Game Info: Thursday, February 18, 2021 - 7:00 p.m.
Location: Schwartz Athletic Center - Chester, Pa.
Social Media: @WidenerSports |
@WUWBB
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Opening Tip
After sweeping a home-and-home series against Stevenson, the Widener University women's basketball team opens a two-game series against one of the upper echelon teams in the MAC Commonwealth, the Albright Lions on Thursday, February 18 at 7:00 p.m.
Last Time Out - Fourth Quarter Rally Leads @WUWBB To A Second Straight Win
Widener used a 17-6 closing run as the Blue and Gold downed the Stevenson Mustangs 62-53 in a MAC Commonwealth matchup on Friday, February 12.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Kyra Schenk posted her first double-double of the season behind 16 points and 10 rebounds and connected on 6-of-9 shots from the field.
- Erin Phelan added 15 points.
- Jordan D'Ambrosio had 12 points and tied a career-high in assists, which she initially set the night before, with eight.
- Nicole Barnes dropped nine points with five boards and five steals.
- It was Widener's first win at Stevenson since January 4, 2014, snapping a six-game road skid against the Mustangs.
- The Pride shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the final 10 minutes and held Stevenson to a 4-for-20 performance.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Widener took the early lead in the game as a jumper by D'Ambrosio and a pair of layups from Schenk staked the Pride to a 6-0 lead just more than three minutes in. Stevenson battled back, tying the score at 8-8 before a 5-0 WU run in the final 2:31 of the period, all scored by Phelan, pushed the Pride up 13-8 after 10 minutes.
Both teams found their legs in the second quarter, with Widener steadily increasing its lead, going up by as much as 13 on a pair of Schenk free throws. The Mustangs pushed back, using a 7-0 spurt, but a layup by
Brooke Bachtle at the end of the half put the Blue and Gold up 33-25 at break.
The second half did not start kindly for the Pride as Stevenson forged a major rally, eventually taking a 47-45 lead in the early seconds of the fourth quarter. Undaunted, Widener turned up the defense, not allowing SU a field goal for more than six minutes, outscoring the Mustangs 11-0 during the span, to come away with the win.
Scouting Report
Albright enters the game 2-0 overall, sweeping its opening home-and-home series with the newest member of the MAC Commonwealth, the Eastern Eagles. Defense dominated the series as the Lions held EU to 49.5 points per game in the series.
Reigning Conference Player of the Week, Gabby Boggs, leads the way for Albright after averaging 17.5 PPG and 10.0 RPG in the two games, shooting 57.7 percent (15-for-26) from the floor. Right behind Boggs are Maggie O'Hare and Brady Wassell, each of whom averaged a double-double for the weekend. For O'Hare it was a continuation of her effort from last season, when she netted 12.4 points an outing to rank second on the team. After the strong trio, scoring is scarce for Albright as the rest of the team tallied just 33 points in two games against the Eagles.
One thing the Lions did well was take care of the basketball, committing just 29 turnovers in the two games. They did not force turnovers, however, as Eastern only coughed the ball up 24 times.
Alumna Janice Luck is in her 19th season as the head women's basketball coach at Albright. After winning just 15 games in her first three seasons, Coach Luck took the program all the way to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever in 2007-08 and has guided her teams to the dance five times in all, most recently in 2020. She is a three-time MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year.
It's Early, But...
Ok, we know it's way too early to make a big deal out of national rankings, but it's also fun to see one of your players at the top of a list. With that in mind,
Jordan D'Ambrosio leads all of NCAA Division III with 8.0 assists per game.
It's not just D'Ambrosio who's at or near the top of a national list, however.
Nicole Barnes is third in the country at 4.5 steals per game and
Kyra Schenk is sixth, connecting on 66.7 percent of her shots from the floor. As a team, the Pride ranks sixth in NCAAD3 in three-point percentage at 40.9.
One And Done
One more note on the national rankings. While WU is only fourth in the MAC Commonwealth in total rebounds per game, it leads the conference and is 32nd nationally with 31.0 defensive rebounds per contest. In two games, Stevenson scored just 16 total second chance points.
Familiar Foes
Widener and Albright square off for the 80th time on Thursday, extending the Lions mark as the most played opponent for WU women's basketball. The two teams began their series in the 1980-81 season with the Blue and Gold claiming a 78-70 win. WU is 26-13 all-time against the Lions at home, splitting a pair of games in Chester last year. Widener has not played any other team more then 64 times (Messiah). Head Coach
Alisa Kintner is 19-16 against Albright in her career.
Jazz-ing It Up
Jasmine Franklin plays at her best when facing Albright, particularly last season. In three games against the Lions in 2019-20, she scored 8.0 points a contest, shot 11-for-16 from the floor, and came away with four steals, playing 18.3 minutes per game. Her 5.2 points per game against Albright for her career are her most against any opponent and represent 18.6 percent of her career scoring total.
We'll Take That, Thanks!
In it's first two games, the Pride forced 33 turnovers and scored 36 points off Stevenson miscues, an average of 1.09 points per opposition TO. That number is a slight improvement from the already impressive totals from the last two years. In 2018-19 Widener scored 1.01 points per opponent turnover (487 points/482 opponent TO). in 2019-20, the mark was 0.99 (467/474).
Smooth Criminal
Of those 33 turnovers, 20 of them (60.6 percent) came from steals.
Nicole Barnes leads the way, coming away with nine picks so far. In two-plus seasons, Barnes has 115 swipes and needs 25 more to move into the career top-10.
Score...
Widener is 29-3 in its last 32 games when it scored 70 or more points.
...And Score Early
The Pride is 24-1 in its last 25 games where it was either leading or tied at the half, dating to a 71-70 win against Stevenson on February 9, 2019.
Home Is Where The Wins Are
The Blue and Gold is 23-4 in the last 27 games at the Schwartz Athletic Center. Of the four losses, three of them came to ranked opponents; No. 11 Messiah (November 28, 2018), No. 6 Amherst (January 4, 2020), and No. 21 Albright (February 26, 2020).
Starting Well (Part I)
Thursday marked the fourth consecutive season and seventh time in the last nine years the Pride won its opening game.
Starting Well (Part II)
Gianna Samuels enjoyed an impressive collegiate debut, scoring 16 points, hitting all four of her shots from beyond the arc. It is the highest point total for Widener by a player in her first game since
Devan Rimmer had 22 against Wesley on November 15, 2016. The four treys are the most in a collegiate debut for the Blue and Gold since Rayne Reber connected on 4-of-9 against the University of Maine - Presque Isle on November 17, 2006.
Swiping Left
Kyra Schenk has her name etched in the Widener record books in several places, but none more prominently than the blocked shot career list. Her rejection in the NCAA Tournament First Round against Christopher Newport was her 105th, moving into second place all-time for the Blue and Gold. Dating to last season, she has 29 blocks in her last 13 games. In 81 career games, the senior currently has 107 swats.
Support System
Widener showed its depth on Thursday as it scored 27 bench points against the Mustangs. Widener only had five games last season with 27 or more points from its reserves.
A Much Different Look
When the Pride took the floor against Stevenson on February 11, it was the first time in four years it did so without
Devan Rimmer and
Madison Ireland in the starting lineup. The pair accounted for more than 2,500 career points and nearly 800 assists in their careers, with both starting more than 100 contests.
But Not Completely New
Widener returns significant firepower on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The Pride boasts the last two MAC Commonwealth Rookies of the Year in
Erin Phelan and
Jordan D'Ambrosio. Phelan is the active scoring leader for the Pride with 711 points and has started all 57 games in her career. D'Ambrosio appeared in all 27 games last season, averaging 7.7 points, tallying 10 or more in five of the last six contests. Senior
Kyra Schenk returns after nearly doubling her scoring output last season, posting 10.0 PPG to go along with 8.4 rebounds an outing. She is second all-time for the Blue and Gold with 107 blocks, ranking seventh in the conference last year with 1.7 per game. Junior
Nicole Barnes is back as well and looks to continue her ascent in the record books after coming away with 53 steals in each of her first two seasons.
Helena Salmon,
Jasmine Franklin, Mack McCracken, and
Brooke Bachtle each look to extend their roles from last season while
Charlotte Stern,
Olivia Pennypacker, and
Izzy Hamlin are set to provide depth.
Up Next
The second tilt of the two-game series is on deck with Widener traveling to Reading, Pa. on Friday, February 19. Tipoff from the George C. Bollman Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
