Posted: Mar 01, 2015
South wins three of four in CACC playoffs; Holy Family deposes Bloomfield, Caldwell wins in OT …
- There will be no repeat champion in the CACC as Holy Family ended Bloomfield’s reign in New Jersey, 60-46. The Tigers were superior in every category and muzzled a couple of second half rallies from the Bears to advance to the CACC semifinals next weekend. HFU grabbed the lead for good with a 10-0 first half surge (23-16, 5:12) and held a 28-22 edge at the break. They pushed it to 36-26 after a Jacqueline Kennedy triple at the 14:20 mark but BC fought back and cut the deficit to four points on a few occasions. De’Andra Humphries’ trey at 6:22 saw the Bears get within 48-44 but they scored only two more points the rest of the way, going 1-9 from the field. Meanwhile the Tigers sank eight foul shots in a 12-2 closing burst, icing the win and a semifinal spot. Erin Fenningham (13 points, 6-6 FT), Jill Conroy (12 points, 6 assists) and Kasey Woetzel (10 points, 8 boards) put up the best numbers for Holy Family, who shot better (44%-32% FG), made far more use of their three-point tries (HFU 6-12; BC 4-22) and dominated at the stripe, going 14-16 while Bloomfield was just 2-4, the latter never seeing the line in the second period. Even rebounds were in HFU’s camp, 40-27. Tianna Smith (13 points, 5 assists) was the sole Bear in double digits; their only advantage team-wise was turnovers (+9, 19-10) but to no avail. Holy Family will meet Sciences in one CACC Semifinal next weekend.
- The best game of the day in the CACC was Caldwell’s 87-85 overtime thriller over Goldey-Beacom, the Cougars being the only North Division team to prevail at this stage. In fact, it was the sixth OT game for Caldwell this season (one was a win over GBC a few weeks ago), and after losing the first, they’ve won five straight. This one was in Caldwell’s hands early, as they used an 18-3 spree to claim a 29-17 lead with 5:46 left in the first half. The Lightning cut the gap in half by the break (33-27) and stayed in touch. The margin rose to a dozen again for Caldwell (68-56, 5:41) but GBC wasn’t done. They chipped away and eventually carved out a 9-2 run, finished by a Lexi Bruno three-pointer (career-high 30 points; 12-28 FG, 4-13 3FG, 6 boards, 5 assists), to even matters at 72 with 29 seconds left. Emily Caswell (25 points, 16 boards; 10-18 FG) put the Cougars back ahead, 74-72, after GBC was whistled for an illegal timeout (they had none left) but Britani Bryson (12 points, 10 boards) tied it again with a hoop at :09, 74-74. Sharell Sanders had a chance to win it for Caldwell in regulation but misfired on the front end of a 1+1 moments later and it was on to OT. Caldwell never actually trailed once there but their lead never surpassed four points. Kristen Drogsler (career-high 24 points; 6-9 FG, 4-6 3FG, 8-8 FT; 7 rebounds) hit a trey with 1:08 left to make it 87-83, Cougars. Lillian Chukwueze (20 points, 10 boards) cut the lead in half with two FT’s (:54) and after two Caldwell misses, the Lightning had a chance to prompt a second overtime or win outright, but a trey from Taylor Leonard missed on the next Goldey-Beacom trip and Caldwell survived. Lisa Rovatsos (10 points) chipped in for the Cougars, who had advantages in shooting (44%-39%), three-point efficiency (Caldwell 8-18; GBC 9-29 3FG) and at the line (19-22; GBC 14-16 FT). Goldey-Beacom forced five more miscues (16-11) but came up just short of the upset. Caldwell (winners of eight in a row) will face host Philadelphia in the CACC semifinals next Friday.
- The University of the Sciences had no problems with Post, romping to an 86-49 decision to nail down their 20th win of the campaign (their first since 2011). Brianne Traub’s 27-point, 11-rebound effort (10-14 FG, 5-5 3FG) led the way for the Devils while Jessica Sylvester added 15 points (4-7 FG, 3-4 3FG) for the winners. Sciences led 44-27 at halftime and never let up, leading by as much as 39 points in the second frame. Toni Deren (14 points) and Jessica Ayala (12 points) supplied more than half of the Eagle points. The Devils had it all over Post in shooting (48%-29%), three-pointers (12-25; Post 7-22 3FG) and at the line (16-23; Post 6-13 FT) while submitting a sweet 23/7 assist/turnover ratio. Sciences’ starters were 10-14 from three-point land alone, a measure of their dominance. The Devils will face local rival Holy Family in the CACC semifinals in their home city but on a neutral floor (Philadelphia).
- Philadelphia was largely untroubled by Dominican in their 82-63 playoff win, putting together 9-0, 10-0 and 7-0 runs to help build an insurmountable 42-19 halftime lead. The Rams shot 58% (18-31 FG) in the opening period while holding the Chargers to 26% (7-27 FG), the underpinnings for the victory. DC never made any serious move in the second half despite solid games from Deja Gabbidon (19 points) and Lashonda Hathorne (17 points). The Rams were topped by Najah Jacobs (29 points; 8-14 FG, 13-13 FT), Mary Newell (17 points, 8 boards; 8-10 FG in 19 bench minutes) and Bria Young (13 points) as they shot 49% overall and ruled the glass, 41-26. Both teams fared well at the line (Philadelphia 25-27; Dominican 20-26 FT) but it made minimal difference. The Rams will host the CACC Final Four and meet Caldwell in one semifinal on Friday.
Results muddy and clarify ECC waters with one game left…
- Tiara Aziz made two foul shots with four seconds left to propel Bridgeport to a 62-61 upset over Queens and deny the Knights an opportunity to clinch the #2 seed (and a first round playoff bye) in the ECC. Aziz scored the Purple Knights last ten points (eight at the foul line) to send UB into the off-season on a three-game winning streak. A late 10-0 burst helped UB take a 34-30 halftime lead and the teams swapped mini-runs and the lead for the majority of the second half. Aziz (18 points, 9 boards; 11-12 FT) made two foul shots at :56 to put Bridgeport up, 60-59, only to see Madison Rowland (12 points, 10 boards) respond with a hoop at the :24 mark to send QC on top, 61-60. Aziz missed on the next possession but was fouled on her put-back attempt, leading to what became the game-winning free throws. Rowland missed at the horn, meaning Queens will have to wait for Roberts Wesleyan’s result today to determine their playoff fate (Queens holds the tie-breaker, so a Redhawk loss would mean Queens is the #2 seed). Shannon Holt (13 points) was the only other Purple Knight in double digits as they overcame bad shooting (QC 42%-30%) by getting to the line a ton (UB 25-30; QC 4-9 FT). Kristen Korzevinski (15 points, 6 assists) and MacKenzie Rowland (14 points, 12 boards) added solid games for Queens in a gallant but losing effort.
- NYIT locked up a 1st round ECC home playoff game alive by thrashing Daemen, 88-59. The Bears had five players in double figures and grabbed the lead early in this one but had to rely on a huge second half to deny the Wildcats. Despite leading by as many as 13 points in the opening frame, NYIT held just a 42-38 halftime edge. An early 20-2 second half explosion created the separation they craved (67-47, 10:24) and the home team ended the game on a 16-2 blitz to hammer home their victory. Dina Ragab (18 points, 9 boards, 5 steals), Shanice Allen (15 points), Savannah Donarski (14 points, 8 boards), Shannon Duer (10 points, 9 boards) and Nina Vukosavljevic (10 points, 6 helpers) shared the load for NYIT, which had major advantages at the line (21-22; Daemen 12-15 FT), off the glass (53-44) and in ball-handling (+13 in turnovers, 27-14; leading to a 36-15 plus in points-off-TO’s). Shy Britton (18 points, 6 boards, 5 blocks), Leah McDonell (10 points) and Sarah Saba (7 points, 11 rebounds) stayed the course for Daemen but the onslaught in the second half was too much. NYIT will welcome LIU Post to their gym for an ECC 1st round game on Wednesday. Daemen's season will continue as well, as the Wildcats will take part in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship tournament this week. Daemen is seeded fifth in the eight-team tournament and will face fourth-seeded The Apprentice School (Newport News, VA) in the quarterfinals Wednesday. The tournament is being hosted by Penn State Fayette in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
- The ECC’s top seed and regular season champion, the University of the District of Columbia, completed its slate with a comeback win at St. Thomas Aquinas, 69-66, setting a program record for wins (25) in the process. The Firebirds’ 14th consecutive win was in jeopardy with 11:36 to go, down 52-43 after an 8-0 Spartan run and they still faced a nine-point gap with 6:48 to play (57-48). A 13-4 burst, capped by a pair of Telisha Tuner foul shots (14 points), tied the contest at 61 with 3:27 left. Jenna Erickson’s free throw (17 points, 8 assists) sent STAC back ahead, 62-61, but UDC scored the next four points to take the lead for good, 66-62 (1:35). Erickson scored at :41 to cut the lead to 67-66 but Shantrel Oliver canned two FT’s with 19 seconds left to make it 69-66. Sabrina Eggink’s three-pointer to force OT for STAC missed and the result was decided. STAC led 34-30 at the half but used a 10-0 flurry to grab a 44-38 lead and they held it until the final few minutes. Iman Scott (19 points, 4-7 3FG), Denikka Brent (13 points) and Taj Baldwin-Kollore (10 points) added fine work for UDC while Kristen Olsen (23 points; 8-12 FG, 6-7 3FG), Erickson and Samantha Burden (12 points) provided pop for the Spartans. UDC will have a bye into the ECC semifinals while St. Thomas Aquinas has a 1st round game at either Queens or Roberts Wesleyan on Wednesday.
- Dowling ended their season with an 82-80 overtime win against Molloy, the latter also wrapping up its campaign. Christine Verrelle put the bow on her career for DC with career-highs of 32 points (11-21 FG, 6-12 3FG, 4-4 FT) and 14 rebounds while playing all 45 minutes to lead the way. It was her three-pointer with two seconds left that sent the game to overtime (69-69) and she joined Kamille Ejerta (11 points) in making back-to-back treys to flip a 76-71 deficit into a 77-76 lead with 2:00 left in the extra frame. The Lions reclaimed the lead at 80-78 but a pair of Jessica Kalbfleisch free throws with 49 seconds left evened it at 80. A Molloy miss led to a pair of Krstina Surlan (23 points, 11-12 FT) foul shots with :04 on the clock; Sabrina Padro’s (12 points, 3-9 3FG) trey at the buzzer was off the mark and the Golden Lions had the win, snapping an eight-game slide. Molloy led after a see-saw first half (27-21) and extended the margin to 41-26 with a 9-0 jag. Dowling embarked on a 17-5 sortie to get the gap down to 46-43 (8:41), setting up a tight finish. Molloy led 65-57 with 1:09 left and still held a 69-65 edge with :05 on the clock as Surlan stepped to the line. She made the first and missed the second, leading to an offensive rebound and eventually Verrelle’s game-tying triple. Allison Smith (18 points, 14 rebounds), Alexia O’Connor (17 points) and Padro led the Lion attack, as they forced six more turnovers (24-18) than DC. The Golden Lions held a 48-40 board edge in a game that saw the teams combine for 23 three-pointers (DC 10-23; Molloy 13-32 3FG).