WBB: Little East

[7express]

Williams 74 @ Eastern 50.
This game could be close for a while, maybe even a half (especially if Williams can't shoot), but the Ephs are better, more balanced, and more expierenced, and should run away from the Warriors in the 2nd half.

[7express]

Eastern with a 63-47 loss to Williams last night.  The Ephs were lead off the bench by Grace Rehnquist who had a game high 17; Eastern was lead by Shannon McCourt who had another double double with 15 and 13 (has to be the favorite for rookie of the year in my opinion), while Taylor McBride chipped in 10.  Only 3 other players for the Warriors were on the scoresheat however.

Saturday schedule:
Boston @ Western
Plymouth @ RIC
Keene @ Dartmouth
Eastern @ USM

[7express]

Sat predictions:

Boston 62 @ Western 66.
Boston has been playing well; Western hasn't been playing that well, but their still getting W's which is all that counts.  If this was at Boston, I'd probably give them the edge, but this team just doesn't lose at home (Steph Slonski has just 4 home losses in her career).
Plymouth 34 @ RIC 59.
If they (RIC) can hold Dartmouth to 23 points and 12% from the field, they can easily do the same thing to Plymouth who are on 19 straight conference losses and counting dating back to last season.  A Plymouth loss would officially eliminate them from clinching the #1seed, but I'd say their unofficially eliminated from that at this point anyways.
Keene 56 @ Dartmouth 60.
Depends which Keene shows up, because their easily capable of beating them as they have won 13 of the last 14 matchups, but you don't know which Keene team shows up; if it's the team that beat West Conn, scored 70 on Plymouth and played USM tough then they'll beat Dartmouth, however there also capable of scoring 25 in a game or going a 25 minute stretch shooting 3-31 in which case they'll lose.  I've made my feelings known on Dartmouth all year, but they'll win this at home.
Eastern 39 @ USM 70.
USM wants payback for the pounding Eastern put on them in Willimantic last month, however that was with a full roster; this team right now is a shell of what it was when it defeated the Huskies 6 weeks ago.    This actually would've been a good game to keep tabs on if the Warriors had a full roster.

[7express]

Western up 8-7 early.  Looks like we only have 7 players in uniform; Chelsea Mone and Amber Litwinko look to be the only subs.  I know Kayla Murkem, Jackie Zilnicki, and Taylor Nkonoki were out, looks like Caroline Brasa is out as well
18-16 Western 10:51.  Yup only 7 players availible for coach Rybczyk today. 
37-26 Western at halftime.  Really played well the second part of the first.  Kirsten Morrison is absolutely killing us in the paint though.  We're goning to have a lot of problems with Rachel Riley (RIC) and Courtney Cochran (USM) this week.
44-28 12:23 left in game.  There looks like there's 50 people at the O'Neil center today.  Can't say I really blame them for nobody being there.
52-36 7:04.  Both teams are really struggling here in the 2nd.  Not a lot of whistles which is why its already at the 7:04 mark. 
Kirsten Morrison gets the Beacons within 9 52-43 4:56 left.  Like Dartmouth 2 weeks ago, Boston could not buy a basket the first 10 mins which is why tjeir still 9 behind, too little too late for the Beacons.
Final: Western 60-46.  Winning ugly better then losing pretty.  Second half wasn't very pretty.

[7express]

Other conference scores:

Keene 28-21 8:31 left in first. 
Plymouth scored the first 2 points of the game, have been outscored 27-3 since then trail 27-5 .  Cynthia Gaudet and Stephanie Coro are each outscoring PSU as they have 7 each
USM up 15-6 15:03 left
Keene 36-35 at halftime.  Megan Farrell and Courtney Cirillio have 10 each
RIC 44-15 over Plymouth.  Gaudet has as many points as Plymouth does (15).
USM up 53-19 at half.  USM is shooting 67% so far.
Keene 55-47 7:50 left.  Cirillio is up to 19 for the Owls leading the way
RIC up 59-28 11:56 left.  Courtney Burns (10) and Rachel Riley (10) have joined Gaudet (15) in the double digit point department.
USM up 40 71-31 11:30 left.  Shannon McCourt game high with 17 but she only has 3 boards so looks like she'll miss a double double.  Cochran has 14 for the Huskies; Krystina Forsman has 8 for the Warriors.  USM only shooting 62% now after shooting 67% in the first.
Southern Maine up 39 with 6:50 left (87-38), RIC up 35 (71-36) with 3:23 left.  I know I'm going out on a limb here but I'm proclaiming both games........over.  Keene up 2 possessions (66-60) 2:11 left, so at least we had 1 somewhat competitive game today.

[7express]

Western wins 60-46.  Once I find stats, I'll edit this and post the game high's.
Kirsten Morrison exploded for 30 points................too bad the rest of the team scored 16 total.   Colonials were lead by Carly Murphy with 13 with Nicole Eaniellio (11), Stephanie Slonski (10) and Amber Litwinko (10) joining Murph in double figures.  With the shortened bench, all 7 Colonials played at least 17 minutes.
Keene 77-65 winner over Dartmouth.  Courtney Cirillio lead all scorers with a game high 29 points (19 in the 2nd half).  Erika Bornemann lead the Corsairs with 19
RIC finished up their 29 point win over Plymouth 73-44.  As I stated earlier, after Plymouth scored the first 2 points of the game, RIC scored 27 of the next 30 points to go up 27-5 and they cruised from there.  Colleen O'hara did not play for the Panthers; Michaela Galvin lead the Panthers with 17; Cynthia Gaudet lead all scorers with 17, 15 in the first half.  RIC lead by as many as 36 in the 2nd.
USM 94-52 over Eastern.  Huskies had 5 in double figures lead by Courtney Cochran with 16; Shannon McCourt lead all scorers with 21.  McCourt (21), Krystina Forsman (14) and Danyelle Rodriguez (9) combined for 44 points; the Warriors got just 8 points from the rest of the team.  Huskies finished the game shooting 54% and lead by as many as 50 in the second half. 

Tuesday schedule:
RIC @ Western
USM @ Plymouth
Boston @ Dartmouth
Keene @ Eastern.  As usual I'll have predictions Monday.

[7express]

Biggest week of the season coming up for the Western women in what could potentially make or break their season (were tied for 2nd with Keene & USM) and are still within striking distance of RIC.
Tuesday we get RIC at home.  RIC is a team that gets contributions from 12-15 players nightly, has the best PG in the league who can really make plays, their 6th man off the bench would start for any of the other 7 teams in the conference, and has a great post player.  Were still going to be shorthanded for this game (Kayla Murkem & Jackie Zilnicki are definitely out, not sure whether Taylor Nkonoki or Carolina Brasa will be back).  Then on Saturday we go up to Gorham to take on USM.  Really not expecting us to win this game (last year we lost by 18 up there), but hopefully we can keep it close.  After this week, the only losable game we have is @ RIC on Feb 14; @ Dartmouth (Feb 4) and home vs. Keene (Feb 11) are games we could possibly lose, but we should be favored in both of them however.

Going 1-1 would be decent, especially if it's against USM.  I'm already ruling out catching RIC even if we win Tuesday because I know we aren't winning in Providence later on, so I hope we can pass USM/Keene for the 2 seed and the bye.  Even though were tied with both USM & Keene, technically were 1 back of them since we lost the first game against both teams, and therefore, would lose the tiebreaker if the season ended today.  A loss to USM would put us defacto 2 games back of USM since USM would hold that 2-0 season series tiebreaker if we finish tied, and therefore USM would have to lose three times in order to be passed. 
Going 0-2 would force us to play Tuesday barring an unforsense collapse by USM, who has the easiest schedule ever in February; 3 of their final 5 conference games are at home; road games are Keene & Dartmouth, and by the time of the game only Keene & RIC are likely to be above .500 on the day of the game.  However, we'd likely play the 3/4 home game on Tuesday (barring an unforsene collapse by us) and the likely opponents would be eastern/Boston/dartmouth, teams we've had success with in the past.
Going 2-0 is almost impossible, but would definitely prove we're still in the running for the top spot.  And as I said earlier, after the USM game, the game @ RIC in mid February is the only game of the season we'll likely lose.  2-0 week would put us only 1 back of RIC, and hopefully they can lose to both Keene and USM in February so we can sneak in the back door.

[7express]

Tuesday prediction:

RIC 64 @ Western 58.
I think they'll get a test in this game, something they haven't gotten since the Stevens game in January because they've been running over every team with a cement truck this year, at least the Colonials will fight back with a dump truck, but it probably won't matter.  We get beat off the ball a lot which won't be good with Gaudet running the show for RIC, were gonna get smoked in the post with Rachel Riley which won't be good, and our best defender (Taylor Nkonoki) was in street clothes the last game, not sure of her status.  RIC played us extremely tough in 3 meetings last year (I think our largest margin of victory in any of the 3 matchups was 9), and with the way this team plays defense under coach Rybczyk we're hardly ever gonna get blown out and will be in the majority of the games we play, however this RIC is too good offensively, defensively and are sooooo much deeper then the Colonials are they win in the end.  RIC gets a closer game then they probably think they will, but they'll survive.  One X factor to keep an eye on from here on out is how RIC handles prosperity, especially this game @ USM later in the year.  Last year in an even deeper league then this currently Western took charge knowing it was make or break with what their losing, and took no one lightly.  Granted some teams gave us harder matchups then others (RIC & Keene for example), but they swept through the conference like they were expected to.  This RIC team has the same window: 4 of 5 starters are seniors, and even though the roster is deep, nobody expects the bench to contribute anything, so their likely to take a step back next year.  I remember someone on the RIC team taking a picture of the LEC standings and posting it on twitter on the night of Jan 10 (after they beat USM and we lost to Keene) with a caption that said something like, "isn't this a beautifal thing?"  THAT'S what I'm talking about prosperity.  We weren't taking any pictures of the standings after we beat Eastern for the first time in the regular season last year...that's because we were expected to win.  RIC is expected to win every game they play from here on out with the exception of the USM game which I'll rule as a pick 'em, I'm not too confident in them running the table if people are tweeting pics of the standings after 4 conference games have been played.  If you want to take em after you beat Western on Feb 14 to win the championship, then yes take them.  Championships aren't won after 4 conference games, nor are they won on January 10.

USM 83 @ Plymouth 43.
This could be even worse if Colleen O'Hara doesn't play for the Panthers; she was out Saturday.

Boston 56 @ Dartmouth 55.
Last year I thought Boston was better because they played Western tougher then Dartmouth did, yet Dartmouth swept the season series.  Dartmouth has a better record, but it was via OOC cupcakes; Bostin is playing better at the moment, they steal one on the road.

Keene 54 @ Eastern 58.
Keene has absolutely no business losing this game, but why oh why do I think they will?

[7express]

RIC survives 56-54.  Courtney Burns hit 2 free throws with 28 seconds left in a tie game to give them the lead, and the final possession for the Colonials was awful.  RIC had a couple fouls to give and they used them inside 10 seconds.  With 7 seconds left, Steph Slonski got knocked the ball out of her hands, and rolled out of bounds near the scorers table with 3 seconds left, and that essential ended the game.  Sciarra Brandt had their 3 blocked at the buzzer which essentially ended the game.  Yet another game this year where we either lost the game or the opponents D made a key stop: In the MSM game (2 point loss), MSM made 2 key defensive stops, including forcing a turnover, and preceded to go coast to cooast for the winner.  In the USM game Steph Slonski missed a free throw attempt which would have won the game, and we lost by 1 in overtime.  Today RIC forced a foul, converted the free throw, and got the block to win.  Tomorrow rest of recaps and my mid season awards.

[7express]

Tuesday results:
USM 86-53 over Plymouth.
Courtney Cochran combined for 47 points and 27 rebounds and almost singe-handily outscored the Panthers by themselves.
Keene 58-38 over Eastern. 
Krystina Forsman, Taylor McBride and Shannon McCourt combined for 35 of the teams 38 points with the lone 3 points coming on a Danyelle Rodriguez 3 who finished shooting 1-16.  Eastern shot 15.6% from the floor in the 2nd half and was held scoreless the final 6:59 of the game.
RIC 56-54 over Western.
Talked about this game last night, but Rachel Riley had a great birthday (she turned 21 yesterday), as she lead RIC with 19 points, but the player of the game was Courtney Burns.  In a 54-54 tie with 29 seconds left, she was fouled by Chelsea Mone and converted both free throws.  With 1 second left she blocked a Sciarra Brandt 3, and Rachel Riley corralled the rebound as the horn sounded.
Dartmouth 64-53 over Boston.
Once again, I missed a Boston Dartmouth pick, sigh.  Kirsten Morrison lead the Beacons with 19 points, while Erika Bornemann and Colleen Moriarty paced the Corsairs with 16 apiece.

Thursday schedule:
RIC 66 @ Worcester 54.
RIC should win this, but probably closer because it's a non-league game.
Salem state 67 @ Dartmouth 65.
Salem state has won 7 of their last 10 after starting 2-6 to run their record to an even 9-9 with a 5-1 MASCAC conference record.
Middlebury 54 @ Keene state 62.
Not to be confused with the men's team, the Middlebury women are 5-11 (0-5 in the NESCAC) and have lost 8 of their last 10, but have won 2 of 3.  No reason Keene shouldn't win this.

[7express]

7express's mid season LEC awards.  Feel free to disagree with these and add your own where you see fit:

Best team: RIC.  Is their any doubt??
Most dissapoint team: Boston.  I thought they'd be a lot better then their 5-14 overall record and 2-6 conference record
Team with most to gain in the second half: Boston.  They probably don't catch Western for the last home spot (4 back with the tiebreak), HOWEVER their tied with Eastern (own the tiebreaker) and 1 back of Dartmouth and get both at home in February.  Their also done with Western and after this weekend they'll be done with Keene
Team with least to gain in the second half: Eastern.  Really, the only winable game left on their schedule is Plymouth, and their last 3 games they've lost by 16, 42 & 20.
Coach of the year: Right now Marcus Reilly, however if RIC ends up losing to USM, and Western finishes in the top 3 I'd give it to coach Kim Rybczyk based on what they lost last year and where they finished this year.  If Eastern can find a way to make the LEC tournament, Denise Beirley is another coach I take a look at based on what she was dealt with after Christmas
Rookie of the year: Shannon McCourt.  If there's one bright spot for Eastern it's her.  She probably doesn't play otherwise and she's making the most of her opportunities.  I think she's scored in double figures every game she's started in since she was forced into the starting lineup after New Year's.  Taylor McBride and Krystina Forsman are other candidates on that Eastern squad that wouldn't have logged major minutes this year and are making the most of the playing time, along with Kirsten Morrison who is the Beacons leading scorer as a freshmen and 3rd overall in scoring.
MVP: Cynthia Gaudet.  The do it everything guard for RIC (well except rebounding).  She can score (leads the team), dish the ball (leads the team in assists), and plays great defense (leads the team and second in conference in steals).  A great team has a great floor leader, and Gaudet is one of the reasons RIC has an unblemeshed LEC mark and only 2 losses overall.  Other MVP candidates: Carly Murphy-Western (even though I think Caroline Brasa is team MVP more though), Courtney Cirillio (Keene), Rachel Riley (RIC) and Courtney Cochran (USM).  If the Beacons can make a move these final 4 weeks, and finish 4th/5th I wouldn't be surprised to see Kirsten Morrison get a lot of votes; not enough to win obviously, but enough to get her in the top 3 or 4 though.

[7express]

Interesting article on Kirsten Morrison: http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/womens_basketball/articles/2012/01/22/north_readings_morrison_leaving_her_mark_on_the_basketball_court_at_umass_boston_too/

I thought I had remembered that name when I looked at the Western Boston volleyball recap from October.

[AllStar]

Thursday non-conference games
Rhode Island College survives at Worcester State, 72-63.  Anchorwomen outscored Lancers by 18 in the second half (39-21) after trailing by 9 at the half.

Keene State downs Middlebury, 63-45.

UMass-Dartmouth tops Salem State at home, 85-72.

[7express]

Thursday results:

RIC 72-63 over Worcester state.  I think it was a tougher game thna RIC thought they were in.  They scored almost as many points in the 2nd half (39) then they did in their last game against Western (56).  Good teams can rebound from halftime deficit's, bad team's don't hold halftime leads.
Dartmouth 85-72 over Salem state.  Kelsey Garrity lead 6 Corsairs in double figures with 23 points.  The Vikings, who shot 3-20 from 3 were lead by Rachel Carter with 18.
Keene over Middlebury 63-45.  Sara Laudano lead the Owls with 17.  Scarlett Kirk was the leading scorer for Mid who were held to under 30% from the floor for the game.

Sat schedule (I will have predictions tomorrow before I leave for Maine):
Western @ USM
Eastern @ RIC
Boston @ Keene
Dartmouth @ Plymouth.  None of the games are that impressive.  I'd say Keene vs. Boston is the closest just because Keene has trouble scoring.  if that USM/Western game was in Danbury I'd nominate that, but in Maine I think we get run out of the gym.

[7express]

Sat predictions:

Western 52 @ USM 75.
Since losing to RIC, USM has won their last 4 by an average of 31.8 points with the "closest" being a 23 point win against Boston.   The Huskies have won their last 2 home games by 35.5 points, beating Dartmouth by 29 and Eastern by 42 (when they lead by as many as 50 in the game).  Western will still be short-handed.  Taylor Nkonoki is cleared to play, but Jackie Zilnicki is still out for at least another week with a toe injury, and Caroline Brasa has mono so I'm not sure if she'll be availible.  Last year with the big 3 up here (Heather Lee, Karli Spera, and Mellissa Teel) we lost by 22, and really were never even in the game.  I know there's no moral victories, but really would be a moral victory if we can keep this to single digits.
Eastern 38 @ RIC 75.
Eastern has lost their last 5 games by an average of 17.8 points, while RIC is on a 13 game winning streak.  Last month in Willimantic RIC turned a close game (8 point lead with 6:30 to play) into a 26 point blowout by scoring the games final 18 points.  That was the last game Piper Chapman, Lauren Kelleher, Jessica Blodgett & Rachael Armstrong played for the Warriors before they were all dismissed from the team a few weeks later.
Boston 54 @ Keene 62.
I think Kirsten Morrison will keep the Beacons competitive for 30 minutes, but unfortunately, no one else on that team can step up.
Dartmouth 62 @ Plymouth 57.
If Colleen O'Hara plays for the Panthers, I say PSU wins, if O'Hara doesn't play (she's been out since the 17th), they get blown out.