Defeats and close calls for a few Division I teams in preseason
Preseason schedule of games streamed or on TV
As preseason winds down, teams are getting acclimated to the new NCAA rules in exhibitions and closed scrimmages. The exhibition schedule features Division I teams taking on some of the best Division II and NAIA squads. While the outcome of games is generally a rout by the DI teams, every year a few DI squads falter or have close calls against smaller schools. Thursday night North Dakota State and Southern Utah lost to DII teams. Loyola (IL) and UC Irvine needed overtimes to defeat teams in exhibition games. In fact, UC Irvine almost got knocked off by DIII Occidental.
The Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles came back from 15 down at the half to defeat NDSU, 76-73 in Fargo. It was the first-ever victory over a DI opponent for Minnesota-Crookston. Freshman guard Alison Hughes led her team with 18 points and five assists. Senior forward Katrina Nordick finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Micaela Noga added 14 points and six rebounds.
NDSU has just 10 players and played seven due to injuries. However, UMC only used 8 of its 11 available players in the game. The Golden Eagles play the University of North Dakota on Sun., Nov. 8 in another exhibition.
Division II Colorado State-Pueblo Thunderwolves gave new coach Jim Turgeon a great debut with a 74-51 victory over Southern Utah. Senior guard/forward Ashley Piper led her team with 16 points and seven rebounds. The CSU-Pueblo victory included seven three-pointers and 12-of-14 free throws. They limited SUU to 23.3 percent shooting in the second half. The Thunderwolves will finish up their preseason schedule with a game at Utah Valley on Saturday.
Close Calls
- Nov. 1 – Loyola (IL) 65, Wisconsin-Parkside (DII) 54. UW Parkside outscored the Ramblers 20-10 in the second quarter. At the half Loyola only led by just 2, 29-27. The visitors took the lead in the third, outscoring the Loyola (IL) 21-17. The Ramblers rebounded with a 19-6 scoring edge in the last quarter.
- Nov. 3 – Loyola Marymount 64, Cal State-San Bernadino (DII) 59. CSUSB outscored LMU 27-17 in the first quarter. LMU fought back in the second for a one-point lead at the half, 34-33. However, CSUSB outscored LMU in the third and ended the quarter with a 49-48 lead.
- Nov. 3 – UC Irvine 87, Occidental (DIII) 76 OT. Erin Matsumoto and Midori McElwee each scored 18 points for Occidental in their contest vs. the UC Irvine Anteaters. Matsumoto missed a shot with 2 seconds left that would have given the Tigers a victory over a DI team. The teams went into overtime tied at 71.
- Nov. 4 – North Carolina 59, Wingate (DII) 48. Wingate led 12-10 after the first quarter. The game was tied at the half, 24 all.
- Nov. 4 – LSU 88, Union (DII) 57. Before outscoring 2014-15 DI Sweet Sixteen team Union 41-21 in the second half, LSU only led by 11 after the first two quarters. Union shot 58.3 percent in the first half (14-24).
- Nov. 4 – Loyola (IL) 79, Lewis University (DII) 73 OT. Lewis rallied from a first-half deficit of 14 points to take a lead as large as six points in the fourth quarter before a Loyola basket with three seconds left in regulation forced overtime. The Ramblers outscored Lewis 15-9 in the overtime period.
- Nov. 5 – BYU 77, Fort Lewis College (DII) 67. BYU led at the half, 37-33. Fort Lewis College outscored BYU in the 4th quarter 17-11.
The DI regular season begins on Friday, Nov. 13 with 142 games.
