WBB: Little East

[7express]

Sat results:

Dartmouth over Plymouth 85-43.
Ace Lawrence lead the Panthers with 13 points, Megan Ronaghan had a game high 22 for the Corsairs, who were up 43-19 at halftime and rolled from there.  Both teams resume non conference action on Tuesday: Plymouth (0-3, 0-1) is at Castleton while the Corsairs (4-0, 1-0) are home to Salve.

Boston over Framingham 61-51.
Monta Connolly (17 points 14 rebounds) and Alycia Rackliff (15 and 15) paced the Rams, while Olivia Murphy had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Beacons, and Katie Matheiu had 17 points and 17 rebounds.  2 teams combined for 94 rebounds, 40 of which were on the offensive end.  Rams (2-2) take on Mt. Ida Tuesday while the Beacons (3-0) host Fitchburg Tuesday night.

Keene over Smith 77-55.
Lauren Biondi had 11 for the Pioneers while Amanda Petrow lead the Owls with 17 and Kelsey Cognetta got into double figures for the first time this year as she poured in 14.  Steph D'Annolfo had 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists.  Remember last year when they couldn't score at all??  Cobleskill is a bad team, but Sage, Westfield & Smith aren't terrible, but their averaging 85.5 points per game so far.  Pioneers (1-2) face Wentworth Tuesday night while the Owls (4-0) head to Endicott Tuesday.

Roger Williams pounds Western 89-67.
Emily Dobson lead the Colonials with 15 points, and Angelica Ariola and Rachel Battista shared game high scoring honors for the Hawks with 22 apiece, and Bridget Quilty had 16 points and 14 rebounds.   Hawks had an 18 point halftime lead, Colonials cut it to 9 at the end of the 3rd, but the Hawks outscored them by 13 in the 4th to win going away.   Hawks (2-2) host Conn College on Tuesday, while the Colonials (2-1) head up to suburban Boston to take on Regis on Tuesday.  The Pride haven't lost a conference game since February 5, 2011, 76 games & and a conference later.

WPI over RIC 57-43.
Devin Hill had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Amy Assad finished with 12 points off the bench.  Ama Biney lead the Engineers with 11 points off the bench.  Engineers held the Anchorwomen to 12 second half points.  WPI (3-1) host Nichols Tuesday, while the Anchorwomen (2-2) travel to Bridgewater Tuesday night.

19-6 LEC:

Next games on Tuesday when all 8 teams play their final games before Thanksgiving:

Eastern (+15.5) @ Tufts 5 PM.  I actually ended up sitting next to coach Bierly at the Brandeis/Tufts game today.
Keene (-10) @ Endicott 5 PM.
Salve (+15) @ Dartmouth 5 PM
RIC (-1) @ Bridgewater 5:30 PM
Fitchburg (+23.3) @ Boston 5:30 PM
Castleton (-14) @ Plymouth 5:30 PM
Bates (+8.5) @ USM 5:30 PM
Western (-7.5) @ Regis 7 PM

[7express]

Tuesday results:

Tufts clobbers Eastern 71-43.
I get it, Tufts is a great team, but Eastern is ranked in the top 25, at least make it a competitive game!  Jill Ritrosky had a game high 18 for the Warriors, while Emma Roberson had a team high 13 to lead the way for the Jumbos.   Outside of Ritrosky (who finished with 18 points on 6-13 shooting), the rest of the Warriors lineup combined for 12 points on 5-20 shooting.  Jumbos (2-0) are back in action against another ranked team on Monday evening when they host the Nor'easters of UNE, while the Warriors (3-1) host cupcake St. Joes of CT on Tuesday evening.

Keene over Endicott 60-56.
Kelsey Cuddy lead the Gulls with 21, while Sandi Purcell had a game high 28 to lead the way for the Owls, while Sarah KOber had a game high 11 rebounds.  Wasn't pretty as the Owls were up 16 with 30 seconds to play in the 3rd, and still up 14 going into the 4th and had to hold on, but it's a win that gets them to 5-0, so I'm guessing they'll take it any way they can get it.  Gulls (1-2) open up CCC play next Wednesday @ Nichols, while the Owls will host RPI on Tuesday.

Dartmouth crushes Salve 73-40.
Meaghan Harden lead the Seahawks with a game high 22, and Alicia Kutil paced the Corsairs with 21, Beth Constantini had 15, and Megan Ronaghan finished with 12 points and a game high 11 rebounds.    Corsairs held the Seahawks to 16 points in the 2nd half and turned what was a close game at half (8 points) into a rout.  Doesn't get much easier for the Seahawks (1-4) as they'll host an angry set of Polar Bears from Bowdoin coming off getting blasted at home by state rival UNE on Saturday, while the Corsairs (5-0) will travel to Bridgewater state on Tuesday.

Boston clobbers Fitchburg 65-31.
Stephanie Leveillee and Melissa Guglielmello each shared team high scoring honers with a whopping 8 points each!  Olivia Murphy (17 points) and Katrina Edwards (12 points) almost single-handily outscored the entire Fitchburg team by themselves and they grabbed 18 rebounds and 14 rebounds respectively.  Time for the Beacons to step up the quality competition, these games & the Mt. Ida cupcakes they regularly schedule don't cut it for them anymore.  I know why they schedule these cupcake local area teams, but Tufts is in the area & MIT isn't terrible and they are in the area.  Fitchburg who falls to 0-6 have lost by an average of 40 points per game this year (they look worse then Plymouth!) Why is Boston playing this cupcake??  They were within 45 seconds from playing in the NCAA tournament last year, play some decent teams!!!  Fitchburg next plays Becker Saturday in what looks to be the pillow fight of the season so far: the teams are a combined 0-10, both losing by an average of 40 points.  I'm sure there will still be plenty of good seats left by the time Saturday afternoon rolls around, and the Beacons (4-0) host Mt. Ida on Tuesday.   Why???

Castleton over Plymouth 63-42.
Jade Desroches, Lindsay Sabo, and Bryanna duPont each had 14 for the Spartans.  Ace Lawrence lead the Panthers with 11 points and Annaliese Schmidt had 10 rebounds.   Spartans (4-0) open up NAC play at New England College next Wednesday, while the Panthers (0-4) head to Colby-Sawyer on Tuesday.

USM over Bates 65-56.
Nina Davenport had 15 points and 10 rebounds, both team highs for the Bobcats, while Ella Ramones had 16 to lead the Huskies, and Megan Pelletier came off the bench and added 11 points of her own.  Bates (0-3), is off until December 4 when they head to a tournament at Williams where they'll open up with Clarkson, while the Huskies (2-2) have the 202 rivalry game vs St. Joes (ME) on Sunday.

Regis defeats Western 69-56.
Kayla Croswell had 13 to lead the Colonials, and Jancy Sherwood had 11 points off the bench.  Amanda Hawkesworth paced the Pride with a game high 18 points, and Brittany Stone pulled down a game high 12 rebounds.   Both teams back in action on Tuesday night: Pride (3-1) put their 4 year unbeaten NECC record, and 76 straight conference games overall dating back to the last 4 games of the 2011 season when they were still in the CCC as they open up NECC play @ Mitchell while the Colonials (2-2) host Trinity.

Bridgewater and RIC was cancelled for some reason even though the men played.  Bears (2-2) will host the Corsairs on Tuesday, and the Anchorwomen (2-2) play local rival Roger Williams Sunday.

23-9 LEC

Next games not until Sunday:
RIC (+4) @ Roger Williams 4 PM
USM (pick 'em) @ St. Joseph's (ME) 5:30 PM

Happy & safe Thanksgiving everyone!

[7express]

Sunday results:

Roger Williams pounds RIC 84-59.
Bridget Quilty, Katie Lowerre, and Rachel Battista each had 16 to lead the Hawks while Quilty pulled down 14 rebounds.  Alex Moore lead the Anchorwomen with a game high 18 points while Devin Hill added 16.  Hawks (3-3) who would be at the top of the LEC as they have beaten Western & RIC by a combined 23.5 points this year get one last shot at the LEC as they face Dartmouth in January.  Both teams have rivalry games next time out: Hawks have the CCC opener vs. local rival Salve Regina on Wednesday, while the Anchorwomen (2-3) face Providence rival Johnson & Wales on Thursday night.

SJME defeats USM 74-67.
Megan Pelletier had a team high 18 to lead the Huskies, while Kelsi McNamera (not sure if related to Huskies guard Erin) lead all scorers with 35 to lead the way for the Monks.   Huskies lead 20-9 after 1 and got outscored 65-47 the rest of the way, including a dismal 26-9 in the 2nd quarter.  Monks (4-1) are off until Saturday when they play Maine-Fort Kent @ Colby tournament, while the Huskies (2-3) host top 10 Bowdoin Tuesday night.

23-11 LEC.

Next games Tuesday where 7 of the 8 teams, only team dark on the schedule is RIC:
Mt. Ida (+42) @ Boston 5:30 PM
RPI (+8.5) @ Keene 6 PM
Dartmouth (-9.5) @ Bridgewater 7 PM
St. Joseph's (CT) (+41) @ Eastern 7 PM
Plymouth (+12) @ Colby-Sawyer 7 PM
Trinity (+4) @ Western 7 PM
Bowdoin (-10.5) @ USM 7:30 PM
Some pretty terrible games on Tuesday.  About the only ones I can see being within 10 points are: Keene/RPI (both teams look good in early going), Trinity/Western (those games are usually close) and Bridgewater/Dartmouth (Bears are a tough out at home).  Even at home, USM should get blown out by the Polar Bears, can't see Plymouth keeping it within 10, and instrasquad scrimmages would be better then games against Mt. Ida & SJCT.

[amh63]

Believe Amherst has a game at ECSU that you should look into.  Right now, only stats is listed.  Have seen the Lady Jeffs on-line at home so far...against overmatched opponents and that included the Wesleyan Cardinals.  The Warriors at home maybe a good test.  Would like your opinion here 7express.  The three FYs look good to date.
Wait! Just checked....there will be video for the game on Thursday.  Still would like your opinion 7.

[7express]

Yah, I think the Eastern game is Thursday, I was thinking about going up there for that one.  Tough call for Eastern/Amherst, about the only real quality opponent Eastern has played this year is Tufts and they got steamrolled by the Jumbos.  Played Bridgewater in a tournament which is usually a good contest, but Bridgewater is starting slow.  Play Westfield next week (next Tuesday I think), usually another good test, but they aren't as good as they've been the last 3 or 4 years.  Scoring the ball has always been a problem for 5, 6 of the teams on the women's side of the conference and that's the case which Eastern.  They scored like 40 points against Tufts last weekend, and unless you are playing a cupcake 40 points usually isn't enough to win, and against those great defensive CAC teams like Tufts, Amherst, Bowdoin and to a lesser extent Williams (not on the Eastern schedule this year) Eastern isn't going to get enough offensive help outside of the big (Jill Ritrosky) to upset any of those CAC teams.  I'd take Amherst by 10 to 20.  Eastern plays them close for a while, maybe even the half or 5 to 10 minutes into the second, but the Jeffs break down the Warriors D, and the Jeffs hold the Warriors at bay on their end to pull away.

[7express]

Tuesday results:

Boston over Mt. Ida 77-57.
Angelica Martinez lead the Mustangs with a game high 26 points and tied for a game high with 17 rebounds.  Olivia Murphy lead the Beacons with 24 points, and tied Martinez for a game high 17 rebounds, while Grace Geary had 21 off the bench for the Beacons.  Beacons only lead by 2 at halftime, and outscored the Mustangs by 18 in the second half to win going away.   Mustangs (1-6) are off until next Tuesday when they Emerson, while the Beacons (5-0) will actually face a real opponent as they face Bridgewater on Thursday.

Keene over RPI 88-73.
Ashley Clough lead the Engineers with 16, while Kelsey Cognetta had a game high 17 for the Owls, and Sarah Kober added 14 points and 9 rebounds.  Engineers held a 1 point lead at halftime, but got outscored by 16 in the second half.  Engineers (2-4) head down to a tournament @ Wesleyan over the weekend to play Anna Maria on Saturday, while the Owls (6-0) open up LEC play Saturday against Dartmouth.

Dartmouth over Bridgewater 76-58.
Jennifer Whyte lead the Bears with 16 points off the bench, while Nakira Exmund tied for a game high with 23 points and a game high 11 rebounds off the bench for the Corsairs, Beth Constanti added 23, and Chelsea Houlihan added 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists for the Corsairs.   Bears (2-3) host their second straight undefeated LEC team as they play Boston on Thursday, while the Corsairs (6-0) play a neutral court game at Assumption vs. Worcester state.

Eastern clobbers SJCT 83-39.
Rajeen Mayo lead the Blue Jays with 13 points, while Jill Ritrosky and Julia DePoi each had 14 to lead the Warriors and Erin Brooks added 12 points and a game high 11 rebounds off the bench.  Blue Jays (0-7) play 1 last game before the Christmas break as they play @ Conn College on Saturday, while the Warriors (4-1) host Amherst on Thursday evening.

Plymouth over Colby-Sawyer 70-56.
Congrats to Allison Flynn, her first career victory!  Jessica Shenkel had 16 points to lead the Chargers, while Kristen Ellis had 10 points and a game high 17 rebounds.  For the Panthers, Ace Lawrence had a game high 26 points, while Kayla Wyland had 19 points and 14 rebounds.  Chargers (1-2) are back in action Wednesday night as they open up NAC play vs. Green Mountain while the Panthers who recorded their first win of the season (1-4) will look to make it 2 straight when they play Lyndon State on Thursday.

Western clobbers Trinity 87-68.
Mackenzie Griffin had game highs of both 26 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Bantams, while Emily Dobson had 15 to lead the Colonials.  Bantams (4-1) will head up to a tournament at Norwich over the weekend playing the first game on Friday vs. Maine-Presque Isle while the Colonials (3-2) head to Conn College on Thursday night.

Bowdoin clobbers USM 77-46.
Abigail Kelly had 13 points off the bench to lead the Polar Bears while Megan Pelletier had 13 to lead the Huskies.  Polar Bears (3-2) have a non-conference game vs. #3 Tufts at home on Saturday afternoon (The NESCAC game is also at Bowdoin, so that's weird), Huskies (2-4) open up LEC play at conference favorite Eastern on Saturday.

29-12 LEC

Next games up Thursday:
Lyndon (+16) @ Plymouth 5:30 PM
Johnson & Wales (+5) @ RIC 5:30 PM
Worcester (-14) vs. Dartmouth (@ Assumption) 7 PM
Amherst (-10.5) @ Eastern 7 PM
Boston (-8.5) @ Bridgewater 7 PM
Western (+12.5) @ Conn College 7:30 PM

[gordonmann]

I love these recaps. +k

[7express]

I love these recaps. +k

Thanks Gordon, at least I know I'm not talking to myself, and that someone actually reads and likes them, lol

[gordonmann]

Yeah, that's why I posted. The voice in my head told me it would be a good idea. 

[7express]

Thursday results:

Plymouth over Lyndon 50-44.
Aimee Thompson lead the Hornets with 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, while Mikayla Hodge had 10 points and a game high 13 rebounds.  Ace Lawrence had a game high 15 points for the Panthers, and Taylor Perry added 14.  The Panthers won despite scoring 2 points on 1-19 shooting in the second quarter.  Hornets (1-4) have their NAC opener vs. Colby-Sawyer on Saturday while the Panthers (2-4) host RIC in their second LEC game of the year on Saturday.

J&W edges RIC 62-58.
Ashley Thompson lead the Wildcats with both game highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Devin Hill lead the Anchorwomen with 18 points.    The Wildcats were able to win this close game (no team lead by more than 8) despite Thompson being the only scorer in double figures AND the Wildcats were down 6 with 5 minutes to play, and outscored the Anchorwomen 16-6 the final 4:11 with Thompson scoring 13 of those 16 points.  Wildcats (4-0) host Brandeis on Saturday, while the Anchorwomen (2-4) take the long trek up to Plymouth, NH to take on the Panthers in their LEC opener Saturday.

Dartmouth over Worcester 65-50.
Megan Ronaghan lead the Corsairs with 28 points, and Beth Castantini added 13.  Britt Herring lead the Lancers, who just played 8 players with 12 points.  Lancers scored the first basket of the game, never lead again after that and trailed by as many as 25.  Lancers (3-4) are off until December 11 when they play Springfield, while the Corsairs (7-0) resume LEC play when they travel up to Keene to take on the undefeated Owls in a battle of 2 of the conference's 3 remaining unbeaten (with Boston being the last remaining unbeaten).

Amherst over Eastern 63-46.
Ali Doswell lead the Jeffs with a game high 22 points, and Meredith Doswell added a team high 12 rebounds.  Jill Ritrosky lead the Warriors with a team high 11 points and a game high 15 rebounds and Erin Brooks chipped in 10 points off the bench.  Just like I assumed would happen, Eastern would play them close for a while (they were only down 4 at halftime), but over time the Jeffs better offensive players would wear down the Warriors D, and the Warriors offense outside of Ritrosky wouldn't be available to match the Jeffs on the offensive side of the ball for the whole game.  They managed just 46 points, shot 30.8% from the field, and scored single digit points in 3 of the 4 quarters.  Not enough to beat a quality opponent, and a great coach like GP Gromacki who always comes prepared with an excellent game plan.  Jeffs (5-0) host Bridgewater on Saturday, while the Warriors (4-2) open up LEC play vs. USM Saturday.

Boston survives Bridgewater in overtime 84-80.
Jennifer Whyte lead the Bears with 19 points, and Channelle Melton had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Vanesa Conceicao added 13 points and a game high 10 assists.  Olivia Murphy lead the Beacons with a game high 28 points, Katrina Edwards added 14 points and a game high 17 rebounds, and Grace Geary had 19 points and a team high 7 assists off the bench.  This was another close game throughout as neither team lead by more than 6 points in regulation.  Bears (2-4) head to Amherst on Saturday, while the Beacons (6-0) host Western on Saturday.

Conn College clobbers Western 93-65.
Emily Dobson and Kerri Stolle shared team high honors with 10 points for the Colonials, while Mairead Hynes lead the Camels with a game high 25 points and Peyton Ouimette had a game high 11 rebounds.  Camels (5-0) host the cupcake known as St. Joseph's (CT) on Saturday afternoon, while the Colonials (3-3) open up LEC play at the same place they ended last season....Boston against the Beacons.

32-15 LEC

Full slate of LEC games on Saturday, all beginning at 1 PM eastern.
RIC (-14) @ Plymouth
USM (+17) @ Eastern
Dartmouth (+3.5) @ Keene
Western (+7.5) @ Boston. 
My Saturday superlatives for the day: Best game: Dartmouth vs. Keene.  How can it not be??  Both are unbeaten, and the Corsairs have to remember the last time they played the Owls.  In case you've forgotten, that was the final day of last season, February 21 I believe, when the Owls won @ Dartmouth to deny the Corsairs the outright LEC regular season crown and the LEC semifinals and finals at Tripp Athletic Center in Dartmouth.  As is, they had to settle for a tie with Eastern (though granted, still the first title in program history though), but lost the #1 seed on a tiebreaker, had to settle for the #2 seed in the tournament where they promptly got blasted by their state rivals Boston in the semifinals.
Most intriguing game: I was going to say Western vs. Boston, but at this point I just think the Beacons are an overall better team then the Colonials are, and have beaten the Colonials 4 of the last 5 times they've played so instead I'll nominate Plymouth vs. RIC.  Panthers have won 2 straight after losing 4 in a row (and 19 in a row dating to last year) while the Anchorwomen have lost 4 straight after winning their first 2.  Panthers have gone 3-67 in conference the last 5 years.  I though the Panthers might win a couple this year, and while the bottom of the conference teams don't look as strong as I thought they would be (RIC, USM & Western) the teams at the top (Keene, Dartmouth, Boston) are better then I thought they would be, and of the teams at the bottom of the conference so far in the last 5 years the Panthers are a combined 0-32 against those teams in the 5 year period, so if the Panthers want to exceed 1 conference win for the first time since 2010, RIC is a team they should beat, because the Anchorwomen are easily beatable, especially at home with the long travel.  Whoever loses this game could have a long winter upcoming....and I'm not even talking about the upcoming snow in Northern New Hampshire.
Worst game: Western vs. Boston.  The last 3 regular season Boston wins have been by an average of 19 points (add in the LEC quarterfinal Beacons win, and the Beacons have won those 4 by an average of 17.25 points).  Combined those facts with this is probably the worst Western team in those 3 years and this could get ugly.  Boston won by 26 in a year the Colonials had Carolina Brasa, Chelsea Mone & Sciarra Brandt, and by 16 in a year they still had Brasa.   This year they have none of them, how many points will Boston beat them by this time??

[ECSUalum]

Thursday results:

Plymouth over Lyndon 50-44.
Aimee Thompson lead the Hornets with 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, while Mikayla Hodge had 10 points and a game high 13 rebounds.  Ace Lawrence had a game high 15 points for the Panthers, and Taylor Perry added 14.  The Panthers won despite scoring 2 points on 1-19 shooting in the second quarter.  Hornets (1-4) have their NAC opener vs. Colby-Sawyer on Saturday while the Panthers (2-4) host RIC in their second LEC game of the year on Saturday.

J&W edges RIC 62-58.
Ashley Thompson lead the Wildcats with both game highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Devin Hill lead the Anchorwomen with 18 points.    The Wildcats were able to win this close game (no team lead by more than 8) despite Thompson being the only scorer in double figures AND the Wildcats were down 6 with 5 minutes to play, and outscored the Anchorwomen 16-6 the final 4:11 with Thompson scoring 13 of those 16 points.  Wildcats (4-0) host Brandeis on Saturday, while the Anchorwomen (2-4) take the long trek up to Plymouth, NH to take on the Panthers in their LEC opener Saturday.

Dartmouth over Worcester 65-50.
Megan Ronaghan lead the Corsairs with 28 points, and Beth Castantini added 13.  Britt Herring lead the Lancers, who just played 8 players with 12 points.  Lancers scored the first basket of the game, never lead again after that and trailed by as many as 25.  Lancers (3-4) are off until December 11 when they play Springfield, while the Corsairs (7-0) resume LEC play when they travel up to Keene to take on the undefeated Owls in a battle of 2 of the conference's 3 remaining unbeaten (with Boston being the last remaining unbeaten).

Amherst over Eastern 63-46.
Ali Doswell lead the Jeffs with a game high 22 points, and Meredith Doswell added a team high 12 rebounds.  Jill Ritrosky lead the Warriors with a team high 11 points and a game high 15 rebounds and Erin Brooks chipped in 10 points off the bench.  Just like I assumed would happen, Eastern would play them close for a while (they were only down 4 at halftime), but over time the Jeffs better offensive players would wear down the Warriors D, and the Warriors offense outside of Ritrosky wouldn't be available to match the Jeffs on the offensive side of the ball for the whole game.  They managed just 46 points, shot 30.8% from the field, and scored single digit points in 3 of the 4 quarters.  Not enough to beat a quality opponent, and a great coach like GP Gromacki who always comes prepared with an excellent game plan.  Jeffs (5-0) host Bridgewater on Saturday, while the Warriors (4-2) open up LEC play vs. USM Saturday.

Boston survives Bridgewater in overtime 84-80.
Jennifer Whyte lead the Bears with 19 points, and Channelle Melton had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Vanesa Conceicao added 13 points and a game high 10 assists.  Olivia Murphy lead the Beacons with a game high 28 points, Katrina Edwards added 14 points and a game high 17 rebounds, and Grace Geary had 19 points and a team high 7 assists off the bench.  This was another close game throughout as neither team lead by more than 6 points in regulation.  Bears (2-4) head to Amherst on Saturday, while the Beacons (6-0) host Western on Saturday.

Conn College clobbers Western 93-65.
Emily Dobson and Kerri Stolle shared team high honors with 10 points for the Colonials, while Mairead Hynes lead the Camels with a game high 25 points and Peyton Ouimette had a game high 11 rebounds.  Camels (5-0) host the cupcake known as St. Joseph's (CT) on Saturday afternoon, while the Colonials (3-3) open up LEC play at the same place they ended last season....Boston against the Beacons.

32-15 LEC

Full slate of LEC games on Saturday, all beginning at 1 PM eastern.
RIC (-14) @ Plymouth
USM (+17) @ Eastern
Dartmouth (+3.5) @ Keene
Western (+7.5) @ Boston. 
My Saturday superlatives for the day: Best game: Dartmouth vs. Keene.  How can it not be??  Both are unbeaten, and the Corsairs have to remember the last time they played the Owls.  In case you've forgotten, that was the final day of last season, February 21 I believe, when the Owls won @ Dartmouth to deny the Corsairs the outright LEC regular season crown and the LEC semifinals and finals at Tripp Athletic Center in Dartmouth.  As is, they had to settle for a tie with Eastern (though granted, still the first title in program history though), but lost the #1 seed on a tiebreaker, had to settle for the #2 seed in the tournament where they promptly got blasted by their state rivals Boston in the semifinals.
Most intriguing game: I was going to say Western vs. Boston, but at this point I just think the Beacons are an overall better team then the Colonials are, and have beaten the Colonials 4 of the last 5 times they've played so instead I'll nominate Plymouth vs. RIC.  Panthers have won 2 straight after losing 4 in a row (and 19 in a row dating to last year) while the Anchorwomen have lost 4 straight after winning their first 2.  Panthers have gone 3-67 in conference the last 5 years.  I though the Panthers might win a couple this year, and while the bottom of the conference teams don't look as strong as I thought they would be (RIC, USM & Western) the teams at the top (Keene, Dartmouth, Boston) are better then I thought they would be, and of the teams at the bottom of the conference so far in the last 5 years the Panthers are a combined 0-32 against those teams in the 5 year period, so if the Panthers want to exceed 1 conference win for the first time since 2010, RIC is a team they should beat, because the Anchorwomen are easily beatable, especially at home with the long travel.  Whoever loses this game could have a long winter upcoming....and I'm not even talking about the upcoming snow in Northern New Hampshire.
Worst game: Western vs. Boston.  The last 3 regular season Boston wins have been by an average of 19 points (add in the LEC quarterfinal Beacons win, and the Beacons have won those 4 by an average of 17.25 points).  Combined those facts with this is probably the worst Western team in those 3 years and this could get ugly.  Boston won by 26 in a year the Colonials had Carolina Brasa, Chelsea Mone & Sciarra Brandt, and by 16 in a year they still had Brasa.   This year they have none of them, how many points will Boston beat them by this time??

                           Amherst          Eastern Conn. St.
Field Goal %      38.0% (19-50)  30.8% (16-52)
Turnovers                  8                      19
Pts off Turnovers      21                        4

It is easy to see, (above), why ECSU lost this game.  As long as they give up 19 TO's and opponents capitalize on the TOs to this extent, Eastern will never beat excellent teams like Amherst, Tufts, etc, etc!!  Coach Bierly need to work on this TO problem at every practice   Additionally Eastern's 3 point game, (3 of 13 or 23% vs Amherst), always seems to be very poor when they play good defensive teams!! YIKES?!?!?  With deficiencies like these they will have a very low chance of getting anywhere in post season play.  Hopefully they improve on these aspects as the season progresses.

[amh63]

ECSUalum.....I watched the game and was also frustrated with a number of things wrt to Amherst's play.  Amherst wanted to work the ball inside and had trouble ....probably because of your Warriors.  Your players out rebounded Amherst, while being overall shorter, etc.  Your star senior from Pittsfield looked taller than listed but played bigger than everyone.  How did Williams and Amherst let her get away!  Amherst only player from CT....East Lyme HS...was in street clothes for the second straight game.  Finally saw her play for the first time this year as she was injured most of her FY. 
Bottom line...For both coaches and teams....it is why you schedule these early games against quality opponents!  To see what you need to work on...to change defenses, etc.  I'm well and still have hair left.  Long season ahead for both our teams...women and men.  I'm not going to watch Amherst men's soccer game in its Final 4 match tonight....want to keep my sanity.

[ECSUalum]

ECSUalum.....I watched the game and was also frustrated with a number of things wrt to Amherst's play.  Amherst seemed to wanted to work the ball inside and had trouble too often....probably because of your Warriors.  Your players out rebounded Amherst, while being overall shorter, etc.  Your star senior from Pittsfield seemed taller than listed but played bigger than everyone.  How did Williams and Amherst let her get away!  Amherst only player from CT....East Lyme HS...was in street clothes for the second straight game.  Finally saw her play for the first time this year as she was injuries most of her FY. 
Bottom line...For both coaches and teams....it is why you schedule these early games against quality opponents!  To see what you need to work on...to change defenses, etc.  I'm well and still have hair left to date.  Long season ahead for both our teams...women and men.  I'm not going to watch Amherst men's soccer game in its Final 4 match tonight....want to keep my sanity.

Hey amh63
It is just frustrating, because every year you hope that an Eastern basketball team, men or women would be up to par or superior and come out victorious over the excellent NESCAC teams, but, to no avail!  You must know by now that TOs are a pet peeve of mine!!  They drive me nuts!  I don't know if its mental toughness, or it just comes with the individual, but statistically low TOs/game are one of the key parameter in developing a championship quality team. I have not been commenting on the women Warriors, as I fully agreed with what 7express stated earlier on this thread re Eastern vs Amherst or Tufts.  I did not see the game last night, but when I checked the box score this morning and saw 19 TO, (and Amherst points off of), I just said to myself this is just unacceptable, and decided to comment!  Some aspects of a team you just cannot sugarcoat. If they had played a respectable game and lost by 10 points, it wouldn't have been so bad, but it was a blowout!!!
I fondly remember when ECSU had 4 year All America Allison Coleman and her teamates  What a fantastic athlete Allison was!! One shot from an ECSU Women's National Championship. Those were the days when it was fun to watch the women's game.
Any way enough of the rant,....another wonderful game produced by the Lady Jeffs.  It seems they will again go deep into the NCAA this year.
BTW I will be rooting for LJ men's soccer this evening... 97 minutes and stilled tied 0-0!!!!!

[7express]

The problem with Eastern against these quality CAC opponents is they just can't score enough points to give themselves a chance to win.  19 turnovers, 3 of 23 (24??) from 3, 9 points or less in 3 of 4 quarters, sorry, that's just not going to get the job done.  And when you're a one dimensional team like Eastern is with Ritrosky & Brooks, but no outside shooting or perimeter game to speak of, then these are going to be the results that happen.  Same with the 2014 RIC team with Vandell Andrade that got trounced by Tufts & Amherst even though they finished that season I believe in the top 20 or 30 in opponents points per game.

The only LEC team I remember having success against the CAC was USM in 2013 (with Hayley Jordan in the middle, Rebecca Knight & Jordan Grant as the slashers, and Nicole Garland shooting from 3).  Of course they only played Bowdoin & Bates (and both were terrible that season [Bowdoin got ruined with injury IIRC], so really how much success could they have had against Tufts or Amherst??
Likewise I would've liked to see the Karli Spera, Heather Lee & Melissa Teel Western team's play Amherst & Tufts, because with those 3 they could beat you inside or out.  Same with the Piper Chapman, Taniesha Carter, Jess Moriarty, Britt Whaley Eastern teams, another inside/outside combo team that could beat you multiple ways.  Unfortunately, I only remember them playing Amherst and not Tufts those years.  Maybe playing Tufts in the regular season instead of playing some New England cupcake would've prepared them better for when they played Amherst in the tournament??

[7express]

Sat predictions:

RIC @ Plymouth.
RIC has lost 4 straight while the Panthers have won 2 straight after snapping a 19 game losing streak.  The last Panthers win in this lopsided season series was January 6, 2010 (ironically the last time the Panthers men beat the RIC men as well).  Both teams look to be in the bottom half of the conference, and why not I'll take Plymouth at home, even though they are a 14 point underdog at home.  I don't think they have anyone to matchup with Devin Hill, but if Ace Lawrence can at least match her point wise I think the Panthers can get enough secondary points from Taylor Perry to pull out the win.  Plymouth 56-53.

USM @ Eastern.
Both teams coming off home blowout losses to top tier NESCAC teams.  Huskies at home to state rival Bowdoin, Eastern to Amherst.  Huskies are the worst team, and this their night trip weekend, so I'll take Eastern.  17 points is a bit too much as I don't think Ritrosky can get them to +17 herself, but they should still win by double figures fairly easily.  Eastern 63-49.

Dartmouth @ Keene.
Last time they played, the Owls won in Dartmouth to deny the Corsairs the regular season title, and both teams come into this game unbeaten.  Since that game February 21, the Corsairs have seen the eligibility expire on PG Kelsey Garrity, and have seen sharp shooter 3 point specialist Bri Hochwater transfer (to Wheelock I think), while the Owls have lost basically no one of note since that game in February, combined with the fact they are at home, and that's why the oddsmakers have listed the Owls as a slight favorite.  However, I'm taking the Corsairs......who will have the best player on the court in Megan Ronaghan (no disrespect to D'Annolfo or Kelsey Cognetta for Keene) and if the season ended today the LEC rookie of the year in Nakira Exmond coming off the bench, combined with a dark horse for first team all LEC Beth Castantini.  Dartmouth 76-75.

Western @ Boston.
Beacons swept all 3 meetings with the Colonials last season.  Both lost key pieces from last year: Colonials lost Caroline Brasa, while the Beacons lost Kirsten Morrison, however the talent is still there in Boston with reigning LEC rookie of the year Grace Geary, Katrine Edwards, and as usually Olivia Murphy who is about an automatic double-double as there is in the conference.  Beacons have the better team then the Colonials do, and no doubt should cover the 7.5 point spread the oddsmakers have them listed as.  Boston 79-65