| Olivia Hart posted a double-double for DePauw, which has won four straight heading toward its conference tournament. File photo by Coco LaGrand, DePauw University |
DePauw tripped No. 9 Ohio Wesleyan ahead of its big game showdown with Denison while No. 11 Hope avoided a second slip against Albion and No. 4 Washington and Lee rolled over Bridgewater. Elsewhere, conference tournament play began and New Jersey City played its final game in Division III women’s basketball action.
Whether it was DePauw’s late-season surge or No. 9 Ohio Wesleyan getting caught looking ahead to Saturday’s showdown with No. 7 Denison, the Tigers upset the Battling Bishops, 60-56. DePauw built an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter before OWU got back into the game with back-to-back threes from Mia Guscoff. The Battling Bishops got as close as 58-56 with 1:22 to play and had two chances to tie or take the lead. But Riley Mont intercepted a pass at midcourt with 12 seconds left, forcing OWU to foul, and Olivia Hart sank the victory sealing free throws. Box score
Hart racked up 22 points and 11 rebounds for DePauw (15-9, 8-5 NCAC), which has won four in a row and will be the fourth seed in the upcoming NCAC tournament. Ohio Wesleyan (20-3, 11-2 NCAC) can still secure the top seed with a win over Denison on Saturday. The Big Red (23-1, 12-1 NCAC) tuned up for that first-place battle with a 74-47 win at Wittenberg.
After falling to Albion earlier this season, No. 11 Hope quickly erased any chance of a repeat. The Flying Dutch jumped out to a 42-20 halftime lead and cruised to victory, 80-44. Four Hope starters scored double figures, led by Sydney Vis with 18 points. The Flying Dutch (21-3, 13-2 MIAA) will host No. 18 Trine, which has already secured the MIAA title and top seed.
No. 4 Washington and Lee asserted its dominance in the ODAC by marching into second-place Bridgewater and blasting the Eagles, 67-38. Washington and Lee held Bridgewater to 15 points on 7-for-25 shooting in the first half and led by 21 at the break. Sarah Zimmerman paced the Generals (24-0, 15-0 ODAC) with 15 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Jay Garcia notched a double-double for Bridgewater, which slipped to 19-5, 12-3 iin the ODAC.
No. 5 Smith put the finishing touches on another regular season NEWMAC title with a 67-49 win at Babson. The Bears shot 48 percent from the field and hit 11 of their 20 three-point attempts, including four from Virginia Johnson. Smith (23-1, 10-0 NEWMAC) is 50-1 in conference since the start of the 2021-22 season.
No. 6 UW-Oshkosh became the first program to win three consecutive outright WIAC women’s basketball titles since UW-Green Bay did it from 1980-82, as the Titans took care of No. 25 UW-La Crosse, 61-35. UWO held the Eagles to its lowest output of the season and got another strong performance from Sammi Beyer (16 points, six rebounds, five assists).
While the Titans are guaranteed the top spot in the WIAC tournament, the rest of the bracket will be decided in Saturday’s regular season finales. UW-Stevens Point upset rival and 14th-ranked UW-Whitewater, 66-63, on the road, pulling the Pointers into the final playoff spot for now, and knocking the Warhawks into a three-way tie for second place with La Crosse and UW-Platteville. UW-River Falls is also in the mix for a home game, despite stumbling at UW-Stout, 69-54.
A few teams on the bubble for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament missed an opportunity to bolster their resume. Guilford lost 63-58 at home to Averett, which had won just two conference games prior to Wednesday night. McDaniel battled Gettysburg in Central Pennsylvania before falling, 60-52. Coe stumbled at Central, 65-54, and that result coupled with Wartburg’s 64-55 win over Simpson netted the Knights their fourth straight ARC title. Fabulous first-year guard Katie Boulanger led Wartburg (19-6, 15-1 ARC) with 16 points.
The conference playoffs tipped off tonight with the four lowest seeds playing in the first round of the United East Conference tournament. Lancaster Bible held off Gallaudet 68-63 thanks to a balanced scoring attack led by Shania Stoltzfus (23 points, four rebounds), so the Chargers will head to second-seeded Penn College on Saturday. Penn State-Harrisburg breezed past Division III provisional member Penn State-Brandywine, 73-40, and will play top seed St. Mary’s (Md.).
Meanwhile, New Jersey City University played its final game as a women’s basketball program. The Gothic Knights fell 86-59 at Rutgers-Camden, despite 19 points from Na’tori Postell and 16 from Meghan Gentile. New Jersey City announced earlier this season that it would discontinue its women’s basketball program as the school is absorbed by Kean University.