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| McKenzie Matheny worked overtime and Randolph-Macon outlasted No. 17 Washington and Lee in Saturday's battle between ODAC title contenders. Randolph-Macon athletics file photo |
Randolph-Macon outlasted No. 17 Washington and Lee in double-overtime while Mary Hardin-Baylor dropped No. 18 Hardin-Simmons and Stevens rallied into a three-way tie for first in Saturday’s Division III women's basketball action.
- Saturday scoreboard: Men | Women
- Saturday men: Upset by who who?
- Friday: Wes wins No. 20
- More men’s headlines
- More women’s headlines
The Generals held a 58-49 lead in the fourth quarter when Randolph-Macon went on an 11-2 run and tied the game at 60-all. The teams traded leads back and forth from there, with All-American Mary Schleusner giving W&L a 69-67 lead and then Randolph-Macon’s Juliana Park tying the game with 18 seconds left.
Washington and Lee scored the first four points of overtime but then lost Schleusner when she fouled out with 4:12 remaining. The Yellow Jackets pulled even on McKenzie Matheny's free throw with 35 seconds left in the first overtime and then she scored five more points in double overtime. The Generals only made one field goal over 9-plus minutes, and none in double overtime, after Schleusner fouled out.
Matheny led Randolph-Macon (18-1, 11-0 ODAC) with 20 points and 11 rebounds in 48 minutes, while Catherine Kagey added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets before fouling out. Schleusner posted 29 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks for W&L (17-3, 9-2 ODAC).
Mary Hardin-Baylor picked up a big win in the race for first in the ASC, as the Crusaders went to Abilene and knocked off No. 18 Hardin-Simmons, 74-68.
The teams traded leads in the fourth quarter until Mary Hardin-Baylor seized control with a 7-0 run capped by two Karlee Cronk layups that gave the Crusaders a 68-65 advantage with 1:53 to play. Dylan Loele pulled Hardin-Simmons within one with a jumper, but Josie Bruder’s layup restored the Cru’s three-point lead and they made enough free throws to seal the win.
Cru forward Adyson James posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Mary Hardin-Baylor (14-6, 3-1 ASC) outscored the Cowgirls 40-18 in the paint. Hardin-Simmons slipped to 16-4, 2-2 in conference with its third loss in five games.
The three undefeated teams in action on Saturday stayed that way.
No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan watched a nine-point fourth-quarter lead dwindle to three before escaping Elmhurst with a 64-61 victory. Elmhurst pulled within three points of the Titans three times in the fourth quarter, the last time with 24 seconds left. Mallory Powers blocked the Bluejays’ potential game-tying three-pointer and grabbed the rebound, securing the win for Illinois Wesleyan (19-0, 10-0 CCIW).
No. 3 Scranton continued its rampage through the regular season, storming past Goucher, 106-53. Kaci Kranson scored 25 points in 21 minutes and the Lady Royals (19-0, 12-0 Landmark) held the Gophers 43 points below their scoring average.
Sydney Jones scored 15 of her game-high 25 points in the second quarter, and No. 4 Bowdoin surged past Amherst, 65-54. Carly Davey, Abbie Quinn, and Grace Kinum each scored a dozen points and the Polar Bears improved to 20-0, 6-0 in the NESCAC. Colby stayed one game behind its rival with a 65-55 win at Hamilton.
Stevens defeated Lebanon Valley, 50-47, and created a three-way tie for first in the MAC Freedom. After scoring 27 points through three quarters, the Ducks broke out for 23 in the fourth. Leyla Castro put Stevens in front with back-to-back threes late in the fourth quarter, and the Ducks snapped LebVal’s six-game winning streak. Those two teams plus Arcadia are all 6-2 in conference, but the Ducks now own the tiebreaker over the Flying Dutchmen by sweeping them.
Husson head coach Kissy Walker won her 600th career game as the Eagles swooped past Maine Presque-Isle, 71-61. Lauren Cook scored 22 points in 25 minutes for Husson (12-10, 9-1 NAC), which led 64-33 after three periods. Husson is 600-307 in 34 seasons under Walker, who is one of 12 active Division III women's coaches to reach this milestone.
Elsewhere…
- It’s only February 1, but two teams already locked up spots in the Empire 8 tournament. St. John Fisher and Brockport each improved to 11-0 with wins over SUNYIT and Elmira respectively. The Golden Eagles (18-2, 11-0 E8) will host Nazareth and St. John Fisher next weekend.
- Southern Virginia took a big step toward clinching the top seed in the USA South Athletic Conference playoffs with a 70-58 home win over second-place Brevard. Addison Newman filled the stat sheet with 15 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two blocks for the Knights (17-2, 11-0 USA South) who have won 15 straight and have a 2.5 lead on Brevard, plus the timebreaker via the season sweep.
- St. Joseph’s (L.I.) set a new all-Division record for three-point attempts as the Golden Eagles hoisted 85 and made 21 of them in a 76-23 rout of winless SUNY Old Westbury. The previous record was 80 attempts by North Central (Ill.) in 2014.
- Western New England avenged its loss of the season thus far, as the Golden Bears defeated the University of New England, 63-56. Nora Young led WNEU (18-1, 11-1 CNE) with 14 points off the bench and the Golden Bears held a 25-4 advantage over the Nor'easters in second-chance points.
- The Bridgewater State Bears were as good as gold on Saturday afternoon, going to Salem State and downing the Vikings, 68-56. Kylie Grassi scored 15 points, mostly from the foul line where she shot 11 for 12, and Bridgewater State (13-6, 5-1) took over first place in the MASCAC.