Bob Heller’s Philly WBB Small College Report - D3 Edition

Guru note: The D2 teams are already in a posted blog below.

By Bob Heller (@Bob_Heller1)

A full slate of games took place in the opening week of 2018 and despite the winter storm that swept through the area on Thursday, just one women’s game was postponed- Bryn Mawr vs. Swarthmore. However over 25 games took place and this week’s notebook is ready to highlight those contests.  

 

Knights and Cavaliers on a roll…

 

The top two teams in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) continued to roll last week as Neumann University picked up two conference wins to remain perfect in league and Cabrini University won its seventh straight game cruising past Keystone College on Saturday after pulling out a come-from-behind overtime win against Elizabethtown College on Wednesday.

 

Neumann improved to 4-0 in CSAC games (9-4 overall) with an 83-42 win over Clark Summit University on Saturday. Kristen Denoncour led the Knights with a double-double, 15 points and 13 rebounds. Lauren Legler hit a trio of three-pointers en route to 13 points. Nafisa Saunders netted 12 and Minika Glenn added 10. Mariah Maciejewski grabbed 15 boards.

 

After a back and forth first quarter, the Knights took control in the second, scoring the first ten points of the period to grab the lead and outscoring the Defenders 31-8 over the ten minute stretch to lead 44-22 at the break.

 

The Knights opened the third quarter on a 17-2 run for a 61- 24 advantage. Neumann continued to build its lead throughout the rest of the half to come away with the 83-42 win.

 

Neumann opened 2018 with a 69-55 win over the Mighty Macs of Immaculata University.  Legler led all scorers with 21 points while Saunders and Glenn netted 18 and 16 respectively.  

 

Amanda Ballinger led Immaculata with 15 points.  Theresa Kearney and Natalie Ayoub chipped in ten points apiece.

 

Maciejewski scored the first basket and the Knights never looked back, opening a quick 8-0 lead and led 14-8 entering the second period. 

 The Mighty Macs battled back to close the gap to three at 22-19 before the Knights came back with a 13-6 run to close the half and hold a 35-25 advantage.

 

The Knights outscored the Mighty Macs 24-13 in the third quarter to build a 59-39 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

 

Immaculata attempted to chip their way back into the game in the fourth quarter, but Neumann used the lead built earlier to come away with the 69-55 win.

 

Cabrini meanwhile remained just a ½ game behind Neumann in the CSAC South standings with a 74-50 win over Keystone College on Saturday, improving to 3-0 in league play.  The win was the Cavaliers’ seventh straight.

 

A trio of freshmen again led the Cavaliers as Lexi Edwards tallied a game high 17 points as she went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc in just 19 minutes of action. Kate Lannon and Ashley Tutzauer knocked down a trio of long balls each, as Lannon finished with 13 points, while Tutzauer finished with 12 points.

 

Cabrini led wire-to-wire opening the game with a 10-2 run and a 24-9 advantage in just the first ten minutes of action.  The Cavs defense took over in the second quarter, holding Keystone to a single field goal (1-14) while the offense extended the lead to 38-14 at the break.

 

Keystone opened the third quarter with a 6-1 flourish cutting the leads to 19 but the Cavs responded with an 11-2 spurt to increase the lead to 50-22 as they cruised to the 24-point win.

 

Three days earlier, the Cavaliers needed overtime to earn a hard-fought 78-77 win against Elizabethtown College.   Meghan Matthews recorded a double-double with season highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds.  Lannon added 21 points.

 

The Cavs held the early lead but E’Town was able to reverse the score with an 11-3 run to take a 20-19 lead before Lannon hit a deep three at the buzzer to put the Cavs up 31-29 at the break.

 

The Blue Jays took a nine point lead into the fourth quarter, outscoring the Cavs 24-15 in third to lead 54-45. A 14-6 Cavs run in the fourth closed the deficit to one and Cabrini was able to keep pace over the next few minutes.  Sabrina Hackendorn tied the game at 63 apiece with 44 seconds left before a pair of free throws put the Blue Jays briefly ahead.  Matthews tied the game with a layup with 30 seconds left to send the contest into overtime.

 

E’Town opened the extra stanza with a 6-2 run to lead by four by the Cavs responded with a pair of Kate King free throws to cut the gap to two  and Matthews then took over, scoring the team’s final six points to give the Cavs the win 78-77.

 

Gwynedd Mercy Rolls over Mighty Macs…

 

Gwynedd Mercy got back on the winning track Saturday with a 63-50 win over Immaculata, evening their record at 6-6 overall and improving to 3-1 as they remain atop the CSAC North standings.

 

Bianca Adams and Susan Bossler led the Griffins with 10 points apiece. Julianna Hoisington and Alison Szyszko added nine points each, with Hoisington pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds.

 

Natalie Ayoub paced the Mighty Macs with 13 points and 11 rebounds while Annie Kohutka and Amber Ballinger added 11 and 10 respectively.

 

The Mighty Macs scored the first eight points of the contest before the Griffins rallied to tie the score at 13-13 before a late layup by Bailey Krewson put the Mighty Macs on top 16-14 after one.

 

The Griffins would rally to take a 33-30lead at the break and used an 18-9 third quarter to take control of the contest and cruise to the 13 point win.

 

…while Rosemont defeats Gwynedd Mercy and Falls to Marywood

 

Rosemont College handed Gwynedd Mercy their first conference loss earlier in the week as the Ravens defense stifled the Griffins offense 65-46.

 

Four Rosemont players scored in double figures led by Ayanna Thompson’s 16 points, which included a 4 of 7 effort from beyond the 3-point line. Jasmyn Parker added 15 points to the cause while Ke'alohilani Naone-Carter scored 12 points.  Shawn Dowd added 10.

Hoisington scored 15 points and grabbed ten rebounds to pace the Griffins. Marisa Sullivan added 13 points.

 

An 11-2 spurt from the Ravens to close out the first quarter gave Rosemont six point lead and doubled the advantage to 12 by halftime. The Griffins got the deficit to just four midway in the third quarter, but the Ravens used a 12-3 run which led into the fourth to keep a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

 

Rosemont followed the win with a 76-59 loss to Marywood University, dropping the Ravens record 8-5.  Parker scored 19 points to lead Rosemont while Leilani Naone-Carter added 12 points and Ke'alohilani Naone-Carter chipped in 11.

 

Five ties and four lead changes highlighted the first two quarters as the two teams battled before Marywood took control and opened an eight point lead at the break. 

 The Rosemont offense went cold in the second half shooting just 28% as Marywood pulled away, opening a double digit lead which they maintained for all but the final seconds of the third quarter when the Ravens cut the lead to eight.

 

Arcadia Gets First MAC wins of Season

Meanwhile in the MAC Commonwealth, Arcadia won its first two conference games of the season defeating Hood College 73-58 on Saturday and rolling over Alvernia 63-19 on Wednesday.

 

Against Hood, four players reached double figures led by Taylor Dunn’s 23 points. Sydney Cyr added 17.  Taylor Fritz (10 points, 12 rebounds) and Camille Menns (12 points, 14 rebounds) recorded double doubles and rounded out the Arcadia double figure scorers.

 

The Knights limited Hood to just four first quarter points as they led the game wire-to-wire scoring the first ten points, opening up a double digit lead and increasing the lead to as many as 23 points three times in the second quarter.

 

The lead ballooned to 28 in the third quarter and Hood rallied in the fourth but could not bring the lead below double digits only coming as close as 13 points.

 

Against Alvernia, the Knights built a 33-10 first half lead, limiting Alvernia to just three field goals as they turned in one of their best defensive performances of the season with a 63-19 win.

Courtney Hoffman had a career-high 16 points while Dunn and Menns added 10 points apiece.  Menns also pulled down 13 rebounds to record a double-double.

 

Widener Goes 1-1 on the Week

Widener University was the only other area MAC school to earn a win last week, cruising to a 74-38 non-conference win over Penn State Brandywine.  

 

Allison Gallagher led the Pride with 13 points, Tatiana Pleasant added a career high 10 points.  All ten players scored for Widener with nine of the ten scoring six or more points. Each player also grabbed at least two rebounds.

 

Despite a slow first quarter, Widener picked up the pace in the second quarter and went ahead by 10 or more on two occasions. Pleasant connected on a layup with 1:43 on the clock to put Widener ahead 26-16 before Nikki Petri sank all three free throws after being fouled from behind the arc to end the half.

Widener carried over the momentum into the third quarter, outscoring the Lions by 12 points. The lead ballooned up to 21 with a two-point play from Ireland to make it 42-21 with 6:33 on the board. The sophomore then knocked down another basket ahead of the buzzer to give the Pride a 53-29 cushion at the end of the third and more than enough assurance to run away with their third straight victory.

 

Following the Widener win, the Pride dropped their MAC contest against nationally ranked Messiah College on Saturday, 59-45.  Devon Rimmer paced the Pride with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

 

Widener was in control in the first quarter jumping out to a 14-9 lead before Messiah took back the lead with an 8-0 run in the second quarter and held a 27-22 advantage at halftime.

 

The Pride hung tough and regained the lead at 35-33 on Pleasant’s layup in the third quarter. Messiah came back to take a two point lead after three quarters but Widener continued to stay in the game, retaking the lead two minutes into the fourth quarter, 44-43 on a Gallagher three pointer.  Messiah then finished the game on a 16-1 run to come away with the win.

 

Haverford Triumphant in Centennial Action

 

Haverford College was the lone area Centennial Conference squad to earn a win last week recording a 54-40 win over Dickinson.  The Fords improved to 8-2 overall and 5-1in conference play with the win.

 

The Fords never trailed in their return from a 28 day layoff over the holidays and jumped all over the Red Devils at the start of the second half as they led by as many of 24 points late in the third quarter.

Samantha Wetzel and Sierra Berkel both recorded double-doubles for the Fords in the Centennial Conference win.

 Berkel led the charge offensively in the third quarter, scoring 13 of her game-high 20 points during that period on 5-of-6 shooting from the field while also making each of her three free throws. She also finished the game with 12 rebounds.

 Wetzel led Haverford with 13 rebounds to go along with her 14 points. She scored eight of those points in the first quarter when the Fords jumped out to a 17-9 advantage after 10 minutes of play. In addition to her defensive presence on the boards, Wetzel blocked six of Dickinson's shot attempts.

 

Over the River to New Jersey We Go

 

We move across the river to New Jersey where Rowan University, Rutgers-Camden and The College of New Jersey all went 2-0 last week.  

 

Rowan University dispatched Kean College 91-65 and also earned a win in the NJAC standings due to the cancellation of their game with New Jersey City University.

  Rutgers-Camden also defeated Kean, 80-70 and won against Ramapo 76-68.  The College of New Jersey also defeated Ramapo 74-56 and earned a win against William Patterson 72-46.

 

Back to the Rowan/NJCU contest - The cancellation of the contest will not affect either team's overall record but will be recorded as a New Jersey Athletic Conference win for the Profs for standings purposes.

 The game was cancelled because the Gothic Knights are being disciplined in the aftermath of an incident during and after its game with York College (NY) on Dec. 13.

 

April Szymczyk had a career night with 25 points and 19 rebounds as Rowan defeated Kean 91-65.  Alex Raring added 23 points while Dominique Peters chipped in 15 points.

 

A 14-0 first quarter run by the Profs erased an early Kean lead and put Rowan in control with a 20-11 advantage after one quarter.  Kean shaved three points off the lead in the second quarter the teams hit the break with Rowan hit the break leading 37-31.

 

Rowan pushed the lead to 45-31 before Kean ran off 12 straight points to close within two 45-43.  A 17-4 run by the Profs put Rowan in firm control by the end of the third quarter 69-54.  Rowan continued to widen the gap into the fourth period coming away with the 26 point win.  

 

The Rutgers-Camden/Kean contest was a bit closer as the Scarlet Raptors prevailed 80-70.

Gabby Greene broke the Raptors’ career record for three-pointers, hitting seven threes en route to a 30-point performance.  Her seven three point field goals give her 175 for her career, breaking the old mark of 172 set by Alex Gravinese (2012-15).

 

Michelle Obasi added 21 points while Cara Racobaldo added 13 points and seven rebounds.

 

There were three lead changes in the opening three minutes before Greene’s first three-ball of the game gave the Scarlet Raptors the lead for good. Rutgers Camden then built the lead to double digits in the second quarter and as high as 20 in the third before Kean closed the gap at the end.

 

The Scarlet Raptors needed overtime earlier in the week to defeat Ramapo 76-68.  Racobaldo led four players in double figures with 18 points while Greene and Obasi chipped in 15 apiece.  Shane Holmes added ten points.

Playing from behind most of the night, the Scarlet Raptors rallied from a seven point fourth quarter deficit to force the overtime and then took control in the extra stanza outscoring the Roadrunners 17-9 to earn the win. Greene and Racobaldo combined for nine of their team’s 17 points in the overtime session.

 

The College of New Jersey also defeated Ramapo, earning a 74-56 win on Saturday, pushing their win streak to five games.  Nikki Schott led the Lions with 20 points.  

 

TCNJ improves to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in NJAC games.

 

The Lions used an 8-1 run in the first quarter to take control of the game and led by three as the period ended.  The second quarter was all TCNJ as they outscored the Roadrunners 26-6 to lead 45-22 at the break.  

TCNJ increased their lead to as many as 27 in the second half before the Roadrunners attempted a comeback in the final quarter, closing within 13 before the Lions closed out the game.

 

The Lions also recorded a 74-46 win over William Patterson earlier in the week. Shannon Devitt led the Lions with 16 points.  Schott added 12 points.

 

TCNJ outscored the Pioneers in all four quarters and opened a 33-19 lead.  The Pioneers cut the lead to single digits in the third quarter before the Lions roared back and pushed their lead to 15, 53-38 by quarter’s end and pulled away in the fourth quarter.

 

Back in the MAC

 

Moving back into Pennsylvania and the MAC; Eastern University and Delaware Valley University went 0-2 last week, with both teams losing to DeSales and Kings College.

 

On Wednesday, Eastern dropped their MAC Freedom opener to DeSales, 76-68. Amanda Riiff led the team with 23 points while Regie Roberson and Taylor Price chipped in 14 and 13 points respectively.

 

Kings then defeated the Eagles on Saturday 48-41 with Price notching 19 of the team’s 41 points.  Robinson had ten.  Briana young-Harris led the team with nine rebounds.

 

Delaware Valley did not have much success against DeSales and King’s as well.  The Aggies opened the week with a 65-51 loss to Kings.

  Danielle Skedzielewski led DVU with 15 points.  Amber Grohowski and Ashley Smink added 14 and 12 points respectively. Grohowski also had a team-high eight rebounds as did Lauren Moretti.

 

Saturday’s game against DeSales was closer but the Aggies came up on the short end of the score, 60-55.  Smink led the team with 18 points while Monika Smallwood chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds.

 

Elsewhere in the Centennial Conference

 

In the Centennial Conference last week, Bryn Mawr College saw action losing to McDaniel 64-29 while Ursinus College lost to Johns Hopkins 68-39.  Swarthmore dropped a game to Gettysburg, 83-38.

 

Abigail Pirron led Swarthmore in the loss to Gettysburg with ten points. Isabelle Iwart grabbed six rebounds.  

 

Lydia Konstanzer had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bears against Johns Hopkins.  Ursinus was unable to get any consistency shooting and finished the game shooting 25% (16-64).

 

Halena Martin and Cleo Elizabeth-Rober combined for 17 of the Owls 29 points in the loss to McDaniel with Martin scoring nine and Elizabeth-Rober eight.  Bryn Mawr remains winless on the season at 0-10.

 

Weather forced postponement of Thursday’s Bryn Mawr-Swarthmore game which will be rescheduled at a later time.