Women: Hope reaches 40; Bennies get Durbin's 700th

Feb 24, 2021
Mike Durbin, left, and his team celebrate a milestone win against a rival.
St Benedict athletics photo
 

Wednesday's NCAA Division III women's basketball action saw a career mark set and a big streak continued.

Lauren Newman saved her first two points for the very end of a nail-biting, heart-pounding, nerve-wrecking matchup between No. 1 Hope and No. 3 Trine. With just 35 seconds to play and Hope up by one, Newman stipped the ball from Kaylee Argyle at midcourt and took it to the basket for a layup to give the Flying Dutch just a bit of breathing room in a game which featured five ties and 11 lead changes. Hope (11-0, 5-0 MIAA) held on to win 63-59, winning its 40th consecutive game.

The streak is the second-longest in school history and the 11th-longest in Division III basketball history, although multiple seasons behind Washington U.'s record 83 consecutive wins from 1998 to 2001.

"We were sped up by their defense. Giving (Trine) credit on that. But then we were also just nerved up. And part of that is No. 1 playing No. 3," said Hope coach Brian Morehouse. "Our kids know who we are playing, and they know what people are saying about this game. They're human. But then we calmed down, and we played like a veteran No. 1-ranked team in the nation in the fourth quarter, especially down the stretch. We didn't panic when we got down."

Sydney Muller scored a team-high 17 points for Hope, while Ella McKinney scored seven of her 12 in the fourth quarter. Alyssa Argyle led Trine in scoring with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

St. Benedict sent its rivalry with St. Thomas off in memorable fashion, beating the Tommies for the first time since Jan. 12, 2013, and getting longtime coach Mike Durbin his 700th career win in the process with an 88-83 victory.

Durbin (700-250) has the third-most wins among active coaches in NCAA Division III, behind Andy Yosinoff (853-286 at Emmanuel) and Dixie Jeffers (740-276 at Capital). He is just the sixth Division III women's bsketball coach all-time to reach the milestone.

"It's always special to beat your rival, and it certainly is more enjoyable when it comes with a personal milestone, but it's a reflection of what this team has done and how much we have improved from Saturday to Wednesday," Durbin said.

The Tommies hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the Bennies' lead to 85-83 with 23 seconds left, but CSB (3-2, 2-2 MIAC) hit its free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. Carla Meyer was one of five Bennies to score double digits and finished with 16 points for CSB, which shot better than 47 percent from the field. Kaia Porter scored a game-high 20 for St. Thomas (3-1, 2-1).

UW-Oshkosh overcame a fourth-quarter deficit and pulled away for a 63-56 victory over No. 15 UW-Eau Claire. The game was a crossover matchup between teams in opposite divisions in the WIAC's pandemic-provoked divisional setup. League East Division champion UW-Oshkosh (6-1, 6-1) trailed West Division winner UW-Eau Claire (6-1, 6-1), 45-40, entering the final period but rallied to reclaim the lead for good at 49-48 on an Abby Kaiser layup with 5:22 remaining. Kaiser followed with another layup for a 51-48 advantage, and the Titans put the game away on back-to-back 3-pointers from Nikki Arneson in the span of 33 seconds for a 58-51 cushion at the 2:00 mark. Arneson and Karsyn Rueth led UW-Oshkosh with 13 points apiece.