WBB: Little East

[AllStar]

Brutal night for the conference on the women's side.

Keene State trailed for the vast majority of the game in a 67-57 loss to Endicott.  The Gulls must have made some adjustments...either that or the Owls got worse in the last three days, as KSC just beat Endicott 72-60 on Saturday in Saratoga Springs, NY.  Keene State lost Sandi Purcell to some kind of injury in this game.  The Owls (2-2) look discombobulated on offense and it will be a long season if they don't get things fixed quickly.

Southern Maine lost by 15 (!) to a Bates team that had to squeak out a six point win over Central Maine Community College.  The Bobcats, who beat the Huskies 75-60, also had an embarrassing 55-39 loss to Norwich to open the season.  USM led at the half against Bates, but was outscored 43-25 in the second half and lost easily.  The Huskies are 1-3.

Bridgewater State beat Rhode Island College 43-37.  No, that's not a typo.  The Anchorwomen led 6-2 after one, but trailed 19-17 at the break.  Rhiana Page scored 16 of Bridgewater's 43 points.  Meanwhile, a futile RIC offense shot just 28%.  The Anchorwomen are 2-2, with only wins over lowly foes Salem State and Wentworth.

Plymouth stayed competitive, but lost at Castleton 58-49.  The Panthers never had a lead in the game, but were in it in the 4th
quarter.  Plymouth was hurt by making just 3-of-15 free throws (20%).  That is unconscionable.

UMass-Dartmouth remains unbeaten after nipping Roger Williams 64-61.  The game was tied 35-35 at the half and 53-53 after three.  The Corsairs got a huge game from Alicia Kutil (29 points on 11-of-18 shooting) in the win, and dominated paint points 40-20.

UMass-Boston needed a 4th quarter rally to knock off Fitchburg State 81-75.  The Falcons appear to be improved this year after not winning a game last year, but still do not appear to be a terrific team at this point.  Chantel Jordan scored 21 points for the Beacons.  Katrina Edwards and Raven Kelsey each had 12 rebounds.  Fitchburg stayed close thanks to Kyra Rose's 32 points.

Connecticut College staved off Western Connecticut 70-65.  Both teams shot about the same, but the Camels outrebounded WCSU 54-40.  Mairead Hynes had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Connecticut College.  Alecia Dulaire and  Gabrielle Hurlbert each had 14 points for Western Connecticut.

A forgettable non-conference slate for the LEC so far.  Next game is not until Sunday, when Southern Maine hosts rival St. Joseph's (ME).

Happy Thanksgiving to any readers on this board!

[7express]

Happy Thanksgiving AllStar and everyone else on this board!

[7express]

16-13 record for the conference after a dismal 2-5 Tuesday, but I went 5-2 which brings my total 22-6.  Oh how I would gladly switch those results!  Onto Sunday's lone game after the mini Thanksgiving recess:

St. Joseph's (ME) (+1.5) @ USM.  The annual Thanksgiving weekend for the Costello Cup, which the Huskies lost in Standish by 7 last season.  Huskies 65-61.

[7express]

LEC 0-2 on Sunday which includes USM losing the Costello Cup to St. Joseph's for the 2nd straight year, and RIC losing by double figures to Roger Williams which didn't appear on the schedule Saturday.  Conference falls to a dismal 16-15 overall with me 22-7.  All 8 teams in action Tuesday the last day the conference will have 8 games on the schedule:

USM (+31.5) @ Bowdoin.  Woof!  They lost by 31 at home last year, probably not any better this year.  Bowdoin 79-43
Boston (+6.5) @ Colby.  Beacons won by 10 at home last season.  This should come down to the wire.  Colby 69-65
Colby-Sawyer (+3) @ Plymouth State.  Panthers won by 14 on the road last year, but the Chargers have finished over .500 9 of the last 10 years while the Panthers haven't cleared the 8 win total since 2010.  Colby-Sawyer 63-61.
Lyndon State (+26) @ RIC.  Why the hell are they playing this game??  RIC 78-53
Keene (-10) @ RPI.  Second time in 2.5 weeks the Owls are taking a trip to the Albany area.  Owls won by 15 last year in Keene and in 14 won by 4 in Troy.  Keene 67-61
Bridgewater (+12.5) @ Dartmouth.  Bridgewater's last game they set basketball back 50 years with the 43-37 slugfest vs. RIC.  Bears lost at home by 21 last year, but won @ Tripp in 2014.  Dartmouth 77-69
Eastern (-2.5) @ Westfield.  Tough part of the schedule coming up here for the Warriors (who seem like they've been off since July; their last game was November 19).  They have Amherst, Williams & Tufts, along with the USM trip coming here within the next 6 games.  Last year Eastern held Westfield to 73 points, it's 4th lowest point total last season.  Eastern 96-85
Western (-7) @ Albertus.  Alburtus' 3 wins this season have come against teams that are a combined 1-11.  Yes, Western is a 1-2 team as well, but unlike Mitchell & Medgar Evers (who are both awful) and SUNY-Purchase (whos is pretty bad), Western's 1-2 record is the result of a difficult opening stretch.  They'll break through with win #2.

[amh63]

7express....thanks for the background info....helps me on my picks .  plus K

[7express]

5-3 on Tuesday gets the conference to 21-18, while I whiffed on the Boston/Colby game (predicted Colby, Boston won), and Eastern/Westfield game (picked Eastern, Westfield won) so that gets me to 28-9.

Westfield State (pick em) @ Dartmouth.  Owls have won 4 straight since coming off the opening night loss at Keene including a 101-94 win over Eastern.  That game was at home, this one is not, which is why I am picking the Corsairs 97-93
Eastern (+25.5) @ Amherst.  The actual result isn't going to be a question, Amherst will win, the 2 questions for this game is: 1) Eastern scored 94 on Tuesday will they get even half of that this game?? (47, Amherst is allowing only 42.5 points per game and if you take out the 62 Babson scored that number is down to 36 points per game) and 2) What will the final result be??  Amherst won by 17 (allowing 46) in Willi last year, and 2 years ago won by 14 (allowing 51) in Amherst, and those Eastern teams were probably slightly better.  Amherst 65-46
RIC (+11) @ Johnson & Wales.  The annual battle of Providence hasn't been won by the Anchorwomen since the 2013 season.  J&W 67-58
Plymouth (-10) @ Lyndon State.  WOW, Lyndon must be horrible to have the Panthers as a double digit road favorite!!  They haven't beaten the Panthers since the 2013 season either.  Plymouth 64-61

[7express]

Conference takes a step backwards to 1 game over .500 at 22-21 as 3 of the 4 teams on the schedule lost with me 31-10 as I correctly predicted 3 of the 4.  Special shout out to the RIC/J&W game: 49 points for the winner?!?!?!?  That must have been a GREAT game to sit through!!  Hopefully AllStar does a recap because I would LOVE to see the stats on that game

1 game Friday as LEC play opens on Saturday:

Keene (-3.5) vs. Skidmore (@ Wesleyan).  2 common opponents Tufts & Endicott as Keene played at the Skidmore tournament a couple weekends back.   Both lost to Tufts, but Skidmore lost by 5 (take away 10 or 12 points for home court for a more accurate result) and Keene lost by 2.  Both also played Endicott, Skidmore beat them by 13 at home, Keene beat them by 12 on a neutral floor, but then lost by 10 to them at home .  I don't even know why Keene is favored, as I will pick Skidmore to win 63-59

[AllStar]

Thursday's results:

UMass-Dartmouth led wire-to-wire in an 80-63 win over Westfield State.  The Corsairs raced out to a 30-12 lead after one quarter and were up by 21 early in the 4th.  Westfield was never really in this game.  UMass-Dartmouth improved to 6-0 and 5-0 at the Tripp Center and is clearly playing the best of anyone in the LEC right now, though they haven't beaten any world beaters.  Decent teams, sure, but not great ones.  Nakira Examond led UMD with 15 points and Alicia Kutil had 12.  The Corsairs outrebounded Westfield by an astounding 57-28 margin.  UMass-Dartmouth hosts Keene State a week from tonight, while Westfield will host Western New England on the same night.

No. 2 Amherst obliterated Eastern Connecticut 86-47.  While the Warriors did not come close to winning the last few years, the scores were certainly not this embarrassing.  Amherst led 57-24 at halftime and it was over then...though I guess it was over before it started.  Amherst, who shot a sizzling 16-of-30 from deep in the win, was led by Hannah Hackley's 18 points.  Ali Doswell had 13.  Jordyn Nappi was the only Warrior in double-figures, with 10 points.  ECSU shot just 31% and turned the ball over 22 times.  The Warriors fell to 3-2...and it is not a very strong 3-2.  They overwhelmed NAIA Fisher, squeaked by New England College and blew past lowly Gordon.  Eastern Connecticut travels to Gorham to take on struggling Southern Maine on Saturday.  Amherst will go to Ashland, VA and play Randolph-Macon on the same day.

Johnson and Wales beat Rhode Island College 49-48.  Normally, this low of a score would be a little surprising...but RIC has already played in a 43-37 game this year.  The Anchorwomen led 8-7 after one and 24-15 at the break, but wilted in the 2nd half against their Providence rival.  Victoria Demers scored 11 points for RIC, while Alex Moore had 10 (2-of-11 FG, 5-6 FT).  Ally Mishol and Ashley Thompson had 14 points each for the Wildcats.  Mishol added 10 rebounds.  The Wildcats won despite shooting a dismal 32.7%.  RIC wasn't much better at 37.5%.  In a one-point game, often little fundamentals can be the difference...and the Anchorwomen made just 8-of-16 at the free throw line, while J&W made 7-of-9.  There you go, that's the difference.  The Anchorwomen host Plymouth State in their conference opener on Saturday.  PSU is coming off an embarrassing loss to Lyndon State.  Johnson & Wales travels to Brandeis on Saturday.

Plymouth State lost their third straight after their opening night win, losing to Lyndon State 67-52.  Simply put, this is an embarrassing result, even for a team who has struggled the last several years.  I thought they may be improving...but this result puts a halt to that.  The Hornets were up 27-23 at halftime and stretched it out with a 23-12 3rd quarter.  Plymouth shot a feeble 18-of-70 from the floor (25.7%) and did not make a three in the contest (0-for-14).  The Panthers were led by DeAsia Lawrence's 19 points (6-of-18 FG, 7-10 FT).  Kayla Wyland had 11.  Mikayla Hodge led Lyndon State with 20 points and 12 rebounds.  Gabrielle Foy had 12 points.  The Panthers travel to RIC on Saturday in a battle of last year's 7th and 8th place teams.  Lyndon State travels to Colby-Sawyer for a NAC game on Saturday.

Another set of dismal results.  UMD is off to a nice start, but mostly at home.  ECSU wasn't close, RIC lost 49-48 and Plymouth lost to a seemingly lousy team out of the NAC.

Tomorrow night's lone game is Keene State against Skidmore at Middletown, CT (Wesleyan) in the Courtyard at Marriott Tournament.  I'd be stunned if the Owls won.  KSC will then play either Wesleyan or Worcester State on Saturday (they play Worcester State on Tuesday as well, so it could be another senseless back-to-backer).  The other three games are conference tilts, as UMB goes to Western, ECSU goes to USM and PSU visits RIC.

[amh63]

ALLSTAR and 7express...nice cover of the Amherst vs ECSU game in LeFrak.  Plus K
I watched the game that I knew would be a blowout..the Amherst team is loaded and determined to return to the Final 4 and further.  It has 4 senior starters.  I was interested to see if two injured forwards, both 6' plus, would be available for the first time and how well two other talented players that were injured most of last year would play.  Looking over the scoring by quarters, it looked like the Amherst bench played EConn even in the last quarter.  Amherst finished with a FY PG, a Soph G and three new front court players.  At one time, Amherst had as many CT players on the floor as EConn.  Two were FYs' and CT. All staters in HS.
Yes, Amherst next game is a trip to Va....Ashland.  My take of that game is a "thank you" type trip for the Doswell twins, two senior 3-year plus starters from Richmond, Va. Both had D1 offers.  Their father has a town named for his family just down the road off 95.  Their mother's family is from NE and the mother went to Mt Holyoke and MIT.  Amherst was lucky to get the twins, imho.

[AllStar]

Friday's result was Skidmore over Keene State 53-51.  The Owls led 49-47 with 7:49 left, but managed a measly two free throws the rest of the way in an embarrassing display of offense.  They blew ample chances in the final minute when Skidmore was begging to throw the game away.  Nothing impressive here.  The two teams shot miserably.  Keene plays a Worcester State team that struggles mightily to score tomorrow...and again on Tuesday in what turns out to be another senseless back-to-backer.  Skidmore plays Wesleyan tomorrow.

[7express]

Is nice to know that Keene STILL can't score points.  As I've said time and again here Allstar, good defense can only get you so far. Unless you have an exceptional defense like Amherst or Tufts employ than you can get by with less on the offensive end, but the Jumbos, with Michaela North are pretty good on that end of the floor too, and the Jeffs with the Doswell sisters (twins??) are pretty good on that end of the floor as well.

Conference officially hits the .500 mark at 22-22, me at 32-10.

Saturday's games:
Worcester State (+5) vs. Keene (@ Wesleyan).  Another useless back-to-back.  Hopefully the Owls can actually sweep this bad team.  Keene 68-59
Boston (-2.5) @ Western.  The Colonials swept them in the regular season, but the Beacons won the game that counted winning in the conference tournament.  Beacons will be a lot better in January & February than they are now, so luckily we get this one at home which I think the Colonials can squeeze a victory out of 64-62.
Eastern (-6) @ USM.  They split last year with each team winning on the road, but the Warriors have won 3 of the last 4 in the series.  This USM team is so bad that I think Plymouth can beat them, they'll certainly have a chance to.   Eastern 72-54
Plymouth (+9.5) @ RIC.  They've lost 38 conference games in a row and 79 of their last 81 LEC games but Plymouth will win an LEC game this year, maybe even two.  RIC & USM aren't good, Western doesn't look good, and that's the farthest road trip in the conference, Boston & Dartmouth don't travel well, Keene can't score, so yah that's 6 of the 7 remaining teams.  Add in the fact Keene, RIC, Western & USM aren't very proficient at scoring the ball, so yah I think Plymouth's gotta couple wins in them this year.  I doubt they win 1 on the road, and I doubt they win more than 3 overall, but they should easily win 1, and more than likely should win 2 or 3.  RIC 54-48

[AllStar]

Is nice to know that Keene STILL can't score points.  As I've said time and again here Allstar, good defense can only get you so far. Unless you have an exceptional defense like Amherst or Tufts employ than you can get by with less on the offensive end, but the Jumbos, with Michaela North are pretty good on that end of the floor too, and the Jeffs with the Doswell sisters (twins??) are pretty good on that end of the floor as well.

Conference officially hits the .500 mark at 22-22, me at 32-10.

Saturday's games:
Worcester State (+5) vs. Keene (@ Wesleyan).  Another useless back-to-back.  Hopefully the Owls can actually sweep this bad team.  Keene 68-59
Boston (-2.5) @ Western.  The Colonials swept them in the regular season, but the Beacons won the game that counted winning in the conference tournament.  Beacons will be a lot better in January & February than they are now, so luckily we get this one at home which I think the Colonials can squeeze a victory out of 64-62.
Eastern (-6) @ USM.  They split last year with each team winning on the road, but the Warriors have won 3 of the last 4 in the series.  This USM team is so bad that I think Plymouth can beat them, they'll certainly have a chance to.   Eastern 72-54
Plymouth (+9.5) @ RIC.  They've lost 38 conference games in a row and 79 of their last 81 LEC games but Plymouth will win an LEC game this year, maybe even two.  RIC & USM aren't good, Western doesn't look good, and that's the farthest road trip in the conference, Boston & Dartmouth don't travel well, Keene can't score, so yah that's 6 of the 7 remaining teams.  Add in the fact Keene, RIC, Western & USM aren't very proficient at scoring the ball, so yah I think Plymouth's gotta couple wins in them this year.  I doubt they win 1 on the road, and I doubt they win more than 3 overall, but they should easily win 1, and more than likely should win 2 or 3.  RIC 54-48

Well I guess one positive is Stephanie D'Annolfo played for Keene.  Anyway, I'm not even sure their defense is all that great either.  But their offense is painful.  The main problem is they are a perimeter-oriented team, and if those shots don't go in, they have no chance against most teams, let alone a very good one (as was seen vs. Tufts earlier this year).  They seem to miss an inordinate amount of layups and struggle mightily at the free throw line.  So, when the main source of offense is from the perimeter, that's not really a good thing.  They are not a versatile offense and are predictable and easy to stop.

[amh63]

7express....yes the Doswell sisters are twins, but not identical.  The shorter, 5'10" shooter and high scorer can play inside like her taller sister who is the rebounder and blocker.  When one is off from outside, the other can go outside and take the three.  Being twins, they play well together .

[7express]

Keene beat Worcester State in the OOC game while RIC, USM, and Western start 1-0 in conference.  Those 4 results get the conference to 23-22 and me to 35-11.

Monday's lone game has RIC (+50) @ Amherst.  50 points is a lot to win by, even against a bad team like RIC, but Massey has RIC with a 0% chance of winning, so this is a double digit victory easy.  Ouch RIC goes to Tufts this year too?!?!?  Why the hell did they play those 2 this year??  If RIC can miraculously win either of those 2 games (RIC should be at least a 40 point underdog vs. Tufts), I'll walk to Providence myself and get a tattoo of the RIC logo.  Amherst 67-32.

[7express]

RIC game was even worse than I thought it would be.  80-25    Sheesh!  Congrats, if you had RIC (+50) like I did, you lose!!  Luckily no real money exchanging hands.