Maddie Bledsoe – Nothing But NESCAC

The Final Four: Women’s Basketball Semifinal Preview

And then there were four. The final four for NESCAC women’s basketball is set. The usual suspects are present: Amherst, Bowdoin, Tufts, and Wesleyan. Last weekend’s match ups produced blowouts, so many of the games weren’t really entertaining. This week should be different. Let’s look at the preview:

Wesleyan (17-7, 5-5, 5th Seed) vs Amherst (25-0, 10-0 #1 Seed), Amherst, MA, 1PM

Maddie Bledsoe ’18 (courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

Wesleyan pulled off an upset win over Middlebury last weekend. The Cards rolled up to Vermont, and stole the show. As always, Maddie Bledsoe stole the show. She recorded a monster double-double (22 pts, 11 rebs), and carried the team like she has all year long. A point of concern, however, is that Wesleyan’s bench only contributed two points the entire afternoon. That abysmal statistic will not fly if the Cards want to know off Amherst. Amherst, of course, comes into Saturday afternoon undefeated. They’re always one of the best teams in the country year in and year out. Hannah Fox led all scorers in the game against Trinity last weekend with 17 points along with five steals. Similar to Wesleyan, Amherst only posted three bench points, but dominated the paint. These two teams are a good match for each other, because they both focus a lot of attention on the paint.

This game is going to be closer than people think. This Amherst team is unbeaten, yes, but they are not unbeatable. Their bench can be shaky, as I mentioned above, and this matchup could be tough for them because Wesleyan has the size and athleticism to handle the Mammoths in the paint. The playoffs implications create an opportunity for the underdog to rise up. So, with all that said, I’m gonna pick the huge upset.

Score prediction: Wesleyan 60-58

(Editor’s Note: Absolutely no chance, but we love Andrew’s enthusiasm.)

Tufts (22-3, 8-2 #3 Seed) vs Bowdoin (24-1, 9-1 #2 Seed) Amherst, MA, 3PM

This game is going to be one of the best games all season. Bowdoin already smack Tufts, but that was in January. Playoff basketball is different than regular season games. The intensity is up. Bowdoin absolutely throttled Williams last weekend. Kate Kerrigan led the scoring with 16 points, and Abby Kelly dished out five assists. Bowdoin dominated the inside game—much of their 77 points came from inside the paint. Bowdoin’s depth was on display too with 36 bench points. Tufts, on the other hand, smacked Conn College. The Jumbo defense was on full display—only allow the Camels to shoot 34% from the field. The Bo’s also forced seventeen Camel turnovers, and converted them into points. As always, Melissa Baptista was a force inside. She notched 21 points in the decisive victory. Both of these teams are high scoring; however, Bowdoin has proved that they’re special this year.

Kate Kerrigan ’18 will be looking to lead Bowdoin to another win over Tufts.

Score prediction: Bowdoin: 75-70

A Whole New Season: Women’s Basketball Quarterfinals Preview

The playoffs are here! As everyone anticipated prior to the season, Amherst is the top seed. However, a game always starts at 0-0, and the playoffs are no different. Anybody can win. Let’s look briefly at this weekend’s quarterfinal matchups.

1). #8 Trinity vs #1 Amherst

Courtney Erickson ’19 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

It is hard for me to pick Trinity in this matchup. Everything favors Amherst. Amherst is undefeated; Amherst is at home; Amherst is the number one team in the country. Don’t sleep on Bantams junior forward Courtney Erickson. She leads the Bantams in points, and has logged a ton of minutes for the team. Furthermore, she’s an incredibly efficient scoring–shooting above fifty percent from the field. Amherst, however, has an arsenal of weapons. Sophomore guard Madeline Eck has shown that she is held and shoulders that she’s the best player on the court. She’s one of the leaders in points, and facilitates the offense well.

Prediction: Amherst 60-45

2). #7 Williams vs #2 Bowdoin

Abby Kelly ’19
(Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

Bowdoin really bounced back after a tough loss to Amherst midway through the season. The Polar Bears were one of the only teams this season to give the Mammoths a real challenge, as their high powered offense almost broke down Amherst’s defense. Bowdoin obviously turned the page without losing another game. Bowdoin averages an almost 82 points per game. That number is incredible in college basketball. Their high octane attack is led by Junior guard Abby Kelly, who comes off the bench but is as good a scorer as there is in the league. Williams, on the other hand, will pose a serious threat. The team is led by senior forward Kristin Fechtelkotter. She is the main component of the offense, and hopes this won’t be her lsat game. Don’t sleep on Williams, but I’m picking Bowdoin in the hopes that they’ll meet Amherst in a classic final.

Prediction: Bowdoin 75-68

3). #6 Connecticut College vs #3 Tufts

The ‘Bos have had a rocky conference season by their standards. Losses to top teams Bowdoin and Amherst didn’t feel great, but nonetheless, they’re here again in the playoffs. Anything can happen. They’re second in the conference behind Bowdoin in points, so I’m sure they’ll put up the numbers this weekend. Conn College, on the other hand, is the wildcard in this scenario. They’re not as seasoned as the top three teams, but that could be a good thing because they’re not intimidated. They score a lot of points, third in the ‘Cac’, and will provide an offensive show. I believe it’s destiny that Tufts will end up in the top three, though.

Prediction: Tufts 60-52

Tufts’ Melissa Baptista ’18 has a solid POY case, and will lead the Jumbos into the tournament.

4). #4 Middlebury vs #5 Wesleyan

“He’s such a homer! He’s such a homer!” Get over it. I’m going with the Cards here. You know why? Because I watch sports to have fun, and enjoy it. Do I think Midd is the better team? Yes? But what’s the fun in picking the enemy over your own team. I’m rolling with Wes on this one because I believe senior forward Maddie Bledsoe will dominate the paint, and control the time of possession. I don’t care that Wes has to travel to the sticks in granola country. Go Wes. (Editor’s Note: Go Panthers.)

Prediction: Wesleyan 55-51

Cold Weather, Hot Takes on NESCAC Women’s Basketball

To quote Game of Thrones, ‘winter is here.’ NESCAC women’s basketball is already in full swing with an onslaught of non league games. While these games don’t go into the record books for NESCAC standings, they are nevertheless very important, so that each teams starts the season on the right foot. There have been some surprises thus far, and there are teams that have played like I predicted. Let’s take a look at my three hot takes going into winter break:

Bowdoin is Now a Top Dog

Tufts and Amherst dominated the spotlight in everyone’s preseason power rankings. Their incredible success last year deservingly gave them the top two spots of the standings in predictions for this season. However, something is going on in Brunswick, ME. The Bowdoin Polar Bears are 8-0. One of those wins was an thirty-four point trouncing over the Colby Mules. I don’t want to toot my own horn here, but I predicted Bowdoin to be very good; I didn’t predict them to be this good. The Polar Bears as a team led the NESCAC in all relevant offensive categories. While questions can be raised as to whether or not Bowdoin can actually beat Tufts and Amherst, there’s no question that the Polar Bears are a force to be reckoned with. They average an incredible eighty-four points per game as a team, with four players who average double figures in points: Taylor Choate ‘19, Kate Kerrigan ‘18, Lauren Petit ‘18, and Abby Kelly ‘19.

Taylor Choate ’19 is just one of the players who have led Bowdoin to a dominant start.

These four upperclassmen have set the tone for the team. While the competition they’ve played isn’t as stout as it will be when conference games kick in, boasting a perfect record is obviously a great sign for the squad. These four women have been there and done it before, so when times get inevitably tough down the stretch, look for them to push the team over the hump. The team will kick off league play on January 5th against Bates, and will play the Jumbos the following night. Rest assured, the polar bears will take one game at a time, but they have to be looking forward to Tufts. That’s their opportunity to show the world that Bowdoin has arrived.

Wesleyan Will be Better than Last Year (#RollCards #DirtyBirds)

It’s really tough to say how well a team will do after non-conference games. It’s clear that the NESCAC is one of the strongest conferences in the country. I watched Wes beat a team by sixty-six points last weekend. There’s not much secret to the success of NESCAC teams: the women just play at a quicker, higher, stronger (or Citius, Altius, Fortius just in case my high school Latin teachers are reading this) pace. Wesleyan was 1-9 last year in league play, but I think they’ll be better after watching them a bit this year. The team is always up on the bench–showing how well they support one another, and how badly they want to win. The team is led by Olivia Gorman ‘19, who averages around twelve points per game. The Cards look like they’ve been infused with new energy and talent. Emma Roush ‘21 leads all freshmen in scoring (7.0 PPG), and offers a tough, scrappy play style on both ends of the court. Good teams need players like these: Draymond Green of the Warriors and Marcus Smart for the Celtics contribute far more than the box score reveals. Defense translates to offense with these players, and it starts with their hustle. Roush is no different. Wesleyan got a wake up call, however, after they were smacked by Amherst. It didn’t count in the conference standings, but it shows that Wesleyan still isn’t at peak performance yet.

Nina Davenport is the Devin Booker of the NESCAC. MVP?

Nina Davenport ’18 is one of the most dynamic scorers the league has seen in a long time.

Nina Davenport ‘18 of the Bates Bobcats is putting up MVP like numbers. She averages around twenty-two points per game, and adds seven rebounds per contest too. Enter Devin Booker. Booker, a guard for the Phoenix Suns, puts up unbelievable numbers. He’s a lights out shooter, good slasher, and an all around incredible scorer. Davenport reminds me of Booker because she’s a good shooter, but she gets to the cup too; she scores in a variety of ways. Sounds all positive, right? Except for the fact that the Suns aren’t good. Neither is Bates. Bates is the only team in the NESCAC with a losing record thus far. That statistic would be fine if we were talking about games against Bowdoin, Amherst, and Tufts, but these are non-league opponents. Bates should be crushing them. As a result, it’s tough for me to justify saying that Davenport is the MVP. Yes, she puts up MVP numbers, but an MVP can’t be on a bad team in my opinion. Take a player like Maddie Bledsoe of Wesleyan. She’s a walking double-double averaging eleven rebounds and ten points per game. Granted Wesleyan won’t finish atop the league, but I think they’ll be the biggest turnaround team this year. Bates doesn’t look like they’ll turn it around. I’m not saying that Bledsoe will be the MVP, but that player should come from a team that’s playing well.