Saturday: Flight

No. No. 23 Hope defeated No. 11 Illinois Wesleyan in overtime, and Elizabethtown and Capital stayed perfect with come-from-behind wins in Saturday’s Division III women’s basketball action. On the men’s side, No. 15 Mary Washington and event hosts Washington and Jefferson prevailed at the Great Lakes Invitational.

The Flying Dutch prevailed over Illinois Wesleyan in a back-and-forth battle that featured nine ties and 11 lead changes. After Hope opened a 63-56 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Titans scored eight straight and went ahead by one after Sara Balli’s layup. The teams traded leads and Hope tied the game at 67 with 44 seconds left in regulation on a layup by Leah Richards.

In overtime, Sidney Vis hit a three-pointer that gave the Flying Dutch a 76-71 lead, and Hope held Illinois Wesleyan to just two free throws in the final minute.

Sophomore sisters Anna and Leah Richards led Hope (6-1) with a total of 29 points and 25 rebounds. Anna paced the Flying Dutch with 17 points in 41 minutes, and Hope went 16 for 21 from the foul line. Caitlin Leyden posted a double-double for Illinois Wesleyan (2-2) with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Elizabethtown triumphed over Susquehanna, 59-56, in a battle of undefeated early season. The Blue Jays erased a six-point deficit to start the fourth quarter by shooting 70 percent (7 for 10). Allyia Kennedy’s 3-pointer with 52 seconds left proved to be the game winner for Elizabethtown (4-0, 2-0 Landmark), which got another big game from Makenna Mummert (17 points, 7-of-14 shooting, 37 minutes). Zoie Maffei led Susquehanna (4-1, 1-1 Landmark) with 20 points.

Samaree Perkins scored 28 points, including two free throws with less than a second left, and those points lifted Capital (4-0) over Bethany, 68-66. The Comets trailed by 16 early in the fourth when Lindsey Garrison’s 3-pointer gave the Bison a 57-41 lead. Perkins went to work on a three-point play to spark Capital’s rally. and Olivia Rouser’s three even tied Capital at 66 with 1:26 left. The teams traded empty possessions, then Perkins grabbed two offensive rebounds on her own misses before being fouled on the third attempt.

No. 21 Randolph-Macon finished with just two losses last season, both against Gettysburg. The Yellow Jackets put those losses behind them with a 63-53 win over the Bullets at the RMC Tip Off Classic. Sam Smith scored a career-high 21 points and McKenzie Matheny had 10 points, 15 rebounds and six assists for RMC (4-2).

After losing to No. 17 Carnegie Mellon on Friday night, No. 7 Cortland bounced back with a 74-62 win over Washington and Jefferson at the Marietta tournament. The Red Dragons led the entire game and went on a 6–0 run early in the fourth quarter to open a nine-point lead. Jackie Funk defeated Cortland (3-2) with 16 points, and Joleen Lusk added a double-double for the Red Dragons. Riley DeRubbo led all scorers with 19 points for W&J (4-1).

Each team left Marietta’s weekend tournament with a 1-1 record as the Pioneers defeated No. 17 Carnegie Mellon 73-63. Kelsey Harlan scored 25 points, five assists and five steals for Marietta (2-4), winning the game 16-3 in the fourth quarter.

No. 4 Smith continued to roll with a 78-60 victory over Johnson and Wales after a strong showing from the starting backcourt. Virginia Johnson and Kate Hackney combined for 30 points and 24 rebounds for the Bears (4-0), who have been watching despite All-American Hannah Martin not yet playing.

No. 6 Washington and Lee also earned a victory despite missing their All-American, as the Generals defeated Lynchburg, 67-54, without Mary Schleusner taking the floor. Sam Collins came off the W&L bench to score 17 points, and Zou Raine and Riley Bryant each scored 11 for the Generals (6-0, 1-0 ODAC).

On Saturday afternoon, the three best teams recorded a lopsided victory.

No. 1 New York University dismantled SUNY New Paltz, 99-37, after an overwhelming defensive performance. The Violets held the Hawks to 12 field goals on 40 turnovers and led 56-21 at the half. All-American Caroline Peper scored 25 points in 30 minutes for New York University (4-0), extending the winning streak to 66 games.

No. 2 Scranton defeated Goucher 90-48 using 17 players, none of whom played more than 18 minutes. The Royals (5-0, 2-0 Landmark) outscored the Gophers, 48-23, and outscored them in the paint, 48-8.

No. 3 UW-Oshkosh played its first home game of the season and scored its most points in more than five years as the Titans routed Wheaton (Ill.) 84-59. Oshkosh (5-0) shot 48 percent from the field and 50 percent (12 for 24) from three.

Men: Eagles, presidents have the upper hand at GLI

The Great Lakes Invitational concluded with No. 15 Mary Washington improving to 6-0 with a 68-57 win over No. 8 Carthage. The Eagles came out of halftime shooting 54 percent (15 for 28), while Carthage went 3-for-20 from three in the second half. Kye Robinson came up big again for UMW with 27 points and eight rebounds, while Riley Brooks scored 23 points and grabbed 10 boards for the Firebirds (2-2).

Washington and Jefferson closed out the weekend event with a 79-75 victory over No. 21 Maryville. Chase Morgan’s layup put the Scots ahead 75-73 in the final minute, but Matthew Carte responded with a three to put W&J ahead, 76-75. Maryville turned the ball over on its next possession, and Carte hit two free throws, pushing the Presidents’ lead to three. Maryville missed a three on their final possession and W&J added another free throw.

Nathan Plotner filled the stat sheet with 23 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks, four steals and three assists for Washington and Jefferson (5-2), which finished the event 2-0. Trine left Western Pennsylvania with an 86-55 win over Marietta and Trinity (Texas) took care of Case Western, 75-59.

At Maryland, No. 13 Wesleyan rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat No. 10 Roanoke 84-79. The Cardinals trailed 50-38 at halftime, but got 45 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds from Zach Wolinski and Sam Pohlman. They scored 29 points in the second half, which tied Roanoke’s performance that period.

Gustavus Adolphus shot 58 percent in the second half and 52 percent overall, and the Gusties were golden in an 87-72 victory over No. 18 UW-Platteville. Four Gustavus starters scored in double figures, led by Andrew Quam who had 28.

Keene State scored eight straight to tie the game at 53 at home against No. 19 WPI, and that mark stood in the Owls’ 66-62 victory over the Engineers. Jordan Cooper’s three gave Keene State a 61-53 lead with under five minutes to play. The Owls didn’t score another field goal the rest of the way, but they made enough free throws to hold off WPI for their second win of the season.

Muskingum defeated Westminster (Pa.) 72-64 to improve to 5-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Duane Davis scored 31 points and Owen Emig added 20 for the Muskies, who start at Capital on Dec. 3.

Wooster overcame two big deficits to defeat Brockport 86-85 in the Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic. The Scots trailed by 24 points midway through the first half and 12 points midway through the second, but defeated the Golden Eagles 33-5 to complete the comeback. Isaiah Johnson’s free throws with 17 seconds left lifted the Fighting Scots (2-2) to victory.