| Kaitlin Langer's career-high 32 points gives St. Thomas control of the MIAC race and puts the Tommies in excellent position to be ranked No. 1 in the regional rankings when they're released next week. File photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com |
St. Thomas took a commanding lead in the MIAC race with a win at Gustavus Adolphus while Mary Washington pulled even with Christopher Newport in the CAC title hunt.
- Wednesday scoreboard: Men | Women
- Wednesday news releases: Men | Women
- Hoopsville marathon (Thursday): No. 8 Mary Washington (12 noon ET) | No. 17 Gustavus Adolphus (4:40 pm ET)
- Men's recap to come
No. 3 St. Thomas defeated No. 17 Gustavus Adolphus 75-69 to take over first place in the MIAC standings and grab the tie-breaker advantage over the Gusties. The Tommies (19-0, 13-0 MIAC) outscored Gustavus Adolphus 22-12 in the second quarter to turn a four-point deficit into a six-point halftime lead. St. Thomas pushed the lead to 13 before the Gusties rallied within one point midway through the fourth quarter. After empty possessions for both teams, Gabby Zehrer made a layup to push the Tommies' lead back to three and Kaitlin Langer made two free throws to make it a two possession game. The Gusties struggled to score down the stretch, making two field goals in the final five minutes, and St. Thomas secured the victory. Recap
Langer matched her career high with 32 points for St. Thomas, which has a one-game lead on Gustavus Adolphus (19-1, 12-1 MIAC) and owns the tiebreaker. This is the only matchup between the two teams in the MIAC's unbalanced schedule.
After Christopher Newport handed Mary Washington its only loss of the season two weeks ago, the Eagles did the same to the Captains tonight. Mary Washington (19-1, 12-1 CAC) led wire-to-wire, despite commiting 26 turnovers that resulted in 32 points for Christopher Newport (19-1, 12-1 CAC). The Eagles shot 50 percent from the field (24-for-48) and 79 percent from the foul line. Brianne Comden's statistics nearly mirrored the team's as whole. Mary Washington's top player scored 26 points on 50 percent shooting from the field (9-for-18) and 80 percent from the foul line. Recap
The losses by Gustavus and Christopher Newport trimmed the list of unbeaten Division III women's teams to six. The other two unbeatens in action on Wednesday night won. No. 6 Ohio Northern topped Baldwin Wallace 68-43 while No. 3 Thomas More crushed Bethany 87-47.
Hope and Calvin played a game worthy of their storied rivalry. The Flying Dutch (19-2, 11-1 MIAA) defeated Calvin 63-55 in overtime to sweep the season series and move a half-game in front of Trine in the MIAA standings. Rachel Warner hit a three-pointer for Calvin (18-3, 9-3 MIAA) with 10 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. No. 10 Hope used an 8-0 run to put the game away, keyed by two baskets apiece for Allison Hedrick and Angelique Gaddy. Box score
No. 14 Scranton continued its puzzling swoon as the Royals dropped their third game in four tries, this time falling at home to Moravian, 87-83. Camille McPherson scored 32 points for the Greyhounds who shot 60 percent from the field (31-for-52). Scranton dropped a half-game behind Moravian for third place in the Landmark. Newly-ranked Catholic, which has a two-game lead on Moravian for first, kept rolling along with a 75-46 win over Goucher. Recap
No. 16 UW-Oshkosh avoided a stumble at UW-Stevens Point and beat the Pointers, 60-55. The Titans outscored the Pointers 27-17 in the decisive third quarter, going five of six from three. No. 19 UW-Whitewater kept pace in the WIAC chase with a 76-59 victory over Platteville. The Warhawks grabbed 56 rebounds, 30 on the offensive glass.
No. 22 Messiah needed a last second free throw to beat Stevenson the first time the teams met. The Falcons won rematch more easily tonight, 52-39, holding the Mustangs to 26 percent shooting. Kaitlin Hoff scored 18 points for Messiah while Sara Tarbert posted 14 points and 19 rebounds for Stevenson.
No. 24 Wheaton (Ill.), which just returned to the Top 25, got clobbered by Carthage, 70-44. The Thunder shot 35 percent (19-for-55), including 2-for-16 from three. Carthage trails Augustana, which edged Elmhurst 85-82 in double-overtime, for the final spot in the CCIW's four-team tournament. Box score
Outside the Top 25, Guilford ended Lynchburg's perfect run through the ODAC. The Quakers jumped out to a 22-9 lead at the end of one period and went on to win, 58-48. Anais Weatherly tallied her ninth double-double of the season. The Hornets (16-4, 10-1 ODAC) still lead Guilford by one in the ODAC standings.
Emily Zgoda set a new program record for points (44) and made threes (13) in a game in Albion's 108-48 win over Olivet. Doreen Carden picked up her 250th career victory for the Britons who led 52-18 at the half.