Virginia is for upset lovers

More news about: Baldwin Wallace | Bridgewater (Va.) | Gettysburg | Southern Virginia
Dec 04, 2024
It was a Knight to remember for Southern Virginia which knocked off No. 8 Christopher Newport
Photo by Southern Virginia University athletics

Southern Virginia and Bridgewater (Va.) knocked off Top 10 teams, while No. 12 Gettysburg won the battle of ranked Central Pennsylvania teams and Cheri Harrer reached a major milestone at Baldwin Wallace in Wednesday night’s Division III women’s basketball action.

Bridgewater (Va.) held No. 6 Washington and Lee to 25 percent shooting, and the Eagles beat the Generals, 63-49, in an early battle of undefeated ODAC teams. Bridgewater led from start to finish and pulled away in the fourth quarter when the Eagles held the Generals to three field goals. Jay Garcia opened the game with a three and finished it with 26 points and 13 rebounds for Bridgewater (8-0, 2-0 ODAC). Mary Schleusner posted 14 points and 20 rebounds for Washington and Lee (5-1, 1-1 ODAC).

Southern Virginia closed its game against No. 8 Christopher Newport on a 6-0 run and rallied past the Captains, 69-65. With the game tied at 63, Elizabeth Creed sank two free throws to briefly give the Captains a two-point lead. Abigail Snyder answered with a game-tying layup for the Knights and then Maria Savvun scored the final four points for Southern Virginia.

Southern Virginia had two starters foul out and turned the ball over 24 times against the Captains Chaos defense, but the Knights outscored CNU 21-6 from three. Ruth Kempler had 15 points and 15 rebounds for Southern Virginia (6-2).

No. 12 Gettysburg used tough defense and strong play inside to sink No. 21 Messiah, 61-47, in a showdown between ranked Central Pennsylvania teams. After a close first half, the Bullets held the Falcons to nine field goals in the second half and outscored them 18-9 in the final period. Gettysburg (8-0) held Messiah to five assists against 15 turnover and outscored the Falcons by 12 in the paint.

Mary Hardin-Baylor knocked off Trinity (Texas) for the second time this season, this time topping the Tigers 80-65 in Abilene. Adyson James racked up 28 points and 14 rebounds for the Crusaders (5-1) who had more offensive rebounds (30) than Trinity had total rebounds (29). Mary Hardin-Baylor also beat Trinity in San Antonio in the season opener.

DePauw drew first blood in what figures to be a tight NCAC race, as the Tigers downed Denison 75-65 in both teams’ conference opener. The Big Red led by six midway through the fourth quarter but DePauw closed the game on an 18-2 run. Riley Mont led three Tigers in double-figure scoring with 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for DePauw (4-3, 1-0 NCAC).

No. 19 Baldwin-Wallace also started conference play on the right foot. The Yellow Jackets topped Ohio Northern on the road, 51-44, in a game where both teams struggled to score. Baldwin Wallace shot 29 percent from the field (14 for 48) but hit seven 3-pointers while Ohio Northern shot 31 percent from the field (17 for 55) and missed all 14 of its three-point attempts.

With the victory, Baldwin Wallace head coach Cheri Harrer becomes the all-time winningest coach in OAC basketball history, passing former Capital head coach Dixie Jeffers with her 693rd win. Recap

The two undefeated teams in the OAC stayed that way by winning their conference openers. John Carroll took care of Mount Union 71-58 behind Ava Ryncarz’s double-double. Capital defeated Heidelberg 75-62 and upped its record to 5-0.

Coast Guard edged regional rival Trinity (Conn.) 78-77 in overtime and improved its record to 6-1. Julia Mann notched a double-double (21 points, 10 rebounds) for the Bears who forced overtime by outscoring the Bantams 27-9 in the fourth quarter.

On a day in which reports about the future of the school swirled through social media, Keystone dropped a pair of heartbreakers at home. On the women’s side, Keystone fell behind 51-43 with eight minutes to play and the Giants’ rally fell just short in a 51-49 loss.

Bryn Mawr came painfully close to ending its long conference losing streak before falling to Muhlenberg 73-66 in overtime. Jessica Smith powered Bryn Mawr with 27 points and 10 rebounds but the Mules got 57 points combined from Veronica Dawson, Lyndsey Costigan and Katie McGrath. Bryn Mawr has not won a conference game since beating Haverford 50-46 on February 12, 2008, a streak that now spans 237 losses and 12 seasons excluding the ones in which Bryn Mawr did not participate in Centennial Conference play. The Owls will play at Haverford on Jan. 11.