WBB: Little East

[7express]

Eastern 65-58
USM 74-66
Dartmouth 78-52
Boston 73-65

[AllStar]

Western Connecticut goes to Gorham and pounds Southern Maine, 73-52.  Caroline Brasa scored 29 points and Colleen Cosker added 20 more, as the Colonials shot 50% as a team.  It's been a long time since Southern Maine has been this bad.  They've lost 4 out of 5 home games, the last two by double digits.  Additionally, last Tuesday they needed overtime to beat a dreadful Plymouth team.  Western is now 11-5, 3-4 in the conference.  Southern Maine is 8-9 and 4-3 in the LEC but sinking rapidly.

UMass-Dartmouth rolls over Plymouth again, 76-41.  They beat the Panthers by 36 in the first meeting in New Hampshire, and by 35 this time.  Megan Ronaghan and Kelsey Garrity each had double-doubles for the Corsairs.  Nobody scored in double-figures for Plymouth, who shot a dreadful 26%.  UMass-Dartmouth is now 13-4 and 6-1 in conference, while Plymouth is 6-10 and 0-7 in the LEC.

Rhode Island College seemed to trail all game, but has taken a late 58-57 lead at Eastern Connecticut.
Rhode Island College wins at Eastern Connecticut, 61-59, to sweep the season series from the Warriors.  Awful loss for Eastern Connecticut.  Warriors led by 13 with 12 minutes left and lost.  Each team featured balanced scoring attacks, placing four in double-figures apiece.  Jess Korzec scored 18 points and Devin Hill added 16 for RIC.  Alex Moore scored 13, including a critical basket and two free throws late for the lead.  Julia DePoi and Kristina Forsman each had 12 points for East Conn.  The Anchorwomen are now 6-11, 4-3 in the conference, and the Warriors are 11-6 and 5-2 in the Little East.

Some surprising results today...although its hard to tell if its parity or a lot of mediocre to bad basketball.

[7express]

Hey AllStar, was the keene/Boston games postponed today??  Still no score from the ladies game which started at 1 

[AllStar]

Hey AllStar, was the keene/Boston games postponed today??  Still no score from the ladies game which started at 1 

It was.  It will be played tomorrow at 1:00.  Men at 3:00.

...and now it looks like a major snowstorm for Tuesday.

[AllStar]

UMass-Boston 75 Keene State 56

Terrible showing by the Owls in Boston as they fall behind by 16, then come back to within 3, before losing by 19.  Keene (9-8, 2-5) continues their annual fade down the stretch.  A mediocre Beacons team is now 11-6, 4-3.

[7express]

UMass-Boston 75 Keene State 56

Terrible showing by the Owls in Boston as they fall behind by 16, then come back to within 3, before losing by 19.  Keene (9-8, 2-5) continues their annual fade down the stretch.  A mediocre Beacons team is now 11-6, 4-3.

Nobody in the conference is that good.  I thought Eastern was good, but you can't lose at home to that RIC team (I know they are playing well however).  Next up for the RIC machine is Dartmouth.  If RIC can beat them (@ Dartmouth) than it's officially a mediocre conference.

[amh63]

7Express...real late in congrats to you for reaching the 3000 level.  Plus K for your efforts.  Getting a little "blunt" in your evaluations.
Want to point out that Amherst played both ECSU and RIC in Le Frak this season.  RIC does have a short bench.  Sometimes scores are impacted by travel, match ups, etc.  I know, preaching to the Preacher here

[7express]

LOL thanks Amh!  Unfortunately work life and running these contests (posters poll, Little East pick em) causes these "blunt" evaluations.

Btw LEC schedule changes this week: Keene/Plymouth postponed to Wednesday, USM/Boston, Eastern/Western, RIC/Dartmouth all pushed back 2 days to Thursday.

[7express]

So I missed Keene State's 77-40 pounding of the Panthers last night.  For today:

Boston over USM 74-67.  2 teams trending in opposite directions.  USM, coming off getting trounced at home by a mediocre West Conn team, has only lost to Boston I think once ever.  Beacons can make it twice.
Dartmouth 77-67.  RIC has been playing well against tough opponents, but I think going into RIC and beating the Corsairs is a little too much to ask, though I think they'll keep it competitive.
Eastern 76-71.  Who knows with these 2 in this rivalry.  Eastern beats Dartmouth but then loses to a 4 win RIC; Western loses to a than 3 win RIC by 17 and the next game slaughters USM in Maine.  The home team generally has had the upper hand in this series lately, so that's who I will go with.

[7express]

Eastern edges past Western 58-46.
Very frustrating game for the Colonials.  The Colonials either lead or were tied for about 30 minutes of this game, and just could not muster enough offense in the second half to get a much needed win.  2nd half offensive production was beyond pitiful.  After the teams seesawed the lead through the first 5 and a half minutes, 2 baskets from Sam Smith gave the Colonials a lead at 14:10 they would not relinquish until the 11:00 mark of the 2nd half, and even that Western & Eastern traded baskets over the next couple minutes until 7:40 when Kristina Forsman hit 1 of 2 free throws to give Eastern a 36-35 lead they would not relinquish the final 7:40 and the game wasn't even tied again after that.  Colonials were outscored 40-22 in the second half after leading 24-18 at halftime, shot 29.0% from the field, 0-7 from 3, and 4-10 (40%) from the line, all dismal second half numbers.  For the game, the Colonials weren't much better: 30.6% overall, 6.2% from 3 (1-16), and only 50% from the line (7-14).  Both teams didn't shoot well: a combined 31.1% overall (37-119), 4.0% from 3 (1-25 combined), and 65.9% from the line (29-44).  That's what you get in a Western game.  Neither team is going to shoot well, but you'd think with as good a defense as Western plays they wouldn't get outscored 37-17 after getting to their high water mark of +8 in the second.  Incredibly disappointing!  That's a win that definitely got away!

Dartmouth beats RIC, not a surprise, USM beats Boston which is a surprise given USM's recent play, but not a surprise due to Boston's history vs. the Huskies now 0-63 all time vs. USM which now brings up a good question, will Boston EVER beat USM??  Remember last year the beacons were down by 1 and the ball with the shot clock turned off, but they turned it over on a travel with 7 seconds left.  After Erin mcNamera hit 1 of 2 free throws the Beacons still had a chance to force OT after Andrea Suffredini got fouled with less than a second remaining but only hit 1 of 2 to lose by 1.

[7express]

In the Dartmouth/RIC game last night, Corsairs point guard Kelsey Garrity joined the 1,000 point club. 

Saturday's games:

Eastern @ Plymouth.
Plymouth may hang around for a bit, but Eastern pulls away late 77-48

Keene @ USM.
Huskies are 4-0 on the road in conference play scoring an average of 60.5 points per game and winning by almost 7 points, but are just 1-3 at home in conference play, scoring an average of 55 points and losing by an average of 10.25 points.  Take out the lone win vs. RIC and those numbers drop to 54.7 ppg in the 3 losses and an average margin of defeat of 16 points.  Keene, for the second straight year, has collapsed in LEC play and a loss here would all but guarantee that they'll open up on the road in the LEC quarters.  USM 65-58

Boston @ RIC.
Intruiging game as the winner keeps themselves alive for the 4 spot and final home playoff game.  Boston won the first game in Boston 63-58, but hasn't done very well on the road in recent years.  Last year @ RIC they only gave up 48 points, but still lost by double figures because they only managed 30 themselves.  They've been scoring more proficiently this year, as they scored 57 on Western, 75 on Dartmouth (in a losing cause) and 63 on Eastern (also in a losing cause).  RIC has been playing better over the last couple weeks, and I'll take them at the Murray Center, RIC 62-58

Dartmouth @ Western.
Having not seen Dartmouth yet in person this year (hoping to see them either tomorrow afternoon, vs. USM next weekend, vs. Eastern the following weekend, or when they play RIC @ RIC in a couple weeks) so it's tough to say whether they are really as good as they look on paper, or whether it's just a bad year overall for the conference.  The Corsairs get the Warriors at home in February which is big, and even though they still have stumbling blocks in February @ RIC, @ Boston, and home vs. USM (have only beaten the Huskies twice in history....both coming in the last 2 meetings), this looks to probably be their last stumbling block in the season.  After this game, the Colonials are only at home in the O'Neil Center twice the rest of the year (vs. Eastern & RIC), have already lost once to Dartmouth, Eastern, RIC and lost to Boston at home and play them on the road in the finale, so much like Keene if Western loses this game you can pretty much think they'll start on the road in the quarters.  Dartmouth really beat them up in MA a couple weeks ago, but I like the Colonials to really clamp down on the defensive end and score just enough to eek out with a much needed victory.  Western 51-48.

On the tournament front:
Plymouth state is already eliminated from hosting the LEC tournament, while a Panthers loss coupled with a RIC win over Boston would also eliminate the Panthers from hosting a quarterfinal game.
A Dartmouth win over Western AND a Keene loss to USM would also eliminate BOTH the Owls & the Colonials from hosting the tournament.  Both the Colonials and Owls have a tragic number of 2 from getting eliminated from claiming the #1 seed.  Even if the Owls beat the Huskies, a Corsairs win would eliminate Western from that discussion.

[7express]

2nd part of the preview; the projected standings.  This was difficult as there's s crop of 4 or 5 teams that are pretty good, but each with a different weakness: Eastern can't win big road games, Dartmouth can't win on the road period, Western can't score, Boston REALLY can't score, RIC lost the coach of the year AND the MVP, and what happens to USM this year should Rebecca Knight get hurt again??  The Huskies fell off the cliff last January in the 3 weeks Knight was out and they don't have McNamera this year anymore.  With that said, I'll take my best shot, but I'm not feeling confident at all in these selections:

1) USM (11-3).  Unlike the other teams vs. each other, USM hardly (ever) loses at home to those teams.  They've never lost to Boston, they lost once to Dartmouth, RIC hasn't beaten them in Maine in forever, neither has Western.  They'll struggle on the road, but so will all the other candidates however.  They only averaged 61 points per game as a team last year, and Erin McNamera lead the team in points and assists and was second in steal.  Rebecca Knight, Stephanie Gallagher & Taylor Flood look like their only offense weapons this year: who will they go to if one of those 3 gets hurt and do they have a bench??  What really helps them this year is they have the Connecticut trips on the bookends of the season (@ Western December 6 opening day, @ eastern February 21 final day) and the RIC trip is on a Saturday as well.  All the other weeknight & weekend trips are relatively close
2) Eastern (10-4).  The Warriors had a taste of success last year: they got off to an early lead in the conference as they beat RIC in the LEC opener and stayed ahead of the pack until they lost the rematch in Providence, and faded in February culminating in a semifinal loss to USM.  Eastern has everyone back that played major minutes included hopefully having Krystina Forsman back for the whole year.  I think overall the Warriors are better then the Huskies, I just don't trust their ability to win a big game on the road, so I'm weary.  I know the Huskies can win a game @ RIC or @ Western or @ Eastern.  I'm not sure the Warriors can win @ Western, @ RIC or @ USM.
2) Dartmouth (10-4).  Another very talented team that is probably better then the team predicted in first, but like the eastern counterparts cannot trust them on the road.  Last year they had the 4 seed in the bag, all they had to do was beat 4-9 Keene state on the road.  Couldn't do it.  Kelsey Garrity is the best PG in the conference, Meghan Ronagan is reigning rookie of the year.  Amanda VanVoorhis resigned her post as coach to become the full time AD at Dartmouth.  Much like Eastern, I'm not entirely sold on their ability to win @ RIC, @ USM or @ Western, they got crushed at all 3 places the past year.
4) Boston (8-6).  I said in the schedule preview last night I love the staff Courtney Mattingly put together.  All 3 are familiar with the conference as all 3 played in the conference, 2 of the 3 as recently as last season.  And what I found out last year the Beacons are a lot more than just Kirsten Morrison & Olivia Murphy.  Chantal Jordan, Katrina Edwards and Mallory Nelson were all freshmen last year but still stepped up in January when Morrison was out with a foot injury.  If they can get balanced scoring they can be good.
5) RIC (7-7).  Their 4 leading scorers are all gone including reigning MVP Vandell Andrade.  Another team that can't score but plays good defense.   They only have 1 senior who hasn't played before but should rebound next year.
5) Western (7-7).  Like RIC the Colonials have a very young team as they only have 2 upper classmen currently on the roster: 1 senior and 1 junior so the future is definitely bright, I'm just not sure if it's bright this year.  They didn't have 1 player average double digit points last year and only averaged 56.2 points as a team
7) Keene (5-9).  Owls have some talent there.  Stephanie D'Annolfo came out on fire last year as a freshmen, Christan Wojtas disappointed but has the track record, Ryanne Williams disappeared last year after a strong season, Amanda Petrow had some good games last year so there's promise there.  They'll steal a couple from the top 6 at home, but not enough to make a dent.
8) Plymouth (3-11).  Still a few years away but were competitive last year.  Tiffany Lewis is a senior so obviously she'll be gone next year but Savannah Miller (SO), Rosalie Edmonds (SO), and DeAsia Lawrence (SO) is a good trio for Liz Stitch to build around.  Add in junior Taylor Perry to that mix, the fact they were so close a number of times last year and the conference is lacking a true "dominant" team and I think it's time for the Panthers to pick up more than 1 LEC win for the first time since 2010.

Player of the year:
Rebecca Knight-USM

First team:
Knight
Kelsey Garrity-Dartmouth
Jill Ritrosky-Eastern
Jordyn Nappi- Eastern
Meghan Ronaghan-Dartmouth
Olivia Murphy-Boston

LEC tournament final:
Dartmouth over USM in the final.  I just think in a 1 game win and advance lose or go home, the team with better talent advances.  That's why if these standings do play out the winner of Eastern/Dartmouth wins the tournament.  Both of them have better talent then USM does.

NCAA tournament:
Since the conference doesn't have a very good team, and the top 5 or 6 will beat up on each other I don't see how the conference get more than 1 team in the tournament.  Of all the teams I'd say Eastern has the best shot to land a pool C bid with Emmanuel, Williams, Amherst & Tufts on the schedule as marquee games.  Split those 4 and they are in the discussion (they were in discussion last year and lost all 3 of them [didn't play Tufts, but had a 4th loss to NCAA participant Hartwick instead).  Win 3 of those 4 and I think they get in.  Sweep all 4 and they are definitely in unless they completely fall apart during LEC play which I can't see happening.

Can we get Knight & Nappi on a milk carton??  Nappi has been so bad this year that she doesn't even start for Eastern anymore!!!

[7express]

Halftime scores:
Dartmouth leads 33-32.  Little higher scoring then I thought.  Neither team can do much: Dartmouth has gotten about 15 points combined between Bri Hochwater and Beth Constanti from outside, which is keeping them in the game.  Colonials shutting down Garrity as she has been pretty much a non factor only a couple points.  Colonials meanwhile have gotten most of their points via second chances & fast break.  Can't score at all in a half court set, but still a good game we got here. Other scores
Eastern 37-24, Keene leads USM 40-35 and Boston over RIC 35-23 all at the half.

[7express]

Finals: Dartmouth wins by 14 79-65.  Dartmouth went on a 23-4 run to open the second and go up 20 and they pretty much cruised from there as the Colonials never got closer than 8 the rest of the game.
Eastern wins 78-49, Keene leads USM by 8 under a minute, looks like the Owls will steal one in Maine for the second season in a row, and Boston wins @ RIC 62-55.  The UMass schools really made a statement today, I know RIC doesn't have a good record but they play teams tough at home good road win for the Beacons, who like the Corsairs look to be ending their major road woes.

[7express]

Tuesday predictions:

USM 68 @ Colby 65.
Remember when USM couldn't win on the road and couldn't lose at home??  It's now been exactly 2 months since they lost last a road game (December 3 @ Bowdoin) and have won once at home since December 9.  I've given up trying to predict this yo-yo team.  I flipped a coin and came up USM, let's see what happens.

Suffolk 64 @ Boston 75.
Suffolk has finished with at least 14 wins every year since 2003 and also in that same time frame have also finished with a winning record.  Both of those streaks are in major jeopardy as the Rams currently sit at 7-11 with 6 more games remaining after this, plus however many they play in the GNAC tournament.

Dartmouth 65 @ Salem State 61.
Salem State is 2-16, who wants to place a bet that Dartmouth losses??  Classic trap game, which on the road is always brutal.  Dartmouth just won @ Western for the first time in 11 games and their next 3 LEC games: home vs. USM Saturday (3-62 all time against), at Boston next Tuesday (rivalry game) then home vs. Eastern Connecticut the following Saturday which probably decides the conference.  Yah, Dartmouth isn't going to be very interested in playing.  Let's just say if Salem has 3 wins at 10 PM tonight I wouldn't be very surprised, that's why I picked the close game.

Plymouth 53 @ Norwich 74.
A Plymouth loss would guarantee* the Panthers a non-winning season for the 5th straight year.  Actually, it's possible the Panthers could still technically finish 15-14, but that would involve sweeping through their remaining games, winning the LEC tournament as the 7 or 8 seed (depening on how many more games Western lost.  I don't think Plymouth can finish higher than 7th since Keene has 4 wins, & they still play Western who has 3 so at least 1 team will finish with 4).  That'll put them into the opening round game of the NCAA tournament 15-13 and so long as they lost that first game they'd end the year 15-14, but I'm trying to be realistic here.  Pretty much only the top 3 have a prayer at winning the conference tournament.

Regis 61 @ Western 57.
Regis has won 9 straight games since starting 4-4 and has NEVER lost an NECC game since coming over from the CCC prior to the 2011-12 season.  Western, meanwhile at 3-6 in the LEC is facing their first losing LEC season since 2006/07 and at 11-7 overall is facing their first losing record since finishing 12-14 in 2004-05.

RIC 40 @ Tufts 68.
This would've been a good game had this been in Providence AND Vandell Andrade was still playing here instead of @ Lemoyne in Syracuse