by Matt Koll
Another year, another PAC Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament that has Jina DeRubbo’s Washington and Jefferson Presidents as the No. 1 seed. But while it’s the second consecutive season that this is the case, the top seed was knocked off in the semifinal round last year.
The field is packed full of eligible candidates for a title run again this year, so let’s see what this year’s tournament has to offer…
No. 1 WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON PRESIDENTS (23-2, 19-1 PAC)
Meghan Dryburgh, the reigning PAC Player of the Year, is looking to lead W&J back to a conference championship. (Photo Courtesy of W&J)
Coach DeRubbo says: To win it all, they must: “Play without fear. The message continues to be that you can’t just hold on to this idea of winning a championship you have to go take it.”
Not only did the Presidents finish the regular season as the PAC’s top team with just one loss in conference play, but they come into the tournament ranked 6th in the NCAA Division III Region VII rankings. Now that’s a tremendous regular season. But does it come with added pressure to do what they’re capable of in the PAC Tournament?
“If we’re being honest, of course there is pressure but as [junior guard] Bryn Bezjak reminded us last week after a practice, ‘Pressure is a privilege,’”said head coach Jina DeRubbo. “I think the pressure comes from feeling like we have to be perfect. It was difficult last year to have such a great season and be left out of the NCAA tournament. We spend a lot of time talking about playing without fear, we cannot be afraid to fail. That has been our mantra all season and they seem to have grown from the experience of last season and are more excited than fearful about the PAC tournament.”
W&J owns the PAC’s top scoring defense at 57.1 points per game allowed, while also leading the conference in defensive rebounding and total rebounding margin. Offensively, the Presidents lead the conference in shooting percentage both from the floor and from three and have the 3rd-highest scoring offense in the conference, all without having a top 10 individual scorer. DeRubbo says that the team’s depth and overall unselfish attitude is the reason that’s possible.
On a team filled with talent, there is one player who stands out: Meghan Dryburgh. The junior guard/forward averages 11 rebounds per game (2nd in PAC) while ranking seventh in assists, eighth in steals and leads the team with 11.7 points per game (12th in PAC). And she’s beloved by her coach.
“Meghan is such a dominant player on our team and in this league. She just does so many other things than just scoring. She doesn’t score as many points as some other players in the league because she doesn’t need to,” DeRubbo said. “I imagine the focal point of most scouts is to find a way to just contain her. The thing that makes that so difficult is that she can score eight points and still dominate a game. Her rebounding is impressive and her ability to be a playmaker as well, in my opinion, is what separates her from other players in the league. Meghan is a kid that we have built this team around and her impact on our program will be seen for years to come.”
The pressure may be on to come up big, but the Presidents have the ability to rectify, not repeat, their bowing out with the #1 seed from last season.
No. 2 CHATHAM COUGARS (22-3, 18-2 PAC)
The “Lethal Lefty,” junior Ashlie Louden, and the Cougars are hoping for a return trip to the PAC title game. (Photo courtesy of Chatham).
Coach Saur says: To win it all, they must: stay in the moment, good, bad or ugly. Moving on to the next play, full speed, no hesitation. I feel really good about our team if we continue to play with that mentality.”
The Cougars put together a dominant regular season and in many years, they would own that top seed heading into the PAC Tournament. But a first round bye and home court for at least one game sure is a nice consolation prize.
But that’s the last consolation prize this team is looking to receive. Chatham was this season’s highest-scoring team, averaging 77.4 points per game, which led to owning the conference’s high scoring margin, an impressive 17.8 points. So what made it all come together?
“Balance. From depth of talent on our roster, going 10-11 deep [and] in addition being a really efficient offensive team that leans on its defense to create a chunk of its scoring opportunities,” said head coach David Saur. “We have highly skilled players on offense that have committed to our aggressive defensive style, which has turned into a really balanced output all year.”
Saur says his group has made the turn from just being a team that, on paper, could or should take a jump, into a team that actually went out and did it. He credits their consistent work for making that come to fruition.
“We are at the point on offense executing things within our system that only teams we’ve had at the D1 level got into. That comes from continuity the last couple years but also shows how smart and basketball savvy a group we have this season,” said Saur.
Individually, Ashlie Louden averaged 14.2 points per game this season, good for fifth in the PAC, while finishing second in the conference in 3-point field goals made per game and second in 3-point field goal shooting percentage (35.6%). What also makes Chatham so dangerous and effective is their mentality.
“We have talked all year about continuing to be the “hunter” each game. Regardless of the opponent, we are on the attack. Force teams to react to us. That’s the philosophy that has served us well,” Sauer said. “From a player perspective that tone gets set by Ashlie Louden and Aurielle Brunner.They are elite competitors. Gamers.”
The Cougars come into the tournament red hot, winners of seven in a row.
Next game: Thursday at 7:30 pm vs. winner of Bethany/Saint Vincent (on the PAC Sports Network)
No. 3 BETHANY BISON (14-11, 12-8 PAC)
Bella Skobel and the Bison have stampeded to five straight wins heading into the PAC Tournament. (Photo courtesy of Bethany College).
Coach Lopez says: To win it all, they must: “play Bethany Basketball for the full forty minutes every night.”
As we’ve seen in other tournaments across other leagues and other sports, sometimes the team that’s playing their best and peaking at the right time heading into the postseason is the one that gets it done. This Bethany team has gone the entire month of February so far (5 games) without losing.
“We definitely started clicking at the right time,” said head coach Mikayla Lopez. “But I think the scary part is that we know we still have better basketball in us and it’s just a matter of our group playing together for the whole game and really focusing on doing the little things.”
The Bison enter the tournament shooting just over 40% from the field as a team, good for third-best in the PAC. They also shoot just over 33% from three and just over 70% from the free throw line, both of which rank second in the conference. Lindsey Garrison leads the way offensively, her 15.7 points per game rank fourth in the PAC and she’s also the best 3-pointer shooter in the conference.
“Having Lindsey brings a whole other level of depth to our offense,” said Lopez. “She is capable of going off for 30 some nights and on the other nights when teams really focus in on her, she is a great distributor and plays her role to create for other teammates.”
The challenge will be on the boards. Bethany’s 35.5 rebounds per game ranks second to last and their -2.4 rebounding margin came in at 8th among the 11 teams in the conference. But the good news for them is that they beat their first round opponent, Saint Vincent, in both matchups this season. The first came just before Christmas at home 70-58, the second on the road just a couple of weeks ago in a thriller, 67-66.
Next game: Tuesday at 7 pm vs. #No. 6 Saint Vincent (on the PAC Sports Network)
No. 4 ALLEGHENY GATORS (13-12, 12-8 PAC)
Emily Lauer is the top scorer (16.8 ppg) for the fourth-seeded Gators. (Photo courtesy of Allegheny College).
The Gators find themselves at the No. 4 seed in the tournament after a tough final stretch of the regular season saw them lose three out of their last four games. In fairness, all three of those losses came against teams who have made the PAC Tournament. But, it’s still something they want to shake off heading into the postseason.
Leading the way in that could be Emily Lauer, the PAC’s second-best scorer this season at 16.8 points per game. But, we can’t stop there. Allegheny boasts three of the PAC’s top 10 individual scorers including Sarah Santicola at number eight (12.3 ppg) and Jess Bickart at number 10 (11.8 ppg). On the glass, Santicola is the PAC’s best rebounder, averaging 11.5 per game, while Bickart ranks 5th with 8.7 per game.
So, this team has the firepower to keep themselves in it. It will just be a matter of getting back on the winning side of things again. The Gators lost to first round opponent Geneva on the road by three points back in early December, but bounced back to beat them at home 77-69 in late January.
Next game: Tuesday at 7 pm vs. No. 5 Geneva
No. 5 GENEVA GOLDEN TORNADOES (12-13, 11-9 PAC)
The Golden Tornadoes, led by Mia San Nicolas, has had their best season since joining the PAC in 2011-2012. (Photo courtesy of Geneva).
This Geneva team can score. And they’ve got the conference’s best player at doing it.
They come into the tournament averaging 74.3 points per game, good for second in the PAC behind Chatham. They also hit the second-most 3-point field goals per game behind only Chatham.
Mia San Nicolas doesn’t rank behind any Chatham player, or any other player in the conference for that matter, in terms of scoring. She finished atop the conference averaging 19 points per game, over two points better than the next best scorer. Not only that, but San Nicolas is averaging a double double by collecting 10 rebounds per game (3rd in PAC). She ranks first in field goal percentage (45.8%) and is the conference’s best shot blocker (3.3 per game) as well, cementing her as a true star in this league and arguably its best player.
The Golden Tornadoes will look to bounce back from a 77-69 loss to Allegheny in their last matchup.
Next game: Tuesday at 7 pm @ No. 4 Allegheny
No. 6 SAINT VINCENT BEARCATS (13-12, 11-9 PAC)
Alana Winkler, the reigning PAC Defensive Player of the Year, and the Bearcats won their final two games to qualify for the PAC Tournament. (Photo courtesy Saint Vincent College).
The defending champions came in with a much different look this season but still found their way into the postseason. The Bearcats had an encouraging end to the season, hanging in there against top seeded W&J in an eight-point loss and then beating fourth-seeded Allegheny by six on the road.
This year’s Saint Vincent team brings a stingy defense and a solid rebounding effort to the table. They only give up an average of 58.3 points per game, good for third-best in the PAC, while their +3.4 rebounding margin ranks 4th in the conference.
Emily Cavacini’s 13.8 points per game finished 6th in the league while Madison Weber’s 8.8 rebounds per game ranked 4th.
Earlier this season, Saint Vincent lost to first round opponent Bethany 70-58, then suffered a gut-wrenching loss at home 67-66 on Feb 7. They’ll be seeking revenge for that one on Tuesday night, but they’ll have to go back out on the road again to do it.
Next game: Tuesday at 7 pm @ No. 3 Bethany (on the PAC Sports Network)
