| Rank | Team | Last | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland State | 3 | +2 |
| 2 | Green Bay | 1 | -1 |
| 3 | Youngstown State | 5 | +2 |
| 4 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 4 | – |
| 5 | Robert Morris | 2 | -3 |
| 6 | Northern Kentucky | 7 | +1 |
| 7 | IU Indianapolis | 6 | -1 |
| 8 | Wright State | 8 | – |
| 9 | Oakland | 11 | +2 |
| 10 | Detroit Mercy | 9 | -1 |
| 11 | Milwaukee | 10 | -1 |
Cleveland State survived what was probably the toughest field in its three tries at hosting a Thanksgiving MTE, sweeping St. Bonaventure, Valparaiso and Radford to improve to 9-0 all-time at the event, and 7-0 in the modern era of using Woodling Gymnasium as its occasional home court. The first and last games were particularly close, with an 8-1 run over the first half of the fourth quarter providing just enough separation for a 75-71 win over the Bonnies on Wednesday. Three days later, four clutch Colbi Maples baskets down the stretch allowed CSU to sneak past the Highlanders in overtime. There are certainly reasons to be concerned about what’s been an inconsistent Vikings team to this point, but there are worse ways to live than needing to confront those issues while sitting at 7-1.
It’s probably unfair to drop Green Bay, given that the Phoenix has played an absolutely brutal schedule to date, including three high majors and Richmond, the Atlantic-10’s heavy favorites, and has managed to go 5-3. GB even gave a significant push to a ranked NC State team at the Cancun Challenge on Thanksgiving Day. Behind Gracie Grzesk’s 23 points, Kayla Karius’ charges were within one point of the Wolfpack in the fourth quarter, before fading late in a 79-67 defeat. However, they followed that up the next day with one of the uglier games anyone will ever see out of a Green Bay team, a 76-59 loss to the Spiders. The Phoenix actually led the contest 5-0, then immediately surrendered a 26-2 run and never recovered.
It’s hard not to be impressed with Youngstown State at this stage of the season, as Sophia Gregory and Sarah Baker anchor a frontcourt as good as any team in the league. Meanwhile, the likes of Casey Santoro, Erica King, Danielle Cameron, and Hayden Barrier have all had their moments presenting the sort of balance that makes everyone on the floor more dangerous, shown in full effect during a romp at Akron on Sunday. At 5-2, it’s still possible that YSU is (at least partly) the product of its schedule, but any lingering questions should be answered during the month of December, which includes road games against Green Bay and Cleveland State, as well as a home contest against MAC favorite UMass.
Purdue Fort Wayne split a pair of games at the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida last week, as the Mastodons were rolled by Nebraska (despite keeping things pretty close until just before halftime), but recovered for a fairly-routine 77-68 victory over Northwestern State in a consolation game, behind Alana Nelson’s 25 points and seven rebounds. PFW then returned north on Sunday, but dropped a 56-53 decision at Bowling Green, a contest where the ‘Dons would probably like a do-over. In the final minute of play, with the visitors trailing by one, both Nelson and Destiny Macharia missed three-pointers during the same possession. The Falcons blew a wide-open look at the other end, essentially offering Purdue Fort Wayne a mulligan, but Macharia misfired again from deep. On one final try, trailing by three with 3.5 seconds left, the Mastodons’ play was blown up and a shot never occurred.
Robert Morris skipped the Thanksgiving MTE circuit this year, opting instead for a light holiday week. It wasn’t an unburdened one though, as the Colonials dropped a clunky game at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, 64-54. The Eagles, to be fair, are probably improved from the disaster of the last couple of seasons, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that they ate a decisive loss at Purdue Fort Wayne in their previous game. If there is good news for RMU, it’s that Bailey Kuhns finally had a big game. The Mercyhurst transfer has started the year a bit slow, but blew up for an efficient 25 points and seven rebounds at EMU. If she, Aislin Malcolm, and Noa Givon are all on simultaneously, the Colonials are as good as any team in the league.
The freshman duo of Karina Bystry and Maddie Moody has continued to impress for Northern Kentucky. The Norse has quietly improved to 3-6 after splitting its games at the Music City Classic, then returning to Truist Arena to squeak past Southern Indiana in overtime on Sunday. The victory in Nashville was a 90-69 trouncing of heavily-favored Drake, with Bystry’s 17 points leading a balanced effort. Taysha Rushton paced NKU with 20 points against the Screaming Eagles, but it was Moody who made most of the decisive plays in the extra period, including a bucket that erased the Norse’s final deficit, and another that put the home team ahead for good. In all, the Kettering, OH native totaled 15 points and 12 rebounds, her first career double-double.
Last week didn’t generate much new information on IU Indianapolis, given that the Jaguars only played one game, body slamming Division III opponent Anderson on Wednesday. Neveah Foster scored 22 points in a short outing, as the former Indiana all-stater continued her evolution into a top-end Horizon Leaguer, while Kamara Mills added 19 tallies. Taken as a whole, the Jags’ 3-4 record is impressive; three of the losses came by 11 points or fewer against schools like Northwestern, Ball State, and Marshall. In fact, those results track like a team fairly close to the top of the conference. Is that the case? We’ll find out soon enough, given that IU Indy hosts Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday, then Green Bay a week later.
Wright State dropped both of its games at Florida Atlantic’s Thanksgiving Classic, though it’s hard to argue that either defeat was an awful look for the Raiders. Behind 19 points and nine rebounds by Claire Henson, and 18 points, nine rebounds, and nine steals by Breezie Williams, WSU took the hosting Owls to overtime on Friday. They even had the final opportunity in the extra period, while trailing by one, but had an inbound pass intercepted with two seconds left. Then, against a fairly-strong Air Force team, the Raiders shook off a plodding 17-point first half, and battled to within 45-40 midway through the fourth quarter. However, the Falcons went on an 8-0 run from there, enough to seal the result. Williams contributed 16 points and another four steals to the latter effort.
On Wednesday, Oakland bounced back from a string of ugly results to score a modest upset at St. Thomas. Cali Denson starred in the win with 21 points, including a 15-for-16 effort from the free throw line. As a whole, the Golden Grizzlies went a staggering 26-for-34 from the charity stripe in the 68-52 victory, showing at least some of the genius behind playing a bit faster than they had before Keisha Newell’s arrival (OU is still only about average for pace, but they were slower than average last season). Denson has probably been Oakland’s headliner this season, but the likes of Layla Gold, Makenzie Luehring, and Filippa Goula have also taken the reins at times, showing a surprising amount of depth.
Is it time to sound an alarm for Detroit Mercy? Right now, the answer is a hard “maybe.” The Titans are 1-5, and while losses against the likes of Wisconsin (on November 23rd) and Michigan (on Wednesday, in Calihan Hall) are obviously understandable, decisive setbacks against three MAC teams are at least enough to raise an eyebrow. The most recent of that trio came at home against Eastern Michigan on Sunday, which presents an interesting (if ultimately meaningless) angle since, as mentioned, the Eagles have already lost to Purdue Fort Wayne by 15 and defeated Robert Morris by ten. In UDM’s 64-55 loss to the Ypsi squad, Nisea Burrell scored a career-high 15 points, on 7-for-8 shooting. Aaliyah McQueen is off to a slow start, as she’s been held to three points or fewer in three of the Titans’ six games.
First, the good news: Milwaukee showed signs of life in its second game of the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off in Stockton, CA. The Panthers faced a 70-49 deficit against UC Davis early in the fourth quarter on Saturday, but rallied to within seven, before ultimately losing by nine. Of course, it should go without saying that if that’s the highlight, the rest must be pretty ugly. UWM is 2-7 overall and on an active four-game skid, dropping those contests (two of which were against Big East foes Marquette and Butler, to be fair) by an average of 21 points. The natural reset of conference games this week is probably a welcome sight for Kyle Rechlicz, who hopes that Jorey Buwalda can keep her strong start to the season going in HL play.
Player of the Week
Colbi Maples (Cleveland State)
Maples starred throughout the Vikings’ three CSU Invitational wins, helping the hosts to victories versus high-quality St. Bonaventure and Radford squads (as well as one against a lesser-quality opponent, Valparaiso). Despite an extremely rough start against the Highlanders, her heroics in the fourth quarter and overtime of that contest were a signature moment within a highly-decorated career.
Also considered: Neveah Foster (IU Indianapolis), Bailey Kuhns (Robert Morris), Jenna Guyer (Green Bay), Gracie Grzesk (Green Bay), Cali Denson (Oakland), Sophia Gregory (Youngstown State), Karina Bystry (Northern Kentucky), Alana Nelson (Purdue Fort Wayne)
