Posted: Mar 05, 2015
ECC 1st Round sees two close games …
- St. Thomas Aquinas, the #6 seed in the ECC tournament, traveled to Roberts Wesleyan and left with a 69-58 victory, sending the Spartans into a Saturday semifinal against #2 seed Queens. A tight game all the way, STAC managed to take the lead midway through the second half and made some key plays down the stretch to ensure the decision. Neither team led by more than five points in a first half which ended with the Spartans on top, 32-30. The squads swapped the lead until a pair of Alyson Brennan (11 points, 8 rebounds) field goals put STAC on top to stay, 47-43, with 9:26 to go. A 6-0 spell later on pushed the margin to 55-48 (5:17) but the Redhawks rallied and closed the gap to 62-58 with 49 ticks left after Ashley Smith’s three-pointer. Kristen Olsen (15 points, 3-6 3FG) missed the front end of a 1+1 for STAC at the :35 mark but an offensive rebound from KC Solinski provided another trip to the line, this one for Jenna Erickson (7 points, 6 boards, 5 assists). Erickson made one shot and missed the next (63-58) but Solinski snared another offensive board off the miss, leading to two made foul shots from Olsen (65-58) with 21 seconds left. RWC turned the ball over on their next possession, allowing Samantha Burden (15 points) to bury two more FT’s (:19) and make it a 67-58 game, sealing the deal. Kaitlyn McCue (10 points) was also in double digits for the Spartans, whose major team stat edge was at the line (16-20; RWC 5-10 FT), obviously bolstered by the 7-9 showing in the final minute. Marissa Sell (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Lucy Covley (10 points) topped the Redhawk offense. The teams were almost a mirror in shooting terms (both went 5-15 from three-point range; STAC was 24-62 from the floor and RWC was 24-63) while rebounds (42-39) and turnovers (14-12) were both slightly in the Spartans favor.
- NYIT (the #4 seed) prevailed in the other semifinal, knocking off neighbor LIU Post, 76-71, propelling the Bears into a Saturday semifinal against #1 seed UDC. Another very close game, NYIT assumed the lead for good early in the second period but the Pioneers had their chances. The spread between the teams during the first half was no greater than five points, with NYIT scoring the last four points to knot the contest at 38. The Bears scored the initial six points after the restart to go ahead for keeps, 44-38 (17:05). Their cushion was never more than eight points, however, although a Dina Ragab (14 points, 6 rebounds) basket with 2:34 made it a 69-62 game. LIU Post countered with an 8-3 spell, capped by a Chelsea Williams (career-high tying 32 points; 10-19 FG, 1-5 3FG, 11-12 FT) three-point play, trimming the deficit to 72-70 with 49 seconds left. An NYIT miss led to a trip to the line for Williams (:17) but she could only split two FT’s, cutting the margin to 72-71. Shanice Allen (15 points, 5 assists, 6-6 FT) went 2-2 at the other end a moment later to push it to 74-71 for the Bears. Williams’ game-tying three-point attempt with three ticks left was off the mark and Bear Audrey Knowlton iced the game with two more foul shots, 76-71. Nina Vukosavljevic (20 points), Shannon Duer (18 points, 5 boards), Allen and Ragab led the NYIT attack while Ashley Castle (14 points) and Nyasia Davis (11 points, 14 boards) aided Williams for LIU Post. The Pioneers were the better shooting unit (46%-43% FG), made more free throws (LIU Post 22-27; NYIT 17-21 FT) and grabbed more rebounds (37-31) but the Bears used the ball more effectively (13/8 assist/turnover ratio to LIU Post’s 10/17 totals) and profited in points-off-TO’s (15-4) and second-chance points (19-5).
Daemen prevails in USCAA Division 1 national quarterfinal…
- Daemen was an 82-72 victor over The Apprentice School (Virginia) in the quarterfinal round of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division 1 national tournament in Uniontown, Pennsylvania yesterday. The 5th seeded Wildcats led nearly all the way, bolting to a fast 17-4 lead over the Lady Builders, the #4 seed. The Apprentice School scored the next ten points to trim the early deficit (17-14, 12:18) but Daemen responded with an 8-0 burst and ended the frame on an 8-2 spell to take a 38-27 halftime lead. The Wildcats, who won this tournament in 2013, opened the second half as they ended the first, with a 10-0 bomb (18-2 overall) and suddenly it was a 48-27 game. The Lady Builders stayed the course and eventually used an 11-2 foray to get within 67-63 at the 5:23 mark. A Shy Britton (20 points, 7 boards, 6 blocks, 5 assists) basket, followed by a pair of Leah McDonell (14 points; career-high 17 rebounds) free throws, stifled the rally, making it 71-63 (3:14) and giving the Wildcats enough of a cushion to ride the rest of the way. Raeann Stillwell (19 points), Sarah Saba (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Natalie Galus (10 points, 8 caroms) also had strong games for the Wildcats, whose main team advantages were on the glass (59-44) and in overall shooting (47%-32%). The Apprentice School (14-11) had four players in double digits, including Shanae Hilliard (22 points) and Kenya Wilkinson (16 points, 8 helpers), and they forced ten more turnovers than they committed (25-15) but could not complete the comeback. Daemen will face the overall #1 seed, Concordia College (Alabama), the defending USCAA Division I national champion, in one of Friday’s semifinal contests.
Poll info…
- The NCAA Division II East Regional rankings were released yesterday, with games through Sunday, March 1, taking into account. Adelphi tops the poll, up from #3 last week. New Haven is down from the summit to #2, with UDC hopping up a spot to #3 and Stonehill slipping two places to #4. Franklin Pierce (now #5) and Queens (#6) traded places in the middle of the poll, with Philadelphia rising two notches to #7. Sciences is at #8 (down a spot), LIU Post is back in the top 10 at#9, replacing Bloomfield and Roberts Wesleyan remained at #10 (the only team to stay where they were last week. The full poll is at http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-women/d2/regional-ranking