Women’s Notebook – Non-DII vs DII games
By Stephen Zerdelian
I’m a list guy; I enjoy putting them together and referring to them when appropriate. When the schedule gave us a third D1 v. D2 game (non-exhibitions, anyway) and a third D2 vs. D3 game this season recently it jogged my brain. How many of these non D2 v. D2 games do we have every season in the region, and how do they come out?
Hence the list below, going back to the 2012-’13 campaign. Afterward, I’ll try to draw some conclusions. If there are any missing from this list, or anything that requires an update, please let me know. Without any further ado, here it is…
2023-‘24
(Division 1) -November 20 - @ Fordham-85 Georgian Court-44
(Division 3) – December 3 - New Jersey City University-69 @ Bridgeport-66
(Division 1) – December 6 - Delaware State-108 @ Wilmington-39
(Division 3) – December 18 - @ Chestnut Hill-96 Penn State-Abington-44
(Division 3) – December 30 - Queens-68 @ Hartford-55
(Division 1) – January 1 - @ Monmouth-91 Georgian Court-51
2022-‘23
(Division 1) – November 15 - @ Delaware State-66 Wilmington-36
(USCAA Tournament) – March 13 - D’Youville-75 Apprentice School-48
2021-’22 (COVID-impacted schedule)
(NAIA) – November 12 - @ Bentley-99 Carlow (PA)-31
(Division 1) – November 17 - @ Hofstra-52 Molloy-51
(USCAA) – November 19 - D’Youville-71 Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo)-60 (Buffalo State tournament)
(Division 3) - November 20 - D’Youville-69 @ Buffalo State-62 (Buffalo State tournament)
(USCAA) – November 23 - Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo)-64 D’Youville-57
(USCAA) – November 23 - @ St. Michael’s-84 Bryant & Stratton (Albany)-46
(USCAA) – December 1 - @ D’Youville-65 Villa Maria-43
(USCAA) – December 4 - @ D’Youville-88 Bryant & Stratton (Albany)-39
(Division 3) – December 30 - @ Bentley-72 MIT-59
(USCAA Tournament) – March 7 - D’Youville-70 Braynt & Stratton (Albany)-43
(USCAA Tournament) – March 9 - D’Youville-86 Braynt & Stratton (Buffalo)-54
(USCAA Tournament) – March 10 - D’Youville-63 Saint Mary of the Woods-56
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 12 - Roberts Wesleyan-67 @ Grace-59
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 16 - Roberts Wesleyan-71 College of the Ozarks-56
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 17 - Oakland City-78 Roberts Wesleyan-62
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 19 - Roberts Wesleyan-84 Asbury-73
2020-’21 (COVID-reduced schedule starting in January; only 16 teams played in region)
(USCAA) – January 12 - @ Roberts Wesleyan-75 Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo)-65
(USCAA) – March 4 - Bryant & Stratton-67 @ College of Saint Rose-66
2019-’20 (COVID ended campaign in midst of March post season tournaments)
(Division 1) – November 20 - @ Sacred Heart-77 Bridgeport-63
(Division 3) – November 23 - Post-84 @ College of Staten Island-61
(Division 3) – November 26 - @ New York Tech-66 College of Staten Island-48
(USCAA) – December 7 - @ St. Michael’s-96 Vermont Tech-49
(Division 3) – December 11 - Molloy-67 @ College of Staten Island-55
(NAIA) – December 21 - Stonehill-70 Ave Maria-28 (Daytona Beach tournament)
(Division 1) – December 30 - @ Massachusetts-86 Southern Connecticut-43
(Division 1) – January 8 - @ Towson-86 Chestnut Hill-49
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 11 - @ Cedarville-92 Roberts Wesleyan-62
2018-‘19
(Division 1) – November 17 - @ Delaware State-65 Post-53
(USCAA) – December 16 - @ St. Michael’s-110 Vermont Tech-52
(Division 1) – December 29 - @ Fairleigh Dickinson-70 Georgian Court-45
(Division 3) – January 2 - @ Nyack-70 Manhattenville-67
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 13 - Roberts Wesleyan-76 Hiwassee College-54
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 14 - Brewton-Parker College-81 Roberts Wesleyan-49
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 16 - Grace-68 Roberts Wesleyan-42
2017-‘18
(Division 1) – December 28 - Southern Connecticut-62 @ University of Rhode Island-57
(NAIA) – February 1 - @ Jefferson-83 Washington Adventist-63
(NJCAA) – February 14 - @ Mercy-83 New Rochelle-56
2016-‘17
(Division 1) – November 23 - Queens-70 @ Fairleigh Dickinson-54
(Division 1) – November 27 - @ Massachusetts-73 Merrimack-43
(NAIA) – December 3 - Chestnut Hill-67 @ Washington Adventist-54
(Division 1) – December 17 - @ Army-90 Mercy-48
(NAIA) – December 17 - Philadelphia-62 @ Washington Adventist-38
(Division 1) – December 30 - @ Binghamton-74 Georgian Court-53
(USCAA) – January 7 - @ Mercy-96 Maine-Fort Kent-39
(NAIA) – February 1 - @ Chestnut Hill-98 Washington Adventist-84
(NAIA) – February 14 - @ Nyack-55 Washington Adventist-37
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 10 - @ Roberts Wesleyan-75 Indiana Wesleyan-67 (OT)
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 11 - @ Roberts Wesleyan-68 Ohio Christian-61
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 15 - Roberts Wesleyan-108 Crowley’s Ridge College-63
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 16 - Greenville College-78 Roberts Wesleyan-72
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 18 - Roberts Wesleyan-92 Mid-American Christian University-76
2015-‘16
(Division 3) – December 1 - Roberts Wesleyan-81 @ William Smith College-68 (Wendy’s Classic)
(Division 3) – December 3 - Roberts Wesleyan-64 Saint John Fisher-50 (Wendy’s Classic)
(Division 3) – December 5 - Roberts Wesleyan-54 SUNY Geneseo-51 (Wendy’s Classic)
(Division 3) – December 19 - @ Southern New Hampshire-87 Fisher-48
(NAIA) – December 20 - @ Caldwell-91 Washington Adventist-57
(NAIA) – January 4 - @ Philadelphia-76 Washington Adventist-45
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 10 - Roberts Wesleyan-97 Oakland City-69
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 12 - @ Roberts Wesleyan-77 Lancaster Bible College-46
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 16 - Roberts Wesleyan-77 Bethesda-68
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 17 - Roberts Wesleyan-65 Northwestern (MN)-55
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 19 - Roberts Wesleyan-70 Colorado Christian-58
2014-‘15
(Division 3) – December 2 - Roberts Wesleyan-68 Rochester Tech-56 (Wendy’s Classic)
(Division 3) – December 4 - Roberts Wesleyan-67 SUNY Geneseo-64 (OT) (Wendy’s Classic)
(USCAA) – December 4 - @ Mercy-60 Berkely-51
(Division 3) – December 6 - Roberts Wesleyan-69 Rochester-63 (Wendy’s Classic)
(NAIA) – December 6 - Point Park-85 @ Daemen-72
(Division 3) – December 18 - Daemen-65 Goucher-53 (Barry tournament)
(Division 1) – December 20 - @ Army-70 St. Thomas Aquinas-45
(Division 3) – December 20 - Wilmington-84 Hood-49
(Division 3) – December 30 - Daemen-101 @ Briarcliffe-83
(Division 3) – January 4 - Queens-76 Immaculata-60 (@ Madison Square Garden)
(NAIA) – January 5 - Daemen-63 @ Washington Adventist-47
(Division 1) – January 14 - @ Delaware State-74 Wilmington-44
(NJCAA) – March 2 - Mercy-80 @ New Rochelle-49
(USCCA Tournament) – March 4 - Daemen-82 Apprentice School-72
(USCCA Tournament) – March 6 - Daemen-62 Concordia (AL)-57
(USCCA Tournament) – March 7 - Daemen-78 Berea-75
2013-‘14
(NAIA) – November 8 - Daemen-60 Carlow (PA)-50 (Penn State Greater Allegheny tournament)
(NAIA) – November 9 - Daemen-76 Penn State Greater Allegheny-69 (Penn State-GH tournament)
(NAIA) – November 16 - @ Point Park-77 @ Daemen-62
(Division 3) – November 19 - @ Keystone-71 Mercy-70
(Division 3) – November 21 - @ Roberts Wesleyan-84 Houghton-59
(Division 3) – November 21 - @ Mercy-95 Yeshiva-67
(NAIA) – November 29 - Merrimack-76 @ Master’s (CA)-74 (OT)
(Division 1) – December 2 - @ Hofstra-101 Concordia-38
(Division 3) – December 3 - Roberts Wesleyan-71 @ Nazareth-51 (Wendy’s Classic)
(Division 3) – December 5 - @ Roberts Wesleyan-64 Saint John Fisher-60 (Wendy’s Classic)
(Division 3) – December 7 - @ Roberts Wesleyan-44 SUNY Geneseo-41 (Wendy’s Classic)
(NCCAA) – January 6 - Wilmington-79 @ Lancaster Bible-72
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 19 - Roberts Wesleyan-69 Oklahoma Christian-66
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 20 - Lee-72 Roberts Wesleyan-70
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 22 – Azusa Pacific-67 Roberts Wesleyan-54
2012-‘13
(NCCAA) – November 9 - Roberts Wesleyan-94 Ohio Christian-55 (Moody Bible tournament)
(NCCAA) – November 10 - Roberts Wesleyan-70 Dordt-54 (Moody Bible tournament)
(NAIA) – November 13 - UDC-69 Washington Adventist-52
(Division 3) – November 20 - @ Roberts Wesleyan-70 Houghton-51
(Division 3) – November 27 - @ William Smith-79 Roberts Wesleyan-74 (Wendy’s Classic)
(Division 3) – November 29 - Roberts Wesleyan-69 Nazareth-47 (Wendy’s Classic)
(Division 3) – December 1 - Roberts Wesleyan-70 St. John Fisher-30 (Wendy’s Classic)
(NAIA) – December 6 - @ Wilmington-61 Washington Adventist-53
(NCCAA) – December 13 - @ Wilmington-72 Lancaster Bible-61
(NAIA) – December 30 - Franklin Pierce-57 Dillard-41 (Dillard tournament)
(NCCAA) – January 3 - @ Southeastern-57 Nyack-40 (Southeastern tournament)
(NCCAA) – January 4 - Kentucky Christian-59 Nyack-58 (Southeastern tournament)
(NAIA) – January 20 - @ Philadelphia-66 Washington Adventist-44
(NAIA) – January 31 - @ Georgian Court-63 Washington Adventist-59
(Division 3) – February 19 - Roberts Wesleyan-67 @ Houghton-51
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 6 - @ Roberts Wesleyan-91 Houghton-56
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 13 - Union-81 Roberts Wesleyan-75 (OT)
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 14 - Shorter-73 Roberts Wesleyan-52
(NCCAA Tournament) – March 15 - Roberts Wesleyan-59 Grace-55
Total Records
vs. Division 1 2-16
vs. Division 3 28-3
vs. NAIA 18-2
vs. NCCAA 20-11
vs. USCCA 16-2
vs. NJCAA 2-0
Overall 86-34
Obviously, teams at a higher-level classification will almost always beat teams at a lower-level classification. There are some qualifiers, such as the more balanced NCCAA and USCCA national tournament results. Keep in mind that a few regional teams held dual membership (Roberts Wesleyan and Daemen the most prominent), so they participated in those tournaments while still officially being part of Division 2 play. The two instances here where Division 2 teams bested Division I teams have been written about before:
https://www.d2easthoops.org/women/features/The_Chronicles_of_Z/Memorable_Games_-3_-_SCSU_wins_at_URI
https://www.d2easthoops.org/women/recaps/2016-17/Women-s_Game_Recaps_-12_-_11-23-16
A notable victory for a regional D2 over a D3 that took place at MSG got top billing…
https://www.d2easthoops.org/women/recaps/2014-15/Women-s_Game_Recaps_-31_-_1-5-15
One of the three defeats a regional D2 sustained against a D3 on this list occurred this season (December 3), when New Jersey City University (now 6-5) bumped off Bridgeport at Harvey Hubbell Gym, 69-66. The visiting Purple Knights received a massive game from Damaris Rodriguez (30 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 40 minutes; 12-25 FG), more than negating solid games from the UB pair of Stephanie McBride (20 points, 13 rebounds) and Samirah Akinwunmi (19 points). Bridgeport jumped to a fast 19-5 lead and led early in the fourth quarter by a 57-50 count, but a 17-5 Purple Knights surge (Rodriguez had 11 of their 19 points in the fourth period) gave the guests a 67-62 edge with 2:27 left. Bridgeport closed to within 67-66 after a Niyah Whitten trey with 39 seconds left but Rodriguez made two foul shots with :17 on the close and UB was unable to respond.
The point of this exercise? I suppose it’s to highlight the times when the regional Division II teams step out of the sphere, whatever the reason. Anyone who has read my work before knows that I cannot stand why D1-D2 games, in-season, are sometimes counted for one team and not the other (this practice continues to stupefy me) but in general, these non D2-D2 contests are a slice of something different and stick out when combing through the schedule. And, in a way, it opens our eyes to relative strengths and confirms/debunks our held beliefs. Change, in any form, can be good – and so can differences.
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Back to business…
The region was quiet from December 20-29, thanks to the mandated NCAA shutdown but burst back to life last Saturday the 30th. Among the 14 games…
- Bloomfield’s Taneshia Tucker scored 42 points (34 minutes; 14-21 FG, 6-7 3FG) in the Bears 92-76 CACC loss at Post, a career high total. Based on available records, that’s also a Bloomfield mark. Post’s Maya Klein netted a personal-best 30 points on the flip side, going 8-14 from three-point land for the Eagles.
- The College of Saint Rose won an epic double-overtime battle against D’Youville, 70-60, led by Payton Graber (23 points, 6 boards, 6 assists) and Syrita Faraj (16 points). Anna Jankovic led the Saints with 22 points. CSR’s Maddisyn Mahoney sent the game to OT at 48-48 with a basket at the :25 mark, and Faraj’s hoop did the same in the first extra frame with 23 ticks left (55-all). The Golden Knights, now 8-1, used a 7-0 run the second OT session to finally decide the outcome.
- Saint Anselm won the other overtime game of the day, edging Felician, 70-66. Tatum Forbes (28 points) scored seven markers in the bonus frame to put the Hawks ahead for good, 69-66, with about a minute left, and they closed it from there.
- Erin Leary (18 points, 9 boards) and Sarah Ericson (14 points, 10 rebounds) sparked St. Thomas Aquinas to probably their best effort of the season, a wire-to-wire win at Southern New Hampshire, 80-57. STAC shot 51% and held the Penmen to just 30% at the other end.
- Five double digit scorers did the trick for Assumption in a key NE10 clash as they beat AIC in Worcester, 74-58. Marina Callahan (17 points, 7 boards) led the Greyhounds effort while Yellow Jacket Briana Lee (27 points, 10 boards) was stalwart for the visitors.
- Every outfit in the region has won a game this season, the final team to get there being Georgian Court thanks to a 63-61 CACC victory over Goldey-Beacom. Imani Gillette came back from an eight-game absence to lead the Lions with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
- Pace received 19 points and 9 boards from Tower Lorde to stifle the College of Staten Island, 60-51, and move to 10-1.
- Jefferson got back to winning ways with an 83-40 CACC decision against Wilmington. Sam Yencha (21 points, 18 boards; 10-15 FG) and Morgan Robinson (13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 steals) were the ring leaders for the 10-1 Rams.
- Daemen rode Alahna Page (20 points; 11-21 FG, 4-6 3FG) to a 57-44 win at St. Michael’s, their fourth win on the bounce.
- Shakira Hester (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Stephanie McBride (13 points, 19 boards) double-doubled to fuel Bridgeport’s 60-57 win over Caldwell in the CACC North. UB snapped a tie with a late 7-0 spell (60-53, 2:17) and held on as the Cougars missed a pair of three-pointers in the final stages to fall short of forcing overtime.
- New Haven knocked off UDC in West Haven, 67-63, consigning the Firebirds to their third straight setback (now 11-3). Aurora Deshaies (19 points, 13 boards) was the bulwark for the Chargers, who took the lead for keeps thanks to a Gabrielle Stickle trey (65-62) with 21 seconds left.
- Trinity Hudson racked up another double-double (18 points, 17 rebounds) to front Molloy’s 62-48 win over Adelphi. The Lions held the Panthers to just 28% from the field.
- Cayla Howard (23 points), Alexis Suarez (13 assists) and Chidinma Ndukauba (19 points, 10 rebounds) helped Dominican earn a back-and-forth win over Southern Connecticut, 78-75. Suarez made the game’s last field goal (:35) and sank two killer foul shots (:04) to end the scoring and propel the Chargers to success.
- Amiyah Edney-Holmes (19 points) and Nkiru Awaka (17 points, 12 rebounds) led Queens to a 68-55 win over Hartford, a team in the process of dropping down from Division I to Division III this season.
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Things I miss, Part 1…
Whatever happened to true in-season tournaments? All we get these days are classics, where the matchups are predetermined, or conference challenges, where teams from one league cross-over with one from another loop. Boring. I want to see a real tournament, whether it is four teams or more (love those eight-team ones!), and the winners/losers play each other after the first day of action. Even though it was rather fabricated, there was a sense that the teams were playing for something, and not just another game. Give me all-tournament teams, a Most Outstanding Player and a big, gold trophy, please! The holiday festivals were always a lot of fun, especially when a team or teams from outside the region participated. I recall the likes of Sacred Heart (men’s side) and the College of Saint Rose (both genders) hosting six or eight-team tournaments, which was awesome. Lock me in a gym and play four games, please! Can somebody get a sponsor, import a bunch of teams, roll out awards and play a real tournament?
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