The heat is ramping up on women’s college basketball in the Atlantic 10 Conference with the month of March approaching.
Each week, The Good Five Cent Cigar sports staff ranks the 15 teams in the A-10.
Here’s how the rankings turned out as of Feb. 17:
15th Place: St. Bonaventure University Bonnies (5-20, 1-13) (-)
The Bonnies’ losing streak stretched to double digits this past week, rendering them helpless to climb the ladder of the A-10 standings in their next four games.
The last time the Bonnies scored more than 60 points was on Jan. 8. Their latest contest against Davidson College featured their lowest-scoring effort of the season, a 55-37 loss. Their average of 54.1 points scored per game is well below the second-lowest offense in the league, Virginia Commonwealth University, with 57.9 ppg.
14th Place: La Salle University Explorers (8-20, 2-13) (-)
If not for their win over the Bonnies on Jan. 29, the Explorers would be in a similar boat with consecutive double-digit losses. On their five-game skid, they’ve averaged 53.2 points per game.
Against Fordham University, the Explorers led by as many as 13 at the end of the third quarter, but ultimately fell on a three-pointer with seven seconds left, ending in a 61-58 score. The University of Rhode Island didn’t keep things as tight on its senior day, as the Explorers fell 77-54.
13th Place: Loyola University Chicago Ramblers (11-15, 3-12) (-)
In their matchup with George Washington University, the Ramblers scored eight points in the first half, and despite outscoring the Revolutionaries in the third and fourth quarters, they fell 53-41.
Similarly, a low-scoring third quarter against Duquesne University plagued them in their 75-70 loss. Despite a 25-point performance from fifth-year guard Naelle Bernard and a 41-point fourth quarter, the Ramblers could not recover from scoring just four points in the third quarter.
12th Place: Fordham University Rams (13-12, 7-7) (-2)
Following its come-from-behind victory against La Salle, Fordham dropped a 76-57 loss to VCU. While VCU only led by six at halftime, its largest scoring margin came in the fourth quarter, outscoring Fordham 17-8 and pulling away with the win.
The victory over La Salle snapped a four-game losing streak for the Rams, but it’s been made painfully clear that the Rams cannot compete down the stretch with teams above them in the standings. Next week’s matchups with Duquesne and the University of Dayton will prove to be one of their final challenges against conference opponents in the regular season.
11th Place: George Washington University Revolutionaries (11-14, 4-10) (+1)
Snapping their three-game winning streak with a 66-51 loss at home to Dayton, the Revolutionaries will have to quickly shake off their defeat in preparation for the top A-10 team, University of Richmond.
After keeping things within three points after the first frame, Dayton broke out to a 20-point lead heading into halftime and kept things at arm’s length the rest of the contest. If the Revolutionaries want a shot at taking down the top dog, they’ll need to play a complete game next week.
10th Place: Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (11-15, 5-9) (+1)
VCU split games with two evenly matched opponents in Fordham and Saint Louis University last week. Although their five-game skid before the win over Fordham were losses within 10 points, they’re still floating around the conference’s bottom five teams.
Luckily for the Rams, three of their next four games are against fellow bottom five teams, but the odd man out is Richmond this upcoming week. VCU’s top-four conference defense can’t win every game, and that’s been made apparent. Instead, its bottom-two offense will need to step up if the Rams want a first-round bye.
9th Place: Saint Louis University Billikens (11-16, 5-9) (-)
The Billikens could not fend off Richmond on Sunday despite outscoring them 18-7 in the first quarter. Credit to the Billikens, their last three losses have come against the top three teams in the conference, and they kept things respectable in their 59-49 loss against Richmond.
Richmond outscored the Billikens in the final three quarters, but the Billikens still led 43-37 heading into the final frame. Richmond’s top-two conference offense was too much to handle for the Billikens, as they were outscored by the largest margin of the afternoon, 22-6.
SLU’s top-five conference offense could prove to be a threat in its final four games if they can clean up their last place defense, giving up an average of 73.9 ppg.
8th Place: Duquesne University Dukes (16-9, 7-7) (-3)
A striking pattern the Dukes have shown in their last three games is giving up 70 or more points. In their 72-52 loss against the University of Massachusetts, the Dukes had a shooting percentage of .291 from the field in comparison to UMass’ .456.
Additionally, UMass fourth-year guard Stefanie Kulesza outshined the A-10’s second-ranked rebounder, the Dukes’ fourth-year guard Megan McConnell, notching 22 rebounds in a career-high performance.
In a competitive race to finish with the final double-bye spot, the Dukes will need to tighten their defense in their last four games.
7th Place: University of Massachusetts Minutewomen (14-12, 9-6) (+1)
With two losses in their last three games, what’s working in the Minutewomen’s favor is that both losses came to top-four conference opponents, and their only remaining threat is URI.
It came down to foul trouble in the final minutes of their 76-66 loss against George Mason University, which goes to show UMass can tangle with the top conference opponents down to the wire. Statistically, UMass is still a middle of the pack conference team, but their individual performances make them stand out in tight games.
6th Place: University of Dayton Flyers (14-11, 8-6) (+1)
After a tough three-game stretch, the Flyers got back in the win column against GW, and will look to take down their final four opponents in the next two weeks.
Saint Joseph’s University will prove to be their biggest foe of the week, but until then the Flyers will take any and all conference wins to make them stand out among the middle of the standings. Every game counts, and currently sitting eighth in the standings, the Flyers should look to make statement wins this week over Saint Louis and Fordham.
5th Place: University of Rhode Island Rams (14-13, 9-5) (-1)
Rhody dropped to 5-7 in away games with their 56-44 loss against George Mason, but bounced back with a 77-54 win on Play4Kay Day over La Salle.
URI’s season-low .293 shooting from the field could not match up with GMU’s .404, as GMU extended their winning streak to 10. Positive takeaways for the Rams were out-rebounding their opponent 44-32 and staying within single digits for the majority of the contest.
4th Place: Davidson College Wildcats (15-11, 10-4) (+2)
For the second week in a row, the Wildcats have moved up two spots in our rankings, riding high on a five-game winning streak. In a time when games are most important, the Wildcats have come up big, and this past week was no exception, with wins over Dayton and St. Bonaventure.
The Wildcats slowly but surely built their lead over Dayton in their 61-51 win, outscoring them in every quarter. Third-year guard Charlise Dunn’s double-double led Davidson on its way to victory, having fought through Dayton runs that threatened its leads. This Davidson team has proved it can push through adversity and edge out its opponents in hard-fought games.
3rd Place: Saint Joseph’s University Hawks (20-5, 11-3) (-)
The Hawks snapped their eight-game winning streak with a loss to Richmond on the top seed’s home court, falling 59-51. Both teams won two quarters, but ultimately Richmond’s scoring runs served to be the difference maker.
A-10 leading scorer third-year forward Laura Ziegler had 12 points for the Hawks, while fourth-year guard Mackenzie Smith had a game-high 22. Although the teams are only separated by a couple of wins, the conference’s top three haven’t moved since the rankings started, and it looks like the Hawks have the third spot locked down.
2nd Place: George Mason University Patriots (23-3, 13-2) (-)
It’s a neck-and-neck race for the first-place spot, and the Patriots haven’t faltered in 11 straight games, with their most recent victories coming against URI and UMass.
Marginally, GMU is the best team in the conference with the top offense and second-best defense. There’s a one game difference between the Patriots and Richmond, and it’ll be a fight till the end.
1st Place: Richmond University Spiders (22-5, 13-1) (-)
A 12-game winning streak, including the 88-86 win over George Mason, is keeping the Spiders in the top spot with only four games remaining. If the Spiders stay perfect in the final stretch toward the postseason, they’ll officially claim the top seed.
Richmond’s 74 points per game is only slightly lower than GMU’s 74.3 average, but in its last two contests, it’s only scored 59 points each. Still, the Spiders haven’t lost since Jan. 2, and they show no signs of slowing down.
