| Rank | Team | LW | Change |
| 1 | Cleveland State | 2 | +1 |
| 2 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 3 | +1 |
| 3 | Green Bay | 1 | -2 |
| 4 | Detroit Mercy | 4 | – |
| 5 | Robert Morris | 6 | +1 |
| 6 | Oakland | 9 | +3 |
| 7 | Youngstown State | 11 | +4 |
| 8 | Northern Kentucky | 7 | -1 |
| 9 | Milwaukee | 5 | -4 |
| 10 | Wright State | 10 | – |
| 11 | IU Indianapolis | 8 | -3 |
In opening its Horizon League season 2-0, Cleveland State showed that it can win a basketball game in just about any way necessary. Against Northern Kentucky on Wednesday, Jordana Reisma was the offense’s focal point, and the star post player (who was fourth nationally in field goal percentage as of Sunday) cashed that check for 18 points and eight rebounds. On Saturday, IU Indianapolis was able to take away the Vikings’ inside game for the most part, but three-pointers from Destiny Leo and Mickayla Perdue gave CSU an early 12-0 lead, and that duo wound up combining for 46 points, including ten triples. At this point, it’s hard to think that the loss of Colbi Maples – her knee injury was confirmed as a season-ender on Tuesday – will lower the Vikings’ ceiling any more than Leo’s similar absence did in 2023-24, as Chris Kielsmeier’s systems are presently firing on all cylinders.
If Purdue Fort Wayne was considered a dark horse championship contender entering the season, that horse certainly got a lot brighter after the Mastodons took care of Green Bay on Saturday by a 67-66 count. Lauren Ross showed out with a spotless 6-for-6 from three-point range, on the way to a game-high 25 points in the Dons’ first-ever victory over the Phoenix. Ross’ sixth triple gave her team a 66-61 lead with 61 seconds to go, and – after she added a free throw 50 seconds later – that turned out to be just enough of a lead for PFW to nurse to the finish line after a Green Bay run dissolved the Dons’ 13-point third-quarter advantage. The Michigan State transfer coincidentally also scored 25 points in a mid-week victory over Robert Morris, and totaled 14 rebounds across the two games. Amellia Bromenschenkel added double-digit scoring efforts to both wins.
If there’s consolation for Green Bay after dropping to 1-1 in Horizon League play, it’s that the Phoenix have been without Natalie McNeal for the last two games, and that a fellow title contender needed an otherworldly performance to beat them in their home gym. The loss overshadowed a monster game by Jasmine Kondrakiewicz, who scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Maddy Schreiber added 14 points and four steals. Schreiber’s 16 points led five players in double figures during the Phoenix’s HL opener, a blowout victory over IU Indianapolis that saw GB fire off to a 24-3 lead early in the second quarter. The Jags managed to pull within 11 just before halftime, but another run, this time a 20-3 special, turned the rout back on and allowed the hosts to empty the bench over the course of the second half.
Detroit Mercy hasn’t always been aesthetically pleasing – look no further than the Titans’ game on Sunday against NAIA squad Clearly University, where UDM didn’t truly separate until the second half – but the simple fact is that Kate Achter’s squad is winning most of the time, and that’s something only four HL teams can claim right now. Aaliyah McQueen, Emaia O’Brien and Makayla Jackson each went for 18 points in UDM’s mid-week victory over Wright State to begin conference play, as the Titans continue to showcase a surprisingly diverse and balanced attack. That trio again led the way on Sunday, paced by O’Brien’s four three-pointers and 22 points (incidentally, the point guard stands just 5-1 and is nicknamed “Biggie,” which is absolutely phenomenal, I love a good ironic nickname). Alize Tripp, who scored 16 points off the bench, continues to be something of a secret weapon for the Titans as well.
Is Robert Morris good? That might be a bit of a reach at this point, given that the Colonials are 3-6 overall and have lost to the likes of St. Francis. Still, it’s undeniable that RMU’s conference schedule is off to a great start after a reasonably palatable loss to Purdue Fort Wayne and a victory over a staggering Milwaukee team. That win on Saturday was particularly dramatic, as an Anna Lutz three gave the Panthers a one-point lead with 14 seconds to go. Danielle Vuletich’s attempted reply was off-line, but Raissa Nsabua was fouled on the rebound and calmly sank both free throws to put Robert Morris ahead. The Colonials still needed one more stop after that point, and they got it when Micah O’Dell forced Lutz to the outside and created a wild layup attempt. Vuletich’s 16 points and five rebounds against the Mastodons was probably RMU’s best individual game of the week, but it’s truly been a group effort in Hoop Township.
Is Oakland good? That might be a bit of a reach at this point, given that the Golden Grizzlies are 3-6 overall and have lost to the likes of St. Thomas. Still, it’s undeniable that OU’s conference schedule is off to a great start after a victory over a staggering Wright State team. That win on Friday was a glimpse of a very solid squad, as all-conference talent Maddy Skorupski fired off a 21-point, eight-assist, five-rebound line to lead the way, though the Grizzlies also got important contributions from the likes of Macy Smith (16 points, 3-for-5 from three-point range) and one of the HL’s more underrated post players, Lianna Baxter (14 points, five rebounds). Just as impressive as any of that was OU’s defense, which shut the Raiders down for nine minutes bridging the second and third quarters, facilitating a 21-3 run that turned a one-point ballgame on its head.
Just when it looked like it might be a long, long, LONG season for Youngstown State, the Penguins abruptly turned around and won their first two conference games, both impressive victories in different ways. On Saturday, YSU trailed 42-35 entering the fourth quarter at Northern Kentucky, but outscored the Norse 21-5 in the final frame to grab a shockingly comfortable win. Faith Burch enjoyed the best game of her career with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while freshman Sophia Gregory was also huge inside with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Both of those stat lines were essential with Jewel Watkins plagued by foul trouble, and facilitated by the absence of NKU star post player Halle Idowu, who hurt her right ankle in the first two minutes of the game. Watkins was not similarly hampered against Milwaukee on Wednesday and went off for 22 points in a solid win, including six three-pointers.
Northern Kentucky proved…something in its 67-54 loss at Cleveland State on Wednesday, though it’s not entirely clear what at this point. The Norse managed to ugly the game, holding Vikings stars Perdue and Leo to a combined 20 points and staying within shouting distance throughout, thanks to the likes of freshman Kamora Morgan, who was phenomenal in logging a game-high 21 points, and Noelle Hubert, who poured in three important deep balls. Had NKU been able to follow up that effort with a victory against Youngstown State, the narrative around the team right now might be completely different, but instead, the Norse went flat in the fourth quarter as the Penguins surged. The early injury to Idowu certainly didn’t help matters and though it didn’t appear serious (head coach Jeff Hans called it a sprained ankle during halftime of that game), the sooner NKU gets Idowu and Macey Blevins back, the better off they’ll be.
It’s sort of frustrating to think about how many Milwaukee teams in recent years could have used a high-end scorer like Kacee Baumhower to take the final steps towards winning in March. Then, when Baumhower showed up this year, the Panthers suddenly became pretty suspect at long-time program hallmarks like defense and rebounding. UWM ranks among the bottom 100 teams nationally in some pretty important categories like points allowed per 100 possessions (102.1, 316th), rebounding rate (46.5 percent, 280th), and turnover rate (16.7 percent, 310th). That tire fire met the road in the past week with HL-opening losses to Youngstown State and Robert Morris, a pair of games that should have been attainable for a team with the Panthers’ preseason ambitions. As detailed above, the RMU loss was particularly excruciating thanks to how it ended, though Baumhower and Lutz being limited to 8-for-23 from the floor didn’t help matters either.
For the first time since her initial season at Wright State (after she was hired extremely late in the cycle), Kari Hoffman didn’t bring on a proven veteran hired gun through the portal to lead her perimeter, in the vein of an Alexis Hutchison or a Bryce Nixon. Handing things off, in a sense, to players that were some of her first recruits with the Raiders was bound to come with some growing pains (which were probably understated in hindsight), even if it’s the right thing to do in the long run. Either way, the Raiders, decisively the HL’s fourth-best team last year, are now 2-7 overall and on a three-game losing streak that includes a Division II team (Findlay) and WSU’s first two conference games of the year, at Detroit Mercy and Oakland. The bright side right now is that the Raiders’ young bench players have been fantastic; Rylee Sagester hit five threes against Oakland, while Bowling Green transfer Abbie Riddle had eight points and five rebounds in that game.
If it’s not considered a war crime to send a team on the road to Green Bay and Cleveland State to open the conference schedule, as happened to IU Indianapolis this year, it should be. What’s worse, the Jaguars are riddled with injuries right now, a list that still and most significantly includes Katie Davidson. Predictably, Kate Bruce’s charges ate two blowout losses to their title-contending opponents, by 22 and 33 points. The Jags have now lost eight consecutive games after a season-opening win against Evansville – and things don’t really get any easier, given that Purdue Fort Wayne is their only game in the coming week. Alexa Hocevar was one of the team’s bright sports, as she threw in a dozen points in each of their contests, while Jada Patton bucketed 15 against the Phoenix. The Jags are now 8-31 over the last two seasons, an unthinkable mark for the program just three years ago when, Macee Williams and company were running roughshod over the league.
Player of the Week
Lauren Ross (Purdue Fort Wayne)
When a player has the sort of game Ross did against a team like Green Bay, there’s really not much discussion to be had.
Also considered: Mickayla Perdue (Cleveland State), Jewel Watkins (Youngstown State), Maddy Skorupski (Oakland)
Past winners:
December 1: Halle Idowu (Northern Kentucky)
November 24: Lauren Ross (Purdue Fort Wayne)
