|
| Michael Casper scored 25 points for UW-Eau Claire as the Blugolds opened a new season, a new arena and a new coaching regime wiht a win. Photo by Bill Hoepner, UWEC Photography |
UW-Eau Claire opened its new arena with a win over No. 14 Nebraska Wesleyan while No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan finished an impressive weekend at home by blasting No. 2 UW-Platteville. Elsewhere, the Averett men shot the lights out at Maryville and the Redlands women ended No. 17 Transylvania's long regular season winning streak.
- Saturday scoreboard: Men | Women
- Preseason Top 25: Men | Women
- Preseason All-Americans: Men | Women
- ATN: Ready for a second chance
- Eight names to know for D3 WBB
UW-Eau Claire opened the Sonnentag Event Center with a 68-64 win over No. 14 Nebraska Wesleyan. Michael Casper hit seven 3-pointers on his way to 25 points for the Blugolds, who won Zach Malvik’s head coaching debut. Recap
After a close opening 15 minutes, the Titans built an 11-point lead on Mason Funk’s layup and Karlo Colaks’ free throws. Illinois Wesleyan’s lead ballooned to 23 when Marko Anderson’ s layup followed a Hakim Williams’ three-pointer with 13 minutes to play. The Titans cruised the rest of the way.
The Titans dominated inside, outrebounding the Pioneers by 20 and outscoring them in the paint, 56-18. Nick Roper led Illinois Wesleyan (2-0) with 18 points in 27 minutes.
Hood had four starters score double figures and the Blazers topped No. 7 Randolph-Macon in the Yellow Jackets' season-opening tournament. Jevon Yarbrough scored 21 points in 27 minutes, mostly from the foul line where he made 14 of 15 free throw attempts. Jude Huseby added 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals for Hood (2-0).
Averett shot 61 percent from the field and a perfect 25-for-25 from the foul line, and the Cougars surged past No. 20 Maryvillle, 85-79. Davion Bowens posted a double-double (19 points, 15 rebounds) on 8-for-9 shooting from the field and Jamison Graves came off the Averett bench to score 22 points, including 9-for-9 from the line.
On the women's side, Redlands did something no other team had done in several years -- beat Transylvania in the regular season.
AJ Wick notched 13 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, and Redlands defeated the seventeenth-ranked Pioneers, 61-50. Alex Facelo scored 12 points for the Bulldogs (2-0) on four 3-pointers and Redlands outrebounded Transylvania by 15. Outside of the COVID season, Transylvania had not a lost a game in the regular season since February 19, 2020.
Charlotte Twohig sank two free throws with 25 seconds left, and St. Joseph's (L.I.) upset No. 22 SUNY New Paltz, 66-65. The Golden Eagles held the Hawks scoreless for the final 1:56, as SUNY New Paltz missed three potential game-winning layups in the final seven seconds. Isabella Sierra filled the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, and five steals before fouling out for St. Joseph's. The Hawks played without All-American Brianna Fitzgerald.
In a matchup of two Tournament teams from last season, No. 23 Trine pulled away from Wisconsin Lutheran, 60-49. Sidney Wagner scored 20 points and sank eight of nine free throws as the Thunder closed out their first win of the season. No. 16 Catholic also opened the season with a quality win by beating Shenandoah, 67-61. The Cardinals hit 11 three-pointers led by Kerry Flaherty (5-for-10) and Keegan Douglas (4-for-6).