Posted: Mar 09, 2015
Tournament champions crowned, on to NCAA tournament …
- The three regional conference all crowned champions this weekend, the winners (see below) joining five at-large teams to comprise the NCAA Division II East Regional tournament field. The matchups (times still to be finalized) are below but beforehand a look at the final days of the ECC, CACC and NE-10 festivals.
Queens’ furious comeback nets ECC title…
- Queens snagged the ECC championship for the first time since 2009 with a pulsating comeback win against NYIT, 65-63. Madison Rowland (38 points, 13 rebounds; 15-28 FG, 2-6 3FG, 6-6 FT), the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, was at the heart of a Knight rally which netted 17 straight points to flip a 14-point deficit at the 5:01 mark into a stunning win. The Bears did have a chance to tie and force overtime with :00.5 left but could not convert three free throws after a foul gave them an opportunity. NYIT claimed an early lead thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Shanice Allen (14 points) and Nina Vukosaveljevic (15 points, 6 assists), 13-8 (13:51), and held it almost all the way. Their cushion crested at 39-21 after a 13-2 surge but Madison Rowland scored at the end of the first half to make it 39-23. Rowland scored 14 straight QC points in one span early in the second period but NYIT mostly matched that, holding a 47-37 lead with 13:35 to go. Dina Ragab’s basket at the 5:01 mark made it 62-48 but the Bears succumbed to the Knights pressure defense and found themselves trying to hold on. MacKenzie Rowland (15 points, 10 boards) scored five points and sister Madison four to cut the deficit to 62-57 (1:48) and an Elizabeth Gully free throw made it 62-58 with 35 seconds left. Allen missed the front end of a 1+1 three ticks later and Madison Rowland made it hurt with a basket at the other end (62-60, :25). Rowland’s steal and bucket six seconds later was compounded by a Bear foul and she tacked on the FT to send Queens ahead, 63-62 (:19). Another NYIT turnover was followed by a pair of Joya McFarland free throws to push the gap to 65-62 at :11. Kristen Kelly had the chance to tie the game with :00.5 to go after being fouled in the act of a three-pointer but she missed the first of the shots. Kelly made the second (to account for the final tally of 65-63) and the third was ruled out after a lane violation, all but ending the drama. Queens, winners of the ECC title for the first time since 2009 (the last time they made an NCAA trip, incidentally), had a +7 in turnovers (23-16), one of the few areas where there was much separation between the teams.
- It is somewhat ironic that NYIT was victimized by a big comeback in the title game because they enjoyed their own glorious rally in their ECC semifinal win over the University of the District of Columbia, 73-69. The Bears trailed by 20 points at halftime (47-27) and seemed buried but they came back with a fury. The Firebirds used 8-0 and 9-0 runs to help construct their halftime advantage but didn’t bring that form out of the locker room to start the second half. NYIT did, and their 11-0 jag (Ragab had six and Allen the other five points) immediately cut the gap to 47-38 (16:26). After a Taj Baldwin-Kollore (18 points) free throw for UDC, the Bears snapped off a 10-0 run to tie the game at 48 (13:34), Allen (24 points, 9-9 FT) scoring half of the points in the spell. Denikka Brent (14 points, 9 boards) restored the UDC lead with a bucket (50-48) but NYIY scored the next five points to go ahead, 53-50, completing a sensational 26-3 eruption, and they never trailed again. Baldwin-Kollore’s trey brought UDC within 59-57 at the 5:43 mark but a 6-0 response from the Bears pushed the gap back to 65-57 (3:34). Allen’s pair of foul shots with 1:48 left put the Bears ahead, 70-62, and seemingly in good shape but the Firebirds were not about to let their 14-game win streak go down without a fight. Telisha Turner (13 points, 5 assists) scored, Iman Scott banged in a trey and Brent scored again to bring UDC within 70-69 with 51 seconds to play. UDC had a chance to take the lead after forcing an NYIT turnover but Brent missed with 7 seconds to go and Vukosaveljevic (14 points) drilled three FT’s in the remaining time to kill the game off. Ragab (21 points, 15 boards) and Shannon Duer (10 boards) were solid for NYIT, which was sharper at the line (19-23 FT; UDC 6-8 FT), balancing off UDC’s better three-point production (9-4). Despite the loss, UDC was all but guaranteed an NCAA at-large berth, which they eventually received.
- Queens blew open its ECC semifinal game with a 20-0 explosion early in the second half to rub out St. Thomas Aquinas, 66-42. The contest was close to that juncture, with QC’s 17-8 lead early the largest of the game. The Spartans came back to grab a 26-25 halftime edge and scored the first three points of the final frame to go up, 29-26, prior to Queens’ decisive run. STAC was held scoreless for more than nine minutes as the Knights put together their surge, taking a 45-29 lead with 10:43 on the clock. The closest STAC came thereafter was a dozen points but the writing was on the wall by then. MacKenzie Rowland (19 points, 10 boards), Madison Rowland (15 points, 9 rebounds) and Kristen Korzevinski (12 points) led the Queens attack, one that dominated the glass (48-23, including a 27-8 gulf in the second half) and shot 46% overall. STAC was terrible from the floor (23%), especially in the fateful second half (3-24 FG, 12.5%) and went 2-16 from deep on the night. Jenna Erickson’s 17 points (10-11 FT) led the Spartan scoring but other than eight points each from Kaitlyn McCue and Kristen Olsen, the Spartans had nobody else notch more than two points.
Holy Family comeback allows Tigers to take home CACC crown…
- A 15-1 closing surge allowed Holy Family to stun host Philadelphia in the CACC title game, 79-75, and snare the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Erin Fenningham (career-high 36 points on 11-18 FG, 6-8 3FG and 8-11 FT shooting; 6 boards, as well) was at the heart of the memorable comeback for the Tigers along with Jill Conroy (18 points). The Rams led at the end of a tight first half (38-36) and still held a slim 53-51 edge with 9:45 left when they stitched together an 11-1 spell that seemed to put them in a great spot. Bria Young (13 points) and Monica Schacker (13 points) started and ended the burst with three-pointers to send the Rams into a 64-52 lead with 7:20 go and they still had a 74-64 lead (3:47) after a Mary Newell (18 points) basket. Fenningham began the killer rally for HFU with a three-point play and by the time Conroy did the same with 1:07 left, the game was deadlocked at 74. Abigail Iannotti’s free throw with 39 seconds left gave HFU a 75-74 lead and that was followed by a pair of Kylie Giedemann FT’s to make it 77-74 with :12 to play. Schacker made one FT with four seconds left and Fenningham made two at the other end (:01) to account for the final tally. Najah Jacobs (18 points) and Alex Heck (13 points, 6 boards) were also in double digits for the Rams, who ended up getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where they will join the Tigers. Both teams shot well here (Philadelphia 48%-47%) and made their triples (17-27 combined) but the foul line was kinder to HFU (26-34; Philadelphia 17-27 FT) in a well-played contest. Holy Family will return to the NCAA field after a one-year absence while the Rams are back for the first time since 2009.
Adelphi asserts its power in second half to end AIC’s run and claim first NE-10 title…
- Tournament Most Outstanding Player Anh-Dao Tran scored all 20 of her points in the second half to lead Adelphi to the NE-10 championship over AIC, 79-57. The Yellow Jackets were in the game for about 28 minutes before they ran out of steam and watched the Panthers zip past them to create the final tally. Tran (8-12 FG, 4-6 3FG, 4 assists) was the second half catalyst but Kelly Mannix (14 points), Calli Balfour (14 points, 7 boards, 5 helpers), Jenna Halaby (12 points, 6 assists, 8-8 FT and Sierra Clark (12 points, 7 boards) provided outstanding depth for the Panthers. Brianna Bishop (18 points) and Krista Ferrentino (14 points, 9 rebounds) did their best for AIC but they could not complete the sweep of the three top seeds in this field, all on the road (after beating Stonehill and New Haven). The teams were never more than four points apart in the first half (AIC led 30-29 at the break) but an AU run of 11-2 gave them a 43-38 lead with 13:54 left, and they never lost it. Bishop sank a pair of triples to slice the deficit to 48-46 with 12:24 left but that was when Adelphi took off. Another 11-2 surge set them on their way (59-48, 8:03) and, as it turned out, the Panthers scored 31 of the game’s final 42 points to add sheen to the final score. Adelphi shot 61% in the second half (46% overall) and forced eight more turnovers (20-12), leading to a 27-10 edge in points-off-TO’s, a key category. AIC shot 37% at the other end in a game which saw eight ties and fifteen lead changes. The Panthers, 19-0 at home this season, earned the #1 NCAA tournament regional seed and the right to host the tournament starting on Friday.
Daemen wins second USCAA Division I championship in three years…
- Daemen ended their season with a smile, beating Berea (KY), 78-75, to take home the USCAA Division I national title. The 5th seeded Wildcats led all the way against the 3rd seeded Mountaineers (17-10), jumping out to a 7-0 lead and never looking back. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Raeann Stilwell (24 points, 7-14 FG, 4-8 3FG, 6-9 FT) led the way for Daemen, which led by as many as 15 points in the first half (36-21) before settling for a 40-34 halftime edge. The clubs swapped points until a 14-5 Daemen burst extended the margin to back to 15 points, 68-53, at the 6:52 mark. Berea had a run in them and chipped away until a Zacchea Small three-pointer cut the Wildcat lead to 75-71 with 49 seconds left. Stilwell hit two foul shots and Sarah Saba (11 points) made one, wrapped around a Berea score, to craft a 78-73 lead with :18 to go. Johnesha Warren (33 points, just two shy of the USCAA tournament record; 11-31 FG, 4-5 3FG, 7-9 FT) scored to bring Berea within 78-75 but despite a Daemen turnover on its next possession, Berea could not score again. Shy Britton added 21 points and 8 rebounds for Daemen, which shot better (49%-37%) from the field and blocked 14 shots, balancing off a tough day at the line (12-24 FT; Berea 13-17 FT). Jaime Roberts tossed in 11 points for the Mountaineers, a provisional NCAA Division III member. Daemen this ends the season with a win and a pair of USCAA titles, as their men’s team also brought home the USCAA hardware.
NCAA tournament info…
- Adelphi will serve as the host for the NCAA Division II East Regional in Garden City, New York, starting on Friday. The #1 Panthers will face #8 Holy Family on one side of the bracket along with a meeting between #4 Stonehill (an at-large recipient) and #5 Queens. #2 New Haven faces #7 Philadelphia with #3 UDC taking on #6 Franklin Pierce (another at-large bid recipient) on the other side of the bracket. Times will be announced soon (keep an eye on all conference websites) but the semifinals on Saturday will be at 5 and 7:30, with the latter game populated by the 1-4-5-8 seed side of the bracket. Monday’s title game will be played at 7pm. The entire bracket is available at http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/basketball-women/d2