
Allegheny at Wooster
Earlham and Wabash are idle

[jscwittfan]

Nice to catch up with Tigerup07, now assistant SID for Witt and still the Voice of the (Lady) Tigers.

Hey now, I wouldn't say still, ha ha. I would say "new."  In all seriousness though, John has been doing a great job with the games I've been able to listen to this year.  He's come so far since being my softball color commentator . . . tear, sniff, sob.

Big loss for the Tigers today, even though I can't say it was really unexpected.  OWU always plays them extremely tough at home (Witt lost up there last year as well), but with 2 losses in their last 3, Witt really needs to turn things around.  No small task either, as they get Denison at home on Wednesday, and you know Denison will want revenge for the early-season loss to the Tigers in Granville.  Hopefully they can find a way to beat the Big Red again, and gain some momentum heading into Saturday's arena dedication ceremony/showdown with Wooster.

And, is anyone playing better lately than Katie Gregorevich? Another 25+ point game, and one board away from another double-double.  Very impressive stuff.

[David Collinge]

Hopefully they can find a way to beat the Big Red again, and gain some momentum heading into Saturday's arena dedication ceremony/showdown with Wooster.

Ha!  Some showdown.   

Prediction: Katie Gregorevitch will be 1st team all-conference, along with Carolyn Simpson, Steffi Graf, Alisha Moreno, and Anne Dugan.  Kym Wenz might have cracked that lineup had she not gotten injured.

[David Collinge]

Wooster 57, Earlham 54 (OT) (at Wooster)...With Kym Wenz out nursing a knee ailment, Scot junior Meredith Wilson stepped up, nailing a buzzer-beating three to send the game to OT and another trey with 0:01.7 remining to win the game.  Wilson ended up with 19 points[...]

On account of these heroics, Meredith has been named this week's NCAC Player of the Week.  Congratulations! 

[jscwittfan]

Witt does what would have been unthinkable at the beginning of the season, finishing the sweep of Denison with a 65-55 victory.  19 big points off the bench from Stephanie Boardman, as well as another solid performance (14 points, 7 boards) from Katie Gregorevich.  Denison is led by the 17 points and 15 points (respectively) of Carolyn Simpson and Haley Dahlgard.  Witt moves to 7-2 in the conference, while Denison falls to 6-3, a full game and a half (figuring in the tiebreaker) behind the Tigers.

[David Collinge]

Elsewhere,
Kenyon 66, Hiram 43 (at Hiram)...Ladies hold Pups to 32.7% shooting and force 25 turnovers, while on the other end they got scoring contributions from 13 players.
Ohio Wesleyan 86, Oberlin 35 (at Delaware)...Everything Hiram did poorly, Oberlin did worse:  shooting 23.7% and giving the ball away 31 times.  At least only 12 Bishops got into the scorebook.
Allegheny 65, Wooster 48 (at Wooster)...Brittany Bell goes 6 of 8 from beyond the arc for 20 points, while Wooster continues to feel the absence of Kym Wenz (bone bruise).

Standings:
Kenyon 10-0 / 13-6
Ohio Wesleyan 7-2 / 12-5
Wittenberg 7-2 / 8-8
Denison 6-3 / 10-8
Allegheny 3-6 / 6-12
Wooster 3-6 / 6-10
Oberlin 2-7 / 3-15
Hiram 1-7 / 3-13
Earlham 1-8 / 2-15
Wabash...DNP

Saturday's games:
Ohio Wesleyan at Kenyon
Wooster at Wittenberg (Dedication of Pam Evans Smith Arena)
Hiram at Denison
Earlham at Oberlin
Allegheny and Wabash are idle

[jscwittfan]

Wittenberg's coverage of the Pam Evans Smith Arena Dedication Ceremony

Press Release and Video Coverage

Game Recap (Witt defeats Wooster 67-35, including Katie Gregorevich scoring her 1,000th point)

[David Collinge]

Congratulations to Witt on a great win on a great day. 

Elsewhere,
Kenyon 57, Ohio Wesleyan 54 (at Gambier)...Also a great win.  OWU came out aggressively dictating the tempo and shooting the lights out, racing to leads of 12-2 and 20-7.  Kenyon slowly climbed back into the match, only to fall victim to another OWU run that left the Bishops ahead 35-23.  At this point the Ladies became more patent on offense, working for better shots, and got just a step quicker on defense, closing the gap to 36-31 at the break.  Kenyon continued their climb back throughout the second half, a half in which OWU was held to 24.1% shooting (after hitting 57.1% in the 1st).  The Ladies gained their first lead at 9:53, and extended to a 5-point lead soon thereafter, but never could shake the Bishops, who had the game tied inside the final minute.  Then Alisha Moreno, quiet for most of the game, buried a three from the corner for the final margin.  Eva George had a career afternoon, with 17 points and 13 rebounds, almost single-handedly keeping the Ladies in the game in the first half.  Anne Dugan also contributed a double-double with 13 & 10.  OWU had three in double figures, led by first-year post Kayla Gordon's 16.
Denison 62, Hiram 40 (at Granville)...Leading by just 4 at the break, Denison held Hiram to 15 second-half points on 22.6% shooting, including 0/10 from the arc.  Carolyn Simpson recorded a double-double, leading the Bg Red with 18 points and 11 boards.
Oberlin 70, Earlham 64 (at Oberlin)...Oberlin held a six-player EC squad to 32% shooting, whle draining 50% of their second-half shots (57.1% from the arc) to overcome a one-point halftime deficit.  Alicia Smith led the Yeowomen with 26 points, including 4 treys and 8/10 from the line.

Standings:
Kenyon 11-0 / 14-6
Wittenberg 8-2 / 9-8
Denison 7-3 / 11-8
Ohio Wesleyan 7-3 / 12-6
Allegheny 3-6 / 6-12
Wooster 3-7 / 6-11
Oberlin 3-7 / 4-15
Hiram 1-8 / 3-14
Earlham 1-9 / 2-16
Wabash...DNP

Upcoming schedule: This is that one crazy week each year when the women play on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday.
Tuesday's games:
Wittenberg at Kenyon
Denison at Earlham
Wooster at Ohio Wesleyan
Allegheny at Hiram
Oberlin and Wabash are idle

[David Collinge]

Congratulations to this week's NCAC Player of the Week, Allegheny sophomore Brittany Bell.  As noted above, Bell had a great shooting game at Wooster, scoring a career-high 20 points which included six successful three-pointers.  Congratulations, Brittany!

[jscwittfan]

Kenyon ends the game on a 16-0 run, erasing a 3 point Wittenberg lead in the process to win 73-60.  Wittenberg gets 21 points and 9 boards from Katie Gregorevich, but go cold when it matters most, failing to score in the final 5:33 in the game (and going without a field goal for the final 6:30).  Carrie Dyer and Stephanie Boardman reach double-digits in scoring for Witt with 13 and 10 points, respectively, while Kenyon was led by 23 from Anne Dugan, 19 from Eva George, and 13 from 13 from Hilary Gowins.

Witt falls back to .500 overall 9-9 and 8-3 in conference.  Kenyon moves to 15-6 overall, and a big 12-0 in the NCAC, which, if my math is correct, puts them within one game of clinching at least a share of the conference title.

Elsewhere...

Denison beats Earlham 79-60
OWU beats Wooster 91-57 (too bad this couldn't have been the men's score!)
Allegheny defeats Hiram 69-61

So, the standings...

Kenyon 12-0 / 15-6
Wittenberg 8-3 / 9-9
Denison 8-3 / 12-8
Ohio Wesleyan 8-3 / 13-6
Allegheny 4-6 / 7-12
Oberlin 3-7 / 4-15
Wooster 3-8 / 6-12
Hiram 1-9 / 3-15
Earlham 1-10 / 2-17
Wabash...DNP

[David Collinge]

A bloodless coup! 

Kenyon is really making a statement.  The NCAC women's Final Four will very probably be at Kenyon with Denison, OWU, and Witt as the contenders.  Kenyon already beat all three on the road in the first half, now each one takes their turn in Gambier. 

First up was OWU, which tried to run away and hide, forcing the tempo from the tip and building a huge lead.  Kenyon, overloaded with senior leadership, righted the ship after about 10 minutes and slowly ate into the Bishop lead, finally overtaking them late in the game and holding them off down the stretch.

Next was Witt.  This was a completely different game, with Kenyon playing an outstanding first half at both ends and building a 13-point halftime lead.  Then Witt came out of the locker room and erased that deficit, and more, in just 11 minutes, with beautiful passing and outstanding rebounding (Witt won the battle of the boards 42-31, and had 16 big offensive rebounds.)  But once again the seniors kept their cool, and playing with poise and confidence they were able to stop the Tiger momentum.  Then shots that rimmed out in the first 11 minutes fell true, while at the Witt end there was an extra hand slapping at each pass and raised in the hand of each shooter, and the shots that had been going in were rimming out.  It wasn't a large difference, but it was enough, and 16 points later Kenyon had their 12th straight win.  (Interesting to note that in both of this year's matchups, Witt hit the 60-point mark with the lead, then failed to score again, as Kenyon closed the two games on 11- and 16-point runs.)

Denison gets their shot next Wednesday, then all three teams (after very probably dispensing with their first-round opponents in the NCAC tournament) will reconvene at Tomsich Arena to decide the NCAC title and NCAA bid.  And despite Kenyon's regular-season dominance, any one of those four teams could win it.  It's going to be a great ride.

[David Collinge]

In the meantime, here's the weekend schedule:

Friday:
Ohio Wesleyan at Denison
Wittenberg at Allegheny
Wooster at Oberlin
Earlham at Hiram
Kenyon and Wabash are idle

Saturday:
Kenyon at Wooster
Denison at Oberlin
Wittenberg at Hiram
Earlham at Allegheny
Ohio Wesleyan and Wabash are idle

[David Collinge]

Congratulations to OWU's Steffi Graf, who has been named to the District IV Academic All-District basketball team.  Steffi is a standout in two sports as well as the classroom, having also been selected for the Academic All-District team in volleyball.  Congrats, Steffi!