Posted: Mar 07, 2015
All-Philly battle for CACC crown after dramatic semifinals …
- Mary Newell’s one-hand, 40-foot heave with nine-tenths of a second left was the difference as Philadelphia beat Caldwell, 74-71, to claim a spot in the CACC title game. This thrilling back-and-forth affair (seven ties and ten lead changes) wasn’t settled until Antoinette Pilla’s half-court desperation shot banged off the backboard at the buzzer, denying the Cougars a shot at overtime. Caldwell led early on (by as much as six points) but the Rams rallied with a 13-3 spell to grab a 26-22 lead (7:11), led by Monica Schacker’s (20 points, 4-9 3FG) pair of three-pointers. Caldwell countered and closed the half on an 8-3 stretch to earn a 34-33 lead at the break. The Rams hit Caldwell with an 11-2 burst to go ahead, 52-44 (12:58) and led by as many as ten points (58-48, 10:05) after a Najah Jacobs (22 points, 7 helpers) basket. The Cougars would have none of it, responding with a 12-0 surge, capped by a Pilla (22 points) trey, to retake the lead, 60-58 (7:54). Befitting this game, the Rams (8-0) and Cougars (6-0) continued to swap runs, leaving the game even at 66 with 3:09 left. Alex Heck (14 points) put the Rams ahead, 68-66, with a score at 1:58 but Pilla (another triple) and Emily Caswell (16 points, 17 boards – her D2 best 24th double-double of the year) scored to send the Cougars back on top, 71-68. Schacker tied it with her own three-pointer (71-71) with 32 ticks left and a Caldwell turnover gave the Rams a chance, which Newell took in style to give her team a 74-71 edge. Caldwell actually turned it over next, throwing the ball the length of the floor without it being touched, meaning the Rams had it at the Cougar end of the floor with :00.9 left. Their inbounds pass was picked off by Pilla but her bomb wasn’t on-line and the game was done. Philadelphia shot accurately all day (50% FG, 7-15 3FG) while the Cougars also fared relatively well in those areas (41% FG, 6-15 3FG) and won the glass battle, 38-30. The Rams will face local rival Holy Family today for the CACC championship and the NCAA tournament bid that goes with it.
- Holy Family held off the University of the Sciences in a low-scoring tilt, 38-32, in the other CACC semifinal contest. Kylie Giedemann (14 points) and Kasey Woetzel (11 points, 8 boards) accounted for the bulk of the Tigers points as they won for the fifth straight time and will have a shot to claim the crown later today. HFU led for most of the first half and got to the break with a 19-13 lead thanks to a Jill Conroy trey with :05 left in the stanza. The Devils (who still have a shot at an NCAA at-large bid) cut the deficit to 20-19 (16:32) after a solid start to the second half but Holy Family put together a 15-4 spell (in which Woetzel had six points and Giedemann five, including a three-point play to wrap it up) to go ahead by a game-high dozen points (35-23, 7:21). Sciences had one more rally in them, scoring the next nine points to draw within 35-32 at the 2:11 mark but they ran dry after that. Conroy sank two fouls shots at :16 to make it 37-32 and Reagan Jewell ended the scoring with a freebie a few ticks later. The Tigers shot a dismal 26% (12-46 FG) from the floor but that was still better than Sciences’ ugly 21% (12-57 FG). HFU’s major advantages came off the glass (44-37) and at the line (11-14; Sciences 5-7 FT). The Tigers were 3-14 from three-point range but the Devils were an astounding 3-30 (yes, they went 9-27 inside the arc) from long-distance. Brianne Traub (12 points, 10 boards) was the Devils top threat but it is Holy Family moving on to today’s CACC final.
AIC’s joyride through NE-10 tourney continues as they stun New Haven in semis…
- AIC scored the last eight points of the game to shock New Haven, 76-73, and earn a spot in tomorrow’s NE-10 title game at Adelphi. Brianna Bishop was the hero for the Yellow Jackets, scoring 22 of her 24 points in the second half (9-13 FG overall, 6-9 3FG), including a perfect 6-6 from three-point land. Bishop made two treys in the final spree (1:54 and 1:13) to put AIC ahead, 74-73. After a Charger turnover, Kamika Mason (10 points, 8 boards) converted a put-back of a Krista Ferrentino (26 points, 9 boards, 11-19 FG) miss with 22 seconds left to give AIC a 76-73 lead, its largest of the night. UNH was unable to get a shot to the rim on their final possession, as Bishop disrupted Elizabeth Cruso’s (10 points, 2-5 3FG) three-point try to run the clock out. UNH led for the entire first half (peaking at 33-23, 2:52) and got to the break ahead, 35-27. AIC closed the gap quickly once the game resumed (9-2 to open, getting within 37-36) but New Haven responded with a 7-1 spell to widen the gap back to 44-37 (15:05). AIC came back again, this time with a 10-1 burst, capped by a Bishop trey, to go ahead for the first time, 47-45 (12:16). The game stayed close but UNH looked to have resumed control, grabbing a 62-54 lead (7:16) after a 6-0 spurt. Ashley LeBlanc’s free throw (16 points, 12 rebounds) made it a 73-68 UNH lead with 2:45 on the clock but the Chargers never scored again. Aquillin Hayes led New Haven with 21 points but despite the defeat the Chargers should be an NCAA at-large bid recipient. AIC had the edge in a number of stat areas, including shooting (50%-48%), three-pointers (7-17; UNH 3-10 3FG) and rebounds (35-32). Both teams used the ball well (assist/turnover ratios of 17/10 for AIC and 10/8 for UNH) in a pulsating game. AIC will try to nab the NE-10 title and NCAA bid tomorrow at Adelphi; if they do so, it would mean that they’d have beaten the top three overall seeds in this tournament (all on the road) to more than earn a spot in the regionals.
Wildcats reach USCAA Division I championship game…
- Daemen rode a powerful final ten minutes to drum out top seed and defending champion Concordia (Alabama) at the USCAA Division I tournament, 62-57. The Wildcats, winners of the tourney in 2013, led only once in the first half (24-23, 6:49) and watched the Hornets (24-4) end the frame on a 10-2 spell, seven of the points from Erica Ousley (25 points, 9-23 FG, 2-4 3FG, 5-7 FT; 6 rebounds, 5 steals). Concordia (on top 33-26 at the break) widened the cushion to as much as ten points (44-34, 12:36) and still held a 48-41 lead at the 10:09 mark before Daemen came to life. Natalie Galus (16 points, 6 boards, 6 blocks; 4-7 3FG) scored the next five points and a trey from Samantha Wozniak put the Wildcats ahead, 49-48, with 6:37 left. Ousley gave Concordia its last lead with a score at 5:48 (50-49), only to see Daemen rip off the next six points to grab the lead for good, 55-50 (2:31). Ousley and Galus traded three-point hoops before the former made a free throw to get the Hornets within 58-54 with 26 ticks left. Daemen kept its poise with Shy Britton (6 points, 7 rebounds) and Leah McDonell (6 points, 9 caroms) burying two foul shots apiece to put the Wildcats into a 62-54 lead. Ousley’s trey at :11 merely created the final margin. Sarah Saba (20 points, 10 rebounds) was Daemen’s top scorer while Lashay Lettingham (11 points, 5 steals, 5 boards) was the only other Hornet aside of Ousley to collect more than seven points. Daemen shot just 33% but locked Concordia up to the tune of 26% from the field while also faring better on the glass than the Hornets, 58-50. Concordia enjoyed a +9 in turnovers (21-12), leading to a 14-3 edge in points-off-TO’s but that did not stop Daemen from ending their season. Daemen, the #5 seed in the tourney, will face #3 Berea (KY) in today’s title game.