|
| Abby Quinn scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, as No. 6 Bowdoin finished a 2-0 week against its CBB rivals. File photo by Bowdoin College athletics |
No. 6 Bowdoin completed a sweep of its CBB rivals by beating No. 19 Colby while Chicago worked overtime to knock off No. 25 Calvin on the road in Saturday’s Division III women’s basketball. Meanwhile, the Men’s Top 25 rankings could be headed toward another overhaul after a Saturday slate chock-full of upsets.
After a low-scoring first half, Bowdoin heated up on offense and pulled away from Colby at home, 53-42. The teams combined for 36 points in the first half, but the Polar Bears shot 50 percent in the third quarter and closed that period on a 9-0 run that put them in front, 47-36. Abby Quinn scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the fourth quarter, sealing the Polar Bears’ sixth win of the season.
Saturday’s win gives Bowdoin a 2-0 advantage on Colby and Bates, whom the Polar Bears defeated 77-70 in double overtime on Thursday. Colby, which lost to Bates on Tuesday, slipped to 5-2. The three teams will meet again during NESCAC play later in the season.
Chicago went 17-for-17 from the foul line and scored its first road win over a Top 25 team since 2019, as the Maroons topped No. 25 Calvin, 73-65, in overtime. Calvin erased a five-point deficit in the closing minutes of regulation, but Kate Gross’ jumper gave Chicago a two-point lead midway through the extra period, and the Maroons shut out the Knights the rest of the way.
The rest of the Top 25 was victorious, mostly by large margins. No. 3 UW-Oshkosh followed Friday night’s defensive masterpiece at Linfield by defeating Pacific, 51-39. The Titans (7-0) have held four of their last five opponents below 40 points.
After playing its first six games on the road, Coe finally got a home game and made the most of it. The Kohawks beat defending ARC champs Wartburg, 65-51, in a meeting between the teams picked 1-2 in the preseason conference poll. Caydee Kirkham tallied 20 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in 40 minutes for Coe (6-1, 2-0 ARC).
The HCAC also had a Saturday showdown between the top two teams in its preseason poll, and Transylvania defended its perch atop the conference once again, this time beating Mount St. Joseph, 60-54. The Pioneers (5-2, 2-0 HCAC) got outrebounded and shot a lower percentage from the field, the foul line and the three-point line, but they also scored 18 points off 19 Lions’ turnovers. Transylvania is 66-1 in conference since the start of the 2021-22 season.
The MIAC race looks exciting after Saturday’s results left an unusual foursome of teams atop the standings.
St. Mary’s (Minn.) outlasted Gustavus Adolphus, 83-73, in double overtime behind 24 points in 46 minutes from Brianna Nusbaum. St. Scholastica cruised past Carlton, 85-56, and joins the Cardinals, No. 20 Bethel (66-45 winners at St. Catherine) and Concordia-Moorhead (77-64 winners at St. Benedict) in a fourway tie in the early conference standings.
Gettysburg shook off a slow start and a three-game losing streak, and the Bullets blew past Franklin and Marshall, 62-41. Gettysburg shot 57 percent from the field and outscored the Diplomats, 20-5, in the third quarter. Reagan Chrencik posted a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) for Gettysburg (4-4, 1-0 Centennial) while Lizzie Neville had 14 points and nine boards for F&M (7-2, 1-1 Centennial).
Jackie Funk scored a career-high 26 points and Cortland cooled off SUNY Canton, 61-48, in Central New York. The reserves for the Red Dragons (5-2, 2-0 SUNYAC) outscored the Kangaroo reserves, 16-0. Sierra Pabo had 20 points for SUNY Canton (8-1, 1-1 SUNYAC).
How upsetting: Celts, Cards knock off ranked foes
| Nathan Kongolo and St. Thomas had the upper hand in the Celts' 66-53 win over No. 15 Trinity (Texas) on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Mike Tollestrup |
St. Thomas shot 55 percent from the field and topped No. 15 Trinity (Texas), 66-53, in Houston. The Celts (6-1) outscored the Tigers 40-18 in the paint and got 16 points from Reyce Allen on 7-for-9 shooting.
St. Thomas, which narrowly missed upsetting Division I UTEP and only has a one-point loss at No. 4 WashU, is poised to break into the Top 25 rankings, thanks in part to their fellow Texans. Mary Hardin-Baylor edged No. 25 Whitworth, 92-90, behind a 60-point second half. The Crusaders (4-3) shot 54 percent in the second half and outrebounded the Pirates 50-38. Hudson Johnson paced the Cru with 25 points in 34 minutes.
No. 11 Calvin ripped off a 29-0 run in the first half and zipped past No. 17 UW-Oshkosh, 89-52, in Grand Rapids. The Knights held the Titans scoreless for more than 10 minutes and led comfortably the rest of the way. Five players reached double figures for Calvin (5-1), including Trevor Winkles (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Jalen Overway (14 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists).
North Central shut down No. 10 Illinois Wesleyan in the second half, and the Cardinals picked up a much needed win at home, 68-57. The Cardinals held the Titans to 19 percent shooting in the second half, as IWU went 1-for-16 from three. That opened the door for North Central to rally for its second win of the season, thanks to 17 points from Tre Davis and a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) from Alejandro Diaz.
Kean improved to 3-0 in conference and handed No. 19 TCNJ its second conference loss of the week, as the Cougars held off the Lions, 68-64. Daniel Dextraze posted 25 points and 11 rebounds for Kean, which improved to 5-2, 3-0 in the NJAC despite shooting 1-for-11 from three.
The top of the poll should be quieter since the top three teams in action won.
After winning a nailbiter on Wednesday night, top-ranked Trinity (Conn.) had a much easier time at home against Babson. The Bantams blasted the Beavers, 77-44, behind dominant defense. Trinity held Babson to 28 percent shooting and 18 turnovers, and Jarrell Okorougo poured in 27 points for the Bantams (7-0).
No. 2 Randolph-Macon completed an impressive opening week in the ODAC when the Yellow Jackets followed up Wednesday’s victory over No. 8 Hampden-Sydney with a 66-61 home win over No. 14 Roanoke. Jabril Robinson had another big game for the Yellow Jackets, scoring 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, and RMC (6-0, 2-0 ODAC) outscored the Maroons 18-2 from the foul line.
Connor May scored a career-high 28 points, and No. 4 Washington U. held off crosstown rival Webster, 84-79. The Gorloks led by 15 at the half, but WashU shot 67 percent and hit eight 3-pointers in the second half.
Hampden-Sydney guard Travis Stickney was fouled on his three-point attempt with 0.8 seconds left, and he sank two of three free throws to lift No. 8 Hampden-Sydney over Eastern Mennonite, 64-62. Stickney also scored the game-tying basket on a layup with 8 seconds left and then had a chance to win the game after Santana Lynch swiped the ball on the ensuing EMU possession. Peter Moye scored a career-high 26 points for the Tigers (5-2, 1-1 ODAC).