San Antonio, TEXAS – The Trinity women's basketball team (15-10, 11-3 SAA) will take on the SAA Championships this weekend, awaiting the winner of No. 4 Oglethorpe University (17-8, 9-5 SAA) vs. No. 5 Berry College (15-10, 9-5 SAA), whom they'll meet on Feb. 27.
SAA Tournament Preview
First-Round
No. 4 Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels vs. No. 5 Berry Vikings
Oglethorpe (17-8, 9-5 SAA) comes into the tournament on a four-game winning streak, three of which came by double-digits. They've been an exceptional rebounding team lately, having won the battle on the glass in their last six games, twice by double-digits. They've been a solid all-around team all year, slightly outshooting and outrebounding their opponents on the season to average a margin of victory of 6.9 points per game. They've struggled holding onto the ball, giving up 17.4 turnovers per game, but have been tenacious on defense in response, forcing 19.3 turnovers per game.
The Stormy Petrels are led by senior forward Keimarya Rivera, who averages 19.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game on 54% shooting.
Berry (15-10, 9-5 SAA) closed out their regular season with a monster 63-44 win against Rhodes College, getting back on track after two straight losses. Those losses broke a seven-game win streak that held the Vikings as the hottest team in the SAA, a label they hope to bring back for the conference tournament. They've hung their hat on the defensive side of the ball this year, winning low-scoring duels by forcing opponents to shoot just 36% from the field and give up 20.9 turnovers per game. In their last outing against the Lynx, they forced a field goal percentage of 28% as Rhodes gave up 22 turnovers.
The Vikings are led by senior forward Elly Callihan, who averages 12.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game on 39% shooting.
These two teams have split their two matchups this year, with Berry grabbing a huge, 71-49 win over Oglethorpe in their last matchup, amidst the Vikings' prolonged winning streak. That blowout win was a product of, as have most of their wins this season, their ability to shut down opponents on the defensive end, allowing the Stormy Petrels to shoot just 35% from the field and 20% from three.
No. 3 Millsaps Majors vs. No. 6 Southwestern Pirates
Millsaps (18-7, 9-5 SAA) comes into the tournament after a 53-59 loss to Oglethorpe snapped their five-game win streak, the last three of which came by 20+ points. They were money from the field over that stretch, converting on over 45% of their field goals in all but one game. They've played competitive basketball from all levels of the court this year, making 42% of their field goals, although hitting 31% of their threes, and holding a +7.6 average rebounding margin. They've had some trouble with turnovers, giving the ball up 16.9 times per game, which has led to a slight advantage in shot attempts in favor of their opponents, but their dominance on the glass has mitigated the repercussions of their ball security struggles.
The Majors are led by junior guard Garin Freeman, who averages 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.4 steals per game on 41% shooting. It would be remiss not to also mention Elyse Warren, whose 17.4 rebounds per game rank her third nationally.
Southwestern (13-12, 4-10 SAA) enters the tournament on a three-game skid with two losses coming by double-digits. Despite playing top-ranked Trinity to a three-point loss to close out the year, the Pirates have struggled to get much of anything going this year, with three of their four wins coming against the two lowest-ranked teams in the SAA. Those struggles are most evident in the shooting column, as they have converted on 39% of their field goals and 26% of their threes. They've been a middle-of-the-road rebounding team, and force 2.4 more turnovers than they give up on average, but have been unable to overcome their shooting struggles as of late, having made just 17% of their threes over the last three outings.
The Pirates are led by freshman guard Neela Castillo, averaging 13.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game on 38% shooting from the field and 34% from three.
Millspaps took both matchups between these two teams, securing victories of 22 points and 7 points. In their most recent meeting, both teams shot the ball uncharacteristically well, as the Majors made 55% of their shots and the Pirates hit on 50% of theirs. It was that gap in shotmaking that ultimately led to both of Millsaps' wins, as the Majors won the shooting battle by nearly 13% in their first meeting.
Second-Round
No. 2 Centre Colonels
Centre (19-6, 9-5 SAA) will take on the winner of No. 3 Millsaps vs. No. 6 Southwestern after securing the second seed by means of tie breaker with the other three teams sitting at 9-5 in conference play. The Colonels' season ended on a low note, suffering a 65-67 home loss to SAA bottom-feeder Sewanee after converting on just 15% of their threes. That's a contrast from their usual efficiency shooting the ball, hitting on 42% of their field goals while making 31% of their threes. They also hold an average rebounding margin of +3.8, while forcing their opponents into 18.9 turnovers per game.
The Colonels are led by junior guard Lilly Reid, who averages 15.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.8 steals per game on 40% shooting.
