| Aleah Grundahl had a good night and got some help, and UW-Whitewater beat Calvin in its season opener. File photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com |
On a night when many Division III men's basketball games were exhibitions, the women's teams at UW-Whitewater, Baldwin Wallace and Babson made statements in their first games of the new season.
- Tuesday men's scoreboard
- Tuesday women's scoreboard
- More headlines: Men | Women
No. 18 UW-Whitewater showed its offensive balance as the Warhawks got 29 points from its starting front court and 27 from its starting back court in a 70-60 win over visiting Calvin. UW-Whitewater took a 23-13 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a 13-0 run to close that period and then held serve with Calvin the rest of the way. Gabby Timmer, who was the 2019 national Rookie of the Year, dazzled in the post with 28 points and 19 rebounds for Calvin. Aleah Grundahl scored 19 points and Veronica Kieres had a double-double for the Warhawks.
No. 21 Baldwin Wallace held Case Western Reserve to two field goals against seven turnovers in the fourth quarter, and the Yellow Jackets pulled away from the Spartans, 72-59. Case Western Reserve led 50-42 with under two minutes to play in the third quarter but Baldwin Wallace didn't allow another field goal until the closing minutes of the game. All-American Lilly Edwards posted 22 points and 12 rebounds, including eight offensive boards, for the Yellow Jackets.
No. 11 Wheaton (Ill) fell behind early at Benedictine before rallying to win its opener, 60-53. Wheaton erased an 11-point deficit midway through the second quarter with a 15-2 run capped by Ana Mooney's three pointer. Benedictine hung tough and briefly regained the lead on Alex Fanning's layup at the end of the third period. Wheaton went back in front early in the fourth period and got four points late from Caroline Sikkink to seal the win. Annie Tate had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Wheaton while Fanning countered with 16 points and 15 rebounds for Benedictine.
Shomaria Overton had a big night on offense for Belhaven, but it was her defense that clinched the Blazers' 56-54 win over No. 25 Millsaps. The Majors had the ball and a chance to tie or take the lead with 11 seconds left in the game when Overton knocked the ball loose, denying Millsaps a final shot. Overtone finished with 27 points and eight rebounds for Belhaven, which went 6-12 last season.
Bill Broderick picked up his 200th win in comfortable fashion when No. 20 Christopher Newport blasted Bridgewater (Va.), 109-59. The Captains' chaos defense was in mid-season form, convering 41 Bridgewater turnovers into 52 points and allowing just 18 field goals.
Babson hit seven 3-pointers and outrebounded Eastern Connecticut 50-38 in a 67-60 victory over the Warriors. Anika Chinthakunta scored 15 points and Samantha Smith grabbed 18 rebounds for the Beavers. King's got 27 points from Emily Morano and 27 more from Samantha Razja, and the Monarchs outlasted Gywnedd Mercy, 112-103. The teams combined for 157 field goal attempts and 64 free throws.
On the men's side, several Division I basketball teams opened the seasons with games against Division III opponents that don't count for our teams but do for the Division I schools. Most of those exhibitions produced lopsided losses, though Birmingham-Southern hung with Lipscomb before falling, 105-98.
In the games that counted, the four ranked teams in action all won by double digits. Nick Bowman scored 26 points and Trine took care of Manchester, 82-71. After a close first half, No. 10 Elmhurst downed Kalamazoo 78-58 thanks to 28 points from Jake Rhode. No. 16 Dubuque, which went 14-0 last season, started this season 1-0 with a 68-52 victory over Blackburn.
The most exciting finish of the night happened in Upstate New York where Pitt-Bradford edged Houghton 79-77 in overtime. The teams were locked at 77 apiece in the closing minutes until Nathan Schneider's jumper with two seconds left lifted the Panthers to victory. Schneider finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds.