* The CACC took center stage on Friday with the conference semifinals taking place in Orangeburg. Two good games saw the top seeds advance to tomorrow's title clash...
* Bloomfield shaded Holy Family in the opener, 55-52, behind strong outings from Tianna Smith (17 points), Chyna Golden (11 points, 16 boards) and Deja McKenzie (10 points), claiming the lead for good early in the fourth period and holding on. The Tigers jumped to an early lead but the Bears caught and passed them with a 14-0 burst covering the first two periods, 21-12. HFU went 8:25 scoreless in that span but recovered enough to go into the half trailing by just six points, 28-22. BC held a 32-24 edge after a Smith baket ealry in the third period but Holy Family countered with its best spell of the game, rolling up a 16-3 spree which included a quartet of three-pointers. The result was a 40-35 lead with 3:05 left in the quarter yet Bloomfield fought back. Golden scored at the buzzer to end the HFU run and the Bears notched the first nine points of the fourth period (11-0 in all) to go ahead, 46-40 (5:36). HFU stayed in touch and closed to within 51-50 after a Jill Conroy basket with 53 seconds left. Smith buried a pair of foul shots at the :20 mark, follwing a sequence where Briana Carrington missed two freebies but chased down the second miss for BC. Kelly Giedemann sliced the arrears to 53-52 with a drive with ten ticks left but Ariel Wilson calmly sank two charity tosses moments later. Wilson then got a piece of Giedemann's three-point shot which would have tied it at the horn and Bloomfield survived. Erin Fenningham (19 points) and Kasey Woetzel (15 boards) keyed the HFU attack. Neither team shot well (HFU 38%-37%) but Bloomfield had the upper hand in turnovers (17-9) and converted that into a 21-7 edge in points-off-mistakes. The Bears have won four in a row and helped their NCAA tourney case with the win while HFU must await a possible at-large bid on Sunday night.
* Philadelphia dominated the third quarter (23-10) against Caldwell in the other semifinal en route to a 71-60 success which puts them into the final on an eight-game winning skein. Mary Newell (25 points, equalling her career-high, and 13 boards) led a Rams effort which ruled the glass (51-31) and shut down most of Caldwell's weapons. Sharell Sanders was outstanding for the Cougars (career-high 28 points to go with 8 rebounds) but no teammate reached double digits, dooming them to defeat. Caldwell led at the half, 29-27, as neither team could generate a serious run in the opening twenty minutes. The Rams turned that around with their superb third period, racing to a 50-36 lead late in the frame. Caldwell hung in it and closed the gap to eight points a few times, the last with 3:35 to go, 61-53. That proved as close as they came and Philadelphia pulled away thereafter. Rachel Day (14 points), Jessica Kaminski (12 points, 13 boards) and Tori Arnao (10 points, 11 boards) supplied enviable depth for the Rams, which shot better (43%-36%) and got to the line more often (10-18 FT; Caldwell 5-7 FT). Both teams had severe three-point shooting problems (Philadelphia 3-17; Caldwell 5-27 3FG) but it balanced out. The Rams are in a solid position in NCAA tournament terms even if they don't win the CACC crown but Caldwell is likely on the outside looking in.