Victoria Larson/Winonan
College basketball is around the corner, and and the NCAA implemented 31 rule changes for the upcoming women’s season.
One major change is going from two halves to four quarters.
“It’s still the same amount of time, we play 40 minutes either way,” junior forward Emily Wirth said.
Another change involves the amount of fouls per team before the double bonus is applied. Now, each team is allowed five team fouls before sending the other team to the free-throw line to shoot two free throws instead of 1-and-1 bonus shots from past years.
Head coach Scott Ballard feels this new rule will help poor free throw shooting teams.
Lastly, a new rule that may only come into play in a few games but may determine the outcomes of those games is the sideline advancement rule.
“With less than a minute to go in the game, you can now call a timeout before dribbling or inbounding the ball and advance the ball to the 28-foot line,” Ballard said.
The Winona State University women’s basketball team traveled to California to open up the start of the regular season at the CCA Division II Disney Tip-Off Classic.
They opened play against Cal State-Dominguez Hills Toros last Friday, earning a 66-63 victory.
Preseason player to watch Alexis Foley started with the first nine points of the game. The Warriors built a 12-0 lead with a 3-pointer by junior guard Tara Roelofs.
The score quickly jumped to 22-4 with juniors Kayla Timmerman and Emily Wirth, and sophomore Hannah McGlone all getting involved offensively. At the end of the first quarter, Winona State increased its lead 26-11 with 11 points by Foley.
The Warriors built a 20-point lead, 35-15, but the Toros used an 11-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to 35-26 to end the half.
Winona State senior point guard Connor Nagle came out in the second half hitting two threes on assists from Foley. The Toros answered by cutting the deficit to within six, 48-42, to end the third.
With less than four minutes to play, the Toros knotted up the score for the first time since the start of the game and later took their first lead, 58-57, with under three minutes to go. After exchanging baskets and tying the game at 61 apiece, junior forward Jenny Weiland scored five points and corralled a key defensive rebound, sealing the 66-63 win.
Foley finished with 18 points, seven assists and seven rebounds while shooting 4-of-8 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Roelofs recorded 14 points, three assists and three rebounds while Timmerman added 12 points. The Warriors finished 24-of-25 from the free-throw line.
Winona State’s next matchup was against the Academy of Art Urban Knights, where the Warriors were in control the majority of the game. Winona State earned a 77-55 victory Saturday night at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Foley led the way offensively, scoring seven of Winona State’s first 11 points to put them ahead 11-8. The Urban Knights would recover to take the lead 17-15 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Warriors outscored the Urban Knights by 10 to take an eight-point lead into the half.
The Warriors came out of the locker room by outscoring the Urban Knights 25-15 in the third quarter to take a 58-40 advantage. They carried the lead into the fourth, outscoring the Urban Knights 19-15 en route to a 77-55 final score.
Winona State had four players score in double figures: Foley (18), Roelofs (15), Nagle (13) and Timmerman (11). Foley, Nagle and Timmerman all dished out three assists each while Roelofs had a team-high seven rebounds. The Warriors also hit 22-of-24 from the free-throw line.
The Warriors wrapped up the Tip-Off Classic with a 73-49 victory Sunday against the New York Institute of Technology Bears.
Roelofs and Foley continued their scoring outputs in the first quarter, scoring eight and six points, respectively. Both hit a pair of shots from behind the arc but the Bears had a one-point lead at the end of the quarter.
At halftime, the Warriors led 31-27 with Roelofs scoring 10 points and having two steals along with Foley’s nine points and two rebounds. Despite their lead, the Warriors were out-rebounded 14-17, but ended up forcing nine turnovers, resulting in 11 points. Hannah McGlone, Timmerman and Emily Passint each had two assists in the first half.
Foley hit a pair of three pointers to start the second half to bring the lead to seven in favor of Winona State, while Nagle added one of her own en route to the Warriors leading 49-37 at the end of the third.
McGlone and Timmerman extended the lead to 20 before a Roelofs three-pointer and a Timmerman increased the lead 69-43. The final score was 73-49 with Foley, Roelofs and McGlone all finishing with 15 points.
“It was so awesome being back on the court,” Roelofs said. “We had so much energy and focus for each game. It was some of the most fun games I’ve ever played in.”
Winona State (3-0) heads to Lincoln, Neb. Sunday for an exhibition matchup against the Cornhuskers before returning for its home opener against Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota on Nov. 14.
