* The NCAA Division II East Regional final is set for Monday night with the top seed, Bentley, facing the #6 seed, NYIT. Both teams won hard-fought, back-and-forth contests on Saturday to earn their place in the spotlight. Meanwhile, Roberts Wesleyan's season continued, as they will head to the NCCAA Division I national tournament this week after a victory in the regional finals. We start in Waltham...
* In a game with 18 lead changes and 14 ties, NYIT shaded AIC, 73-69, to advance to their first regional final ever. The teams were never separted by more than five points at any junture, illustrating just how close this one was. The Bears led after one period, 19-17, but the Yellow Jackets held a 39-38 lead at the half. Their edge grew to 56-53 at the end of the third period yet the game got even closer as the fourth quarter went along. AIC held its last lead with 2:13 left after Brianna Bishop (14 points) split a pair of free throws, 69-68. That's notable because Bishop, the best percentage foul shooter in Division II, had missed only five freebies all year... and it was AIC's final point of the season. Shanice Allen (18 points, 4-6 3FG) canned a pair at the line with 1:58 to go to send NYIT ahead for keeps, 70-69. A multitude of empty possessions both ways followed, ended by a single foul shot from Dina Ragab (19 points, 8 boards, 7-8 FT) with 13.9 ticks left. Imani Stepney missed a three-pointer for AIC at the other end and single foul shots from Julie Williams and Nina Vukosavljevic (15 points, 8 assists) put the gloss on it for the Bears. NYIT made nine triples for the second game in successon (9-15 3FG), shot 44% overall and drilled 14-18 at the line. Kamika Mason (16 points, 10 caroms) capped a fine regional with a double-double while Dana Watts added 14 points and 7 boards for AIC. The Jackets won the glass battle (41-33) but shot 41% and went 3-13 from deep. AIC ends at 26-6, equalling the second-most wins in program history. Meanwhile the Bears become the third #6 seed to reach the East Regional final in the 64-team tourney era but neither predecessor won, both teams (Pace in 2011 and Holy Family in 2012) losing to Bentley at the Dana Center in the Sweet 16.
* Speaking of Bentley, the top seed led by as many as 15 points in the first half and watched Queens rally to take a third period lead but in the end pushed by the Knights, 77-67. The Falcons never trailed in the first half, taking a 16-11 lead after one quarter and extending the chasm to 36-21 late in the half thanks to a 14-4 run bolstered by four three-pointers (three from Lauren Green). QC scored the last four points of the half (36-25), foreshadowing the third quarter. The Knights defense forced a gaggle of Bentley turnovers and put up the first dozen points out of the locker room and suddenly they had a 16-0 overall run and a 37-36 lead (6:31). Madison Rowland (29 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals, 5 assists) had eight of the twelve points for Queens and the game stayed close into the fourth period. Elisabeth Gully sank two free throws with 8:19 left to tie the game for the final time, 49-each. Trevena Bennett and Green buried back-to-back treys to give Bentley the lead for keeps (55-49, 7:01) and after QC closed the gap to 58-54 (4:48) the Falcons embarked on a game-clinching 9-1 burst (67-55, 2:01) to ensure their fifth trip to the regional final in the last six years. Green (17 points, 4-8 3FG), Jen Gemma (16 points, 7 rebounds), Melina Kollia (career-high 12 points on 6-6 FG shooting) and Megan Lewis (10 points, 9 boards) all tossed in double digits for Bentley, which shot 52% from the field, made 20-27 at the line, grabbed six more rebounds (35-29) and won the bench scoring chase, 28-12. Kaitlyn Mahon's career-best 12 points lent depth to QC's attack but their inferior shooting (39% FG) negated their advantage in turnovers (24-18) and fast break points (14-0). Bentley has now won fourteen straight post season games, all but three of them on their home floor.
* Roberts Wesleyan is on their way to Indiana for the NCCAA Division I championship tournament after they rolled to the Midwest Regional crown over Lancaster Bible College, 77-46, in Rochester. The visiting Chargers (24-5) played well for a quarter, leading 18-15 after one frame, but the Redhawks pasted them after that. An 11-0 flurry to start the second period was bookended by a 9-0 run to end it ahead, 37-22. RWC used a 13-0 third quarter burst to widen the gap to 53-29 with 3:49 left in the period, a 38-11 span from the start of the third period. That was more than Lancaster Bible College could recover from and the result was decided. Samantha Courtney (17 points, 14 rebounds), Lucy Covley (13 points) and Brooke Fields (11 points) led the RWC scoring and they surpassed the Chargers in shooting (41%-30% FG), free throws (RWC 14-16; LBC 4-6 FT) and ball-handling (23-11 in turnovers, leading to a 21-11 plus in points-off-TO's). Aubrey Folger (14 points, 12 boards) and Katy Stover (8 points), the top two scorers in Lancaster Bible College history (2140 and 1587 points, respectively) ended ther careers in this one while Alyssa Bowen (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Shanice Smith (9 points, 11 boards), the latter ending her career as a 1K scorer and rebounder, also played well. Roberts Wesleyan will find out their national tourney seeding and opponent tomorrow.