NCAC

[David Collinge]

That's a shame, Misc.  I hope Oberlin is able to round up some more players and get through the season.  

On the brighter side, Hiram's women opened their season with two convincing wins.  I don't know anything about the strength of their opposition (Wilson and Trinity of DC), but two wins for the team picked to finish 9th is definitely a good start.  Allegheny (vs. Alfred & Marietta) and Kenyon (Anderson and ONU) also opened their campaigns 2-0 this weekend.  Everyone else (except the Yeowomen) opened up spitting a pair.

On the strength of their performance in the Nan Nichols Classic, Albion enters the top 25 poll at #24 this week.  No NCAC teams received any votes again this week.

[Miscellaneous]

Wow, go Hiram.  I've seen them play against the Lady Crimson quite a few times and they've never put up any type of fight.  It'll be nice to see a fresh team fighting for some top place honors.  Hopefully Hiram can keep the momentum going.

[David Collinge]

Kenyon moves to 3-0, defeating Bethany 66-46 tonight.  Way to go, Ladies!  

Defending champion Wittenberg drops to 1-2 with a 72-62 loss to defending OAC champ Baldwin-Wallace.

Washington & Jefferson upends Allegheny 57-54.  I saw W&J play this weekend against Pitt-Bradford (unfortunately I missed their loss to Albion).  They have a dominating player in Leigh Sulkowski, but otherwise they looked less than their preseason ranking (#25) would suggest.  It would have been a nice win for the Gators, however.  Allegheny falls to 2-1.

Denison downs Thiel 65-43 to run their record to 2-1.

[David Collinge]

Misc., and anyone else who might be lurking out there (especially you, Witt4Ever), I'm headed out of town for the holiday and don't plan to be posting until next Monday at the earliest.  So good luck to all NCAC teams this week, and have a happy, healthy, hearty Thanksgiving my friend(s)!

[Pat Coleman]

Wilson was ranked 404 out of 411 last year in the Massey Ratings. Trinity DC was 379.

[Miscellaneous]

Even though you probably won't see this until you get back, Happy Holidays, DC - and anyone else out there who reads this thread.

Congrats to the Yeowomen on picking up win #1.  Just when I had given up hope, Oberlin picks up an impressive win over Blufton.

[David Collinge]

Wooster knocks off Allegheny, 63-59, to open their NCAC slate.  I had a good feeling about this game, and I think it confirms that the Scots can compete for the title this year.  Unfortunately I couldn't attend, thanks to the flu that I brought back from New Jersey with me.  With Michelle Hall out nursing a tender ankle, Carly Loehrke led the Scots with 18 pts. and 13 rebounds.  Courtney Steding also had a double-double for the Gators, with 10 pts. and 12 caroms.

[David Collinge]

Wittenberg drops to 1-4 by losing to Denison 63-59.  Although they've played a tough non-conference schedule (losses to Howard Payne, B-W and #5 Capital), 1-4 is a slow start by any measure.  Plus, they're now 0-1 in the conference, and ran the table last year.  

Kenyon stays unbeaten (4-0) by squeezing past Earlham 61-59.  OWU downs Oberlin 77-67; any info on that game, Misc?  Seems closer than expected.  Kenyon, Denison, OWU, and Wooster share the early conference lead at 1-0, with Hiram yet to play a conference game.

(Message edited by dcollinge on December 2, 2004)

[David Collinge]

Wooster drops out of the conference lead group, dropping an ugly 50-45 decision to unbeaten Kenyon today in Gambier.  As an indication of the quality of play, there were 3 more rebounds than points today.  Wooster held Kenyon to 25.8% shooting and led by six at the half, but failed to take advantage, shooting a miserable 18.5% in the second half.  Combined the two squads made 12 baskets on 57 brick-heaves in the 2nd half.  And it wasn't the defense; they combined for just 16/32 free throw shooting in the second.  Kenyon's Katy Zeanah led all, um, scorers, hitting a respectable 8/15 from the floor en route to 19 points.  She also had 13 rebounds, six blocks, and four steals; a heck of a stat line in a game where the rest of the stats make you want to take up counted cross-stitch.

Elsewhere, Denison beats Allegheny 55-46, and OWU dumps Hiram 70-46.  The Big Red and Bishops maintain their shares of the conference lead along with the Ladies.  Allegheny drops to a disappointing 0-2.  Wittenberg was idle.  

And Oberlin defeats Earlham 58-54; no doubt Miscellaneous is still out celebrating!

[David Collinge]

Another tough loss for the homestanding Scots tonight, 60-56 at the hands of the Westminster Titans.  Still a bit under the weather, all I have is the box score to go on.  Shooting was a bit better, as the Scots hit 31% (30% from the arc).  Carly Loehrke had a monster game with 14 points (4/9 shooting), 14 rebounds and 5 blocks.  Natalie Barone added 13 points, and Michelle Hall chipped in 6 pts. and 8 boards off the bench.

All of Westminster's scoring came from their starting five, with three players in double figures.  

The good news for Scots fans is the return to the lineup of senior point guard and co-captain Molly Rallo.  Molly got three minutes in her return to the active roster tonight, 5 days ahead of schedule.  I hope all is well with her knee.

The Scots travel to Grove City on Wednesday before returning to NCAC action on Saturday at Earlham.

[David Collinge]

Scots drop another heartbreaker, this time at Grove City, 71-69.  I won't bother with the recap since I think I am talking to myself.

Elsewhere in non-conference action:
Hiram 64, Chatham 45
Franklin 68, Earlham 56
Ohio Northern 69, Denison 51

Hiram sure plays a lot of teams I've never heard of.

[David Collinge]

Wooster snaps its three game losing streak, defeating Earlham in Richmond 76-66.  The Scots were led once again by Carly Loehrke, this time with a career high 26 points on 11/13 shooting.  Carly also grabbed seven rebounds, and leads the Scots in both categories on the season, averaging 14.3 points and 9.9 caroms in just over 31 minutes.  She's having quite a season.  Earlham was led by Guin Summerton with 16 and Chelsea Caywood with 13 and 9 boards.

Elsewhere, Wittenberg grabs its first conference win, 67-43 over Oberlin, and Denison remains unbeaten in NCAC play, upending Hiram 56-47.  Denison shares the league lead with Kenyon at 3-0, while OWU sits a half-game back at 2-0.

[Rallo]

David, thanks for being so supportive of the Scots, it's good to know we have people out there like you.  I just wanted to say that Wooster is definitely the up and coming team and look out for us to show the NCAC what we are really made of.

[David Collinge]

Thanks.  I'm looking forward to getting back to some games after the first, and in particular seeing you (personally) play for the first time.  In the meantime, good luck on exams and enjoy your trip to NYC!

Funny, I thought I had posted a note like this earlier today.  Losing my mind, I guess!

[David Collinge]

In the first game of their "See the Ball Drop" tour of New York City, Wooster defeats John Jay (2-7) by the ridiculous score of 72-18.  Wooster moves to 4-5 and looks to even their season record today against CCNY (1-7).

Elsewhere, Earlham drops to 2-7, losing to sixth-ranked DePauw 84-47; Allegheny moves over .500 by defeating Mt. Union 81-64; Wittenberg defeats Centre 67-46 to move to a still-disappointing 4-5; and Kenyon (8-1) stays red hot, dropping St. Lawrence 56-42 in a tournament in Phoenix.  Kenyon's only loss was by just two points to Notre Dame (Ohio), who by comparison beat Wooster by 28 just the other day.