By Justin Zackal
The PAC women’s basketball championship tournament takes place Feb. 19-24, with first round and quarterfinal games hosted by the higher seeded teams Monday and Wednesday and the semifinals and finals at Thomas More Friday and Saturday. Here are five things you need to know:
Abby Owings and the Thomas More Saints have their sights set on an 11th PAC title.
THOMAS MORE’S LAST HURRAH. No team other than top-seeded Thomas More (24-1, 18-0 PAC) has won the PAC since 2006, but that will change next year with the Saints leaving the conference at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season. Ranked fourth in the nation, Thomas More may not be as great as the team that won the national championship in 2016, but the rest of the PAC is still no match for the Saints, which outscored PAC teams by an average of 90.9-47.4 this year, including scores of 73-57 and 92-42 against second-seeded Washington & Jefferson (21-4, 15-3 PAC).
“One change is they are not playing as fast and pressing as much,” said Jina DeRubbo, W&J’s 14th-year head coach. “They are winning as many games as they did, but they are not winning games by simply turning people over in a pressing situation. The biggest thing about Thomas More is they never get rattled. They don’t have those moments in games when they fall apart for four minutes.”
PLAYER TO WATCH. Junior G Madison Temple is the only player to rank in the top six in PAC in scoring (17.1 ppg, 5th), rebounding (7.0 rpg, 6th) and assists (5.4 apg, 1st), but the best player in the league is her teammate in the backcourt, senior G Abby Owings, an All-American and the reigning PAC Player of the Year. Owings ranks seventh in the PAC in scoring (14.6 ppg) and fourth in assists (3.0 apg), but her teams “goes as a she goes,” according to DeRubbo, who said she is “nearly impossible to contain.”
“(Owings) keeps her team in control,” DeRubbo said. “She’s a big-time player and shows up in big games and she never gets rattled.”
THE OTHER DOUBLE-BYE TEAM. Both Thomas More and W&J have two byes and they will play separate remaining teams in Friday night’s semifinals. The Presidents, ranked ninth in the Great Lakes Region, have clinched their fifth 20-win season the last six years, led by senior G Amirah Moore (14.3 ppg, 3.6 apg), who often guards the opposing team’s best player.
“This year it hasn’t been a struggle to get to 20 wins because we’ve had different kids step up at different points during the year and we’ve had a good, balanced attack,” said DeRubbo, referencing the balance of older and younger players, including freshman F Alie Seto (6.8 ppg) who has come on strong at the end of the season, averaging 11.0 points in the last six games.
GAME TO WATCH. Should third-seeded Saint Vincent (17-8, 14-4 PAC) win its quarterfinal game Wednesday — against the winner of Monday’s No. 6-seeded Bethany (11-14, 8-10 PAC) at seventh-seeded Geneva (8-17, 5-13 PAC) first round game — the Bearcats will play W&J in Friday’s semifinal. W&J and Saint Vincent split the season series with W&J winning 70-56 at home Nov. 29 and losing on the road, 69-58, Jan. 24.
“Those were the exact same game but for the opposite team,” DeRubb said. “We came out the first time and exploded offensively and dominated from start to finish. They did exactly the same thing to us the second game and hit every shot. (Saint Vincent is) playing very well right now and playing better and better as the season goes on. I think it would be a really close game (if we play). Who knows which way it will go.”
UNSUNG TEAM. Fourth-seeded Grove City (17-8, 12-6 PAC) would have to play Thomas More in the semifinal if the Wolverines win their quarterfinal game Wednesday against the winner of Monday’s eighth-seeded Westminster (7-18, 3-15 PAC) at fifth-seeded Waynesburg (14-11, 10-8 PAC) first-round game. Although the Wolverines are not a lower seed and an upset of Thomas Moore is unlikely, DeRubbo considers Grove City a team that’s as dangerous as Saint Vincent (Grove City beat Saint Vincent, 60-49, Jan. 6, before losing to the Bearcats, 70-67, Feb. 3).
“(Grove City) just plays really hard and they are very disciplined,” said DeRubbo, in addition to the Wolverines having sophomore G Lexie Arkwright (18.2 ppg). “Whether you are up by 20 or down by 20, Grove City kids always play the same. They play up-tempo, they get in your face, they turn the ball over defensively and they press for 40 minutes, so you can’t let your guard down. They are a team that never quits.”
