Zoey Buchan and UW-River Falls denied No. 4 UW-Oshkosh a perfect run through the first half of WIAC play. File photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com |
UW-River Falls upset unbeaten and fourth-ranked UW-Oshkosh on a day when most ranked teams rolled to victory. Elsewhere, No. 6 Whitman downed Linfield with defense and Mass-Dartmouth won a thriller in Lewiston, Maine.
- Saturday scoreboard: Men | Women
- Men: Trine rolls, Wesleyan holds
- Friday: No. 2 Emory marooned at home
- More men’s headlines
- More women’s headlines
The Titans shot 50 percent from the field (13 for 26) and led 33-27 at the break, but the Falcons caught fire in the third quarter, scoring 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting, while holding the Titans to 10 points. The Titans rallied to tie the game twice in the fourth quarter, the last time at 55-all midway through the period. Olivia Hoerl's three-pointer gave River Falls a 58-55 lead, and then the Falcons held the Titans scoreless for two plus minutes. River Falls eventually extended the lead to five with two free throws and iced the game from the line.
Hoerl scored 17 points for River Falls (11-7, 3-4 WIAC), which took care of the ball and only committed five turnovers. Kayce Vaile scored 12 points but was limited by foul trouble to just 19 minutes for Oshkosh (17-1, 6-1 WIAC).
No. 15 UW-Stout pulled even with Oshkosh in the WIAC standings with a 74-53 win at UW-Platteville. Three Blue Devil scorers reached double figures, led by Raegan Sorensen who had 20, as Stout shot 50 percent from the field (27 for 54). The Blue Devils (15-3, 6-1 WIAC) have won 11 of their last 12.
No. 6 Whitman used a dominant defensive performance to down Linfield, 54-45, and keep its perfect record against Division III foes in tact. The Blues trailed 30-20 at the break, but held the Wildcats to 15 points in the second half and just five in the fourth quarter. Korin Baker scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Whitman (16-1, 7-0 NWC), which won despite making two of 15 three-point shots. The Blues now have a three-game lead on Linfield in the NWC.
No. 4 Bowdoin led start to finish in a 61-56 home victory over CBB rival Colby that gives the Polar Bears sole possession of first place in the NESCAC. Bowdoin shot 52 percent from the field and got another excellent all-around performance from All-American Sydney Jones, who finished with 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Colby slips a half-game back of Middlebury and Trinity (Conn.), both of whom won on Saturday, for second place.
No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan scored 50 points in the first half and cruised past Wheaton, 93-57. The Titans (18-0, 9-0 CCIW) shot 54 percent from the floor and scored 34 points off 26 Thunder turnovers. Ava Bardic and Mallory Powers combined for 36 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds and six steals for IWU.
The story was similar in Central Pennsylvania where No. 3 Scranton led Juniata 29-9 after one period and won comfortably, 85-58. All-American Kaci Kranson scored 26 points on 21 field goals attempts in 25 minutes while Meghan Lamanna poured in 24 more for the Lady Royals (17-0, 10-0 Landmark).
A week after losing to Bethel, No. 8 Gustavus Adolphus looked better in a 56-42 win at Concordia-Moorhead, the Gusties’ first in Moorhead in four seasons. Gustavus held the Cobbers to 27 percent shooting with 19 turnovers against nine assists. Syd Hauger paced the Gusties (16-1, 9-1 MIAC) with 16 points.
Lauren Woeste followed Wednesday night's double-double against Coe with another against Central, as Wartburg defeated the Dutch, 70-58, for its 25th straight conference win. Woeste tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Jaedon Murphy scored 18 for the Knights whose last regular season conference loss was Feb. 18, 2023 against Loras.
Mass-Dartmouth stepped out of conference and gritted out an 88-82 overtime win at Bates.
After Mass-Dartmouth took a 74-72 lead on Teja Andrews' three-point play with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter, Bates got a free throw from Sarah Hughes and a layup from Alexandra Long to regain the lead. The Corsairs missed their next shot but Carly Whiteside grabbed the offensive rebound and got fouled. She split two free throws, sending the game to overtime, where Mass-Dartmouth prevailed thanks to six more points from Whiteside. The All-American finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Mass-Dartmouth upped its mark to 15-2.
Bridgewater State went on the road and beat Westfield State, 81-68, to claim first in the tight MASCAC race. After scoring four points in the first period, the Bears errupted for 33 in the second, tying the game at 37 entering the half. Kylie Grassi scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the second half as the Bears pulled away.
Elsewhere...
- SUNY New Paltz scored the final 10 points of its game at Plattsburgh state and improved 10-0 in conference with a 70-61 win in very Upstate New York. Abby Korzekwinski posted a double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) for the Hawks who outscored the Cardinals 42-20 in the paint.
- Whittier got a combined 48 points and 28 rebounds from Rhe Nae Leach and Lorita Salloom, as the Poets topped Cal Lutheran, 72-66. Leach and Salloom scored 18 of Whittier's 21 points in the fourth quarter. Whittier improves to 14-2, 8-0 in the SCIAC.
- The Empire 8 has turned into the Fantastic Four as four teams are tied for first with 8-0 records. Brockport, Nazareth, St. John Fisher and SUNY Geneseo stayed perfect in conference with wins on Saturday and will start to face each other this week with Nazareth at crosstown rival St. John Fisher and SUNY Geneseo hosting former SUNYAC rival Brockport.