Women’s Basketball Games of the Week 1/9 – 1/13
MANHATTAN at MARIST (7 p.m. Monday at James J. McCann Center in Poughkeepsie, New York)
A New York City-area rivalry game is on tap as two top teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference face off. Manhattan (8-7, 2-1) is one full game behind Marist (8-6, 3-0), which shares the top spot in the MAAC with Fairfield. Manhattan just lost to Fairfield 63-59, breaking a six-game winning streak that elevated the Jaspers above .500. Manhattan defeated Rider and Loyola (Md.) before the loss to Marist. The Red Foxes have wins over St. Peter’s, Canisius and Rider, part of a three-game winning streak following a 1-4 stretch of play. Should Marist win, the big showdown with Fairfield takes place on Thursday of this week.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE at ORAL ROBERTS (8:05 p.m. Monday at Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma)
The Summit League race is shaping up nicely, with South Dakota State on top at 4-1 and four other teams within a full game in the standings. Two of these four teams convene in Oklahoma Monday night. North Dakota State (6-11, 3-2) has not had the best of seasons overall but just beat Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne and Oakland to break a seven-game losing streak. Oral Roberts (9-6, 3-1), which enters this game a half-game behind South Dakota State, just beat SDSU 71-65 to make this race a little more interesting. Oral Roberts started off 5-0 but has struggled as of late, so this win was satisfying.
DAYTON at ST. JOSEPH’S (11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Michael J. Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
It’s too soon to tell which team will win the Atlantic-10 Conference championship, but one of these teams will temporarily fall out of first place following the conclusion of this early Tuesday contest. Dayton (9-4, 1-0) is one of seven teams tied atop the A-10 and has won six of its last seven games. Only Gonzaga, which beat the Flyers 82-76, was able to stop Dayton’s high-flying ways. Dayton just beat Rhode Island 97-46 in its last contest. St. Joseph’s (10-4, 1-0) is on a five-game winning streak following a 52-46 loss to Villanova. In this streak the Hawks have beaten teams like UCLA and Boston College, and the Hawks topped Massachusetts 86-58 in their last game.
No. 2 NOTRE DAME at No. 14 GEORGETOWN (7 p.m. Tuesday at McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C.)
Fresh off one of the biggest wins in the program’s rich history, Notre Dame attempts to put some distance between itself and the other Big East Conference opponents when it travels to the nation’s capital. The Irish and Rutgers are the two last remaining unbeaten conference teams and do not meet until January 31, when the league’s landscape could look a whole lot different. Notre Dame (15-1, 3-0) broke Connecticut’s 57-game Big East winning streak when it won 74-67 in overtime behind Skylar Diggins’ 22 points. Georgetown (13-3, 2-1) recovered from a year-opening loss to DePaul to post a 66-56 win over South Florida as Tia Magee, Sugar Rodgers and Adria Crawford all scored 12 points apiece.
TEXAS at No. 13 TEXAS A&M (7 p.m. Wednesday at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas)
At first glance this Big 12 contest might not look too compelling considering Texas (10-4, 0-2) has already dropped its first two league games. Take a closer look at the losses… Texas fell 72-67 to Kansas and 70-51 to Oklahoma State. There won’t be any “gimme” games all season in this compelling league, and the Longhorns (10-4, 0-2) will have to buckle up and take note. The Aggies (10-3, 1-1) have won four of their last five games and came within a whisker of making that a 5-0 stretch. A 71-69 overtime loss to Kansas State got in the way. Either way, this game will give basketball fans in Austin and College Station something to talk about for a couple days.
LEHIGH at AMERICAN (7 p.m. Wednesday at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C.)
Two of the Patriot League’s four unbeaten teams are in action against each other, although it should be pointed out each team has only won one game in conference play. Lehigh (8-7, 1-0) has recovered nicely from a 2-6 start and just beat Holy Cross 75-60 in the league opener. As for American (9-6, 1-0), the Eagles beat Colgate 56-43 in their Patriot opener to even their record at 2-2 in the last four games. Navy and Army are the other unbeaten teams in league play.
MARYLAND at No. 15 MIAMI (7 p.m. Thursday at BankUnited Center in Miami, Florida)
An early-season Atlantic Coast Conference matchup could cement the Terrapins’ hold on first place in the ACC and an unbeaten record for the time being. Maryland (16-0, 3-0) is tied with Duke for the top spot in the league, with the first meeting against these teams scheduled for January 22. Maryland’s perfect season nearly came to an end in the last game but the Terps tripped up North Carolina 78-72 in overtime; Alyssa Thomas had 24 points and eight rebounds in the victory. Miami (12-3, 1-1) lost to North Carolina in league play 65-63 and also has losses to Tennessee and Georgetown; the Hurricanes had better luck with North Carolina State last time out, winning 78-68.
No. 5 TENNESSEE at No. 7 KENTUCKY (7 p.m. Thursday at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky)
A big Southeastern Conference showdown takes place in Kentucky on Thursday when the Lady Volunteers come to town. Both teams sport 3-0 league records and are tied with South Carolina and LSU for the top spot. Tennessee (12-3, 3-0) rebounded nicely from a loss to Stanford by winning five games in a row, the last one a 69-38 victory over Arkansas. Kentucky (14-2, 3-0) started out 10-0 before losing to Notre Dame and Middle Tennessee, although not back-to-back. The Wildcats trampled over Mississippi State, 88-40, in their last go-round. Keyla Snowden scored 22 points in Kentucky’s lopsided victory.
