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| Sidney Wagner led Trine to its second straight victory at DeVos Fieldhouse as the Thunder knocked off No. 1 Hope on Saturday afternoon. File photo by Trine University athletics |
For the second season in a row, Trine went into DeVos Fieldhouse and beat No. 1 Hope, making it likely that both Top 25 polls will have a new leader entering the holidays.
No. 16 Trine caught fire in the second half, and the Thunder pulled away from No. 1 Hope, 76-64.
Trine guard Sidney Wagner converted a three-point play that put the Thunder ahead by 15 midway through the third quarter, 50-35, and then she followed that with a three pointer on Trine’s next possession. The Thunder shot 61 percent from the floor and hit five 3-pointers in that period. Hope got as close as seven points with less than two minutes to play, but the Flying Dutch were forced to foul to extend the game, and Trine hit five of his six free throws to salt the game away.
Wagner poured in 29 points in 28 minutes, and Makayla Ardis added 12 points and six rebounds for Trine (7-2, 4-0 MIAA). Savannah Feenstra scored 26 points to lead Hope (9-1, 2-1 MIAA), which shot 29 percent (20 for 68).
Hope’s loss opens the possibility that No. 2 New York University will move into the top spot when the new Top 25 is released on Monday evening. The Violets have the most poll appearances of any current Division III program without ever topping the rankings (165).
No. 3 Transylvania made its bid to move up the rankings by thrashing John Carroll, 82-39. The Pioneers (9-0) just added this game to their schedule when conference foe Rose-Hulman canceled the rest of its women’s basketball season. Transylvania used 15 players and 13 of them scored, led by All-American Madison Kellione with 25.
On the men’s side, Ripon improved to 2-2 against WIAC foes this season, as the Red Hawks edged No. 11 UW-Oshkosh 67-64 in overtime.
Ripon appeared to have control of the game when David DeValk put the Red Hawks in front 59-47 with seven minutes to play. But Ripon did not score again in regulation, and Hunter Plamann’s three-pointer with 45 seconds left sent the game to overtime.
In the extra period, Ripon turned the tables on UW-Oshkosh and shut out the Titans for the final three minutes of overtime. Luke Meinholz converted two free throws that gave Ripon a one-point lead with two minutes left, and then DeValk’s layup finished the scoring for both teams.
The NACC got the better of the WIAC in a crossover matchup as well when St. Norbert tipped UW-Eau Claire, 59-57. Michael Payant’s layup with three seconds left lifted the Green Knights to victory.
The OAC got one more day of conference play under its belt before the holidays, and all three ranked teams won by double digits.
No. 9 John Carroll scored nine of the game’s first 12 points at Marietta and coasted to a 95-73 win over the Pioneers. Luke Chicone notched a double-double for the Blue Streaks (8-1, 3-1 OAC) with 23 points and 11 assists.
No. 5 Mount Union roughed up Wilmington, 96-69, and No. 20 Heidelberg took care of Muskingum at home, 73-62.
No. 16 Wheaton (Ill.) got back on track in the CCIW with a 79-58 win over Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington. Nick Schiavello scored 21 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Thunder (8-2, 2-1 CCIW) who outscored the Titans 42-12 from behind the arc.
Cortland shot 52 percent from the field in an 85-78 win over Utica. Kareem Lubin scored 19 points for the Red Dragons (8-1) who have won six straight.