Near that very spot on the Batten Center floor, sophomore Ton Ton Balenga hit a three to beat Lincoln in the Sweet 16 and help Virginia Wesleyan get to the Final Four. DJ Woodmore, above, is aware of the history and hopes to help repeat it. Virginia Wesleyan athletics photo

A lot like Ton Ton Balenga did as a sophomore six seasons ago when Virginia Wesleyan clipped down the nets in Salem, another second-year standout is embracing the heightened expectations that come with wearing a Marlins jersey entering March.

Unlike other players and programs who speak in vague generalities in terms of goals, DJ Woodmore and his teammates dare to be great. On his profile on the Marlins' roster page, he shines the spotlight on himself when asked about what he envisions for himself, his team, as though the ball were in his capable hands with time whittling down:

“To lead the team to a national championship.”

A bold declaration, for sure, but No. 7 Virginia Wesleyan embraces standards at a different level.

“Honestly, playing for a coach like Coach (Dave) Macedo,” Woodmore said, “standards are the biggest thing for us.”

This is why, instead of taking his talents elsewhere – his others suitors included Division I William & Mary and one of the Marlins' Old Dominion Athletic Conference rivals, Randolph-Macon – Woodmore decided to stay local. He saw Balenga calmly and willingly can the three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left that ultimately delivered the 2006 Division III national championship.

Most importantly, he saw himself doing the same someday.

“I just wanted to go to a program where winning was the No. 1 goal,” Woodmore said. “Going to a program where every year you're going to compete, going to be in the Top 25 every year, and to be able to compete in practice against other players who are going to push you. Great players love playing with other great players.”

There are great players at other programs, sure, but few places in Division III have established the culture of success Macedo did since taking over 12 winters ago. The standards, the expectations, began before Balenga's big shot, but have increased since then, which explains why the Marlins again rank among next month's national championship contenders.

“Once you've done it, you want to do it again. It gives you credibility,” Macedo said. “But at the same time you have to have a lot of good fortune. ...

“From a recruiting standpoint, everybody wants to play for the ultimate prize and the ultimate goal,” Macedo continued. “But they know they're going to have to be playmakers and make it happen and have some luck.”

Luck ran out on the Marlins in last year's Sweet 16 against Final Four participant Williams, but Macedo found a playmaker in the 6-3 Woodmore, who shoots better than 47 percent from the floor and nearly 39 percent from beyond the arc while averaging 17.0 points per outing.

Best of all, the final pressure-packed moments of a game are small moments for the sophomore, who wants the opportunity to deliver again and again until it helps Virginia Wesleyan clip down the nets again in Salem.

And not just this weekend in the ODAC tournament, starting with Friday night's quarterfinals against Washington and Lee. But sometime late next month, six years from when another sophomore lifted the Marlins to the top of the Division III basketball world.

Just like his program, Woodmore embraces the expectations.

“Coach tells me I have to be one of those go-to guys and I have to demand my team's confidence,” Woodmore said. “As long as I have that, I'll continue to play well.

“Com here, I knew there were go to be expectations,” he continued. “I wanted it. I wanted the ball in the last seconds of the game. That's the biggest thing. As long as we're winning, I'm fine with it.”

And as for his team entering this weekend, the first step toward the stated goal of a national championship?

“I don't think any team can beat us except for ourselves,” Woodmore said.

Let's be honest: What coach doesn't love knowing his players are so confident?

“Expectations are good in a lot of ways because it means you have a good team,” Macedo said. “Hopefully we can keep knocking on the door.”

Fifield wins 600th, looking for more

When we spoke with Gary Fifield about winning his 600th game as the Southern Maine women's basketball team's bench boss, we kind of figured he might be a bit self-deprecating about the milestone considering all coaches compare themselves to dinosaurs when asked how they feel afteward.

Of course, the sixth-ranked coach in all-time Division III victories did not disappoint.

“I guess it means I've been coaching forever,” Fifield said with a hearty laugh. He is 600-111 in 24 years.

“Certainly it's a great milestone. I guess what's really more impressive is that you've done that in 24 years, so that's averaging 25 wins a year – which is all you can schedule in the regular season. I think that, in terms of looking at won-loss percentage during that time at 84 or 85 percent or whatever it is (.843), you've got to be in this business a long time to get that many wins.

“And you have to have some very good players and very good assistants along the way to help you. Yeah, you've been the one constant, but there's a lot of other people involved in the process.”

This season, the process has helped Fifield compile yet another 20-win season behind one of his most balanced teams. While senior center Courtney Cochran (18.1 ppg, 11.1 rpg) dominates down low, junior forward Haley Jordan (15.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg) is essentially a guard playing the “4”. And senior guard Nicole Garland (12.9 ppg) is canning nearly 45 percent of her three-point tries.

Combined with several capable role players, Southern Maine is sitting somewhere on the bubble entering this weekend's Little East Tournament despite being ranked fifth in the Northeast Region and having gone 6-3 against regionally ranked opponents. Win both games starting with Friday's tip-off against Keene State, and Fifield will have 602 victories and the Huskies will have no worries come Selection Monday.

“I think that our body of work with our strength of schedule, how we've done against regionally ranked opponents – if we get to the conference finals, I think we have a great chance of getting in,” Fifield said. “If we don't get to the conference finals, it's a little more iffy.”

Vassar women no longer a surprise

The element of surprise Vassar brought into last season's Liberty League tournament is gone, replaced by a reigning champion's expectations. After slogging through a 56-51 semifinal victory Wednesday at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Brewers will now face a St. Lawrence squad that went undefeated in league play Saturday for the right to repeat.

Last March, Vassar saw its name penciled into an Division III NCAA Tournament bracket for the first time, but lasted just 40 minutes before bowing in the first round against Kean. However, the Brewers began their unlikely run by beating St. Lawrence in the Liberty League tourney semifinals.

“We set our goals in October, not just to get to NCAA's but to win a game in the NCAA's,” third-year head coach Candice Brown said. “We are definitely hoping to win on Saturday and give St. Lawrence a run for their money.”

This is a different Vassar team not only in terms of expectations. Instead of the nine players on her roster last year, Brown can draw from the talents of 14 student-athletes after uncovering several finds on the recruiting trail.

Among the newcomers, 6-0 forward Colleen O'Connell (8.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg) already set the school single-game record for rebounding by snaring 21 caroms against William Smith on Feb. 19 – this after grabbing 19 against Clarkson on Jan. 28. Meanwhile, rookie guards Myah Berg and Michaela Janowski have emerged as effective role players.

They add to a core that includes D3hoops.com Preseason Second Team All-American Brittany Parks (11.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.1 apg) and sophomore Cydni Matsuoka (15.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.5 apg), both of whom earned First Team All-Liberty League honors.

“The biggest thing is in increasing the numbers, we have more options,” said Brown, a former D3hoops.com All-American at Marymount.

This newfound depth could serve Vassar well Saturday despite suffering a pair of regular-season setbacks against St. Lawrence. Despite the losses, Brown was optimistic about the Brewers' transition game against the Saints.

“I think that's go to be important for us on Saturday,” Brown said.

Becker men eyeing a new first

When he first arrived at Becker, back when the Hawks were fighting a difficult fight for respect against established area powers like Clark and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Terrance Favors hesitated to wear his team's sweatshirt. He can look back on those days and laugh now. Especially since Becker, a year after making its first March Madness appearance and winning its first-ever NCAA game, went undefeated in the NECC and sit just two victories from capturing their first conference tournament championship.

Short of cutting down the nets next month in Salem, Va., this is the biggest thing Favors and his program have yet to accomplish. Becker went 16-0 in conference play last year, but lost to Elms in last year's tournament final before earning an at-large invitation.

“This is exciting to be here again,” Favors said. “We have a chance to redeem ourselves and take the games one by one. We had so much fun last year being at the NCAA's.”

Another at-large invitation is a tenuous prospect for the Hawks considering that, despite their undefeated run through the NECC, they are ranked 11th in the latest NCAA Northeast Region rankings.

“We know that it's a new season,” senior forward Rajai Leggett said. “We know if we lose, we're done. We just want to get out there, play our game and win the conference tournament for the first time.”

If Favors (17.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.8 apg) and Leggett (14.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg) have yet to hoist a conference tournament title trophy, they are the most prolific duo in the NECC. Favors ranks fourth all-time with 1,592 points entering Friday's semifinal game against Newbury, while Leggett's 1,436 tallies are good for fifth.

Furthermore, Leggett's 814 rebounds and Favors' 357 assists make them each the school's standardbearers in those categories.

Provided Becker can turn back Newbury in the semifinals, the Hawks could face an Elms squad that has earned the last three NECC crowns with a shot not only at redemption, but also to return to the NCAA tournament.