Posted: Mar 15, 2016
- Bentley fought back from a fourteen-point deficit and captured their fourteenth NCAA Division II regional championship (and fourth in the last six years) with a thrilling 79-74 victory over NYIT in Waltham on Monday night. In yet another memorable regional title tilt, the Falcons fell into an early hole but relied upon the strong play of regional tourney Most Outstanding Player Jen Gemma (24 points, 11 rebounds [8 offensive], 8-20 FG, 8-13 FT), all-tourney team selection Megan Lewis (17 points, 6 assists, 4-6 3FG) and Lauren Green (14 points, 4-6 3FG) to prevail and secure their spot in the Elite Eight next week in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. NYIT more than played their part in this one, as Dina Ragab (29 points, 22 in the first half; 15 rebounds [8 offensive], 14-19 FG) and Nina Vukosavljevic (22 points, 5 assists) were superb all night long for the 6th-seeded Bears. Ragab fired NYIT to a fast 12-2 lead by scoring eight points in the first four minutes and her team stayed ahead for the duration of the first half. NYIT held a 26-12 edge after one period and another Ragab basket early in the second quarter gave the Bears a game-high lead of 28-14. The Falcons stirred a bit midway through the quarter with a 6-0 run (including a Green trey) to get within 32-26 and a little later a 7-2 spell, keyed by Cassie Smith (all five of her points), drew the top seed within 39-35 (2:16). NYIT countered with the last six points of the half (Vukosavljevic had four) to send them into the break with a 45-35 advantage. Bentley totally flipped the script at the outset of the second half, ripping off an 11-2 binge which included a trio of three-pointers (two from Lewis) to close the gap to 47-46 with 6:59 on the clock. The Falcons finally took their first lead thanks to a Macchi Smith bucket at the 4:35 mark (51-50), only to see Ragab get it right back (4:03) at the other end. That turned out to be the final lead of the game for the Bears, as Bentley shot back with an 8-1 flurry capped by a Green triple (60-53, :52). The Falcons, who out-scored NYIT 27-11 in the stanza, held a 62-56 margin after three periods and maintained a single-digit lead the rest of the night. NYIT cut it to 70-68 at the 3:50 mark but a 5-0 segment, with hoops from Green and Macchi Smith included, made it a 75-68 game with 1:11 to go, matching Bentley’s largest lead. Shanice Allen’s three-point play and a lay-in by Ragab wrapped around a Gemma foul shot allowed NYIT to make it a one-possession contest (77-74) with 23.9 seconds left. Gemma misfired on two more freebies with 21.9 ticks left and the Bears had the chance to tie but Ragab was off the mark with the left wing triple on the next trip. Lewis put the icing on for Bentley by draining two foul shots with 5.5 seconds to go, completing the scoring. Bentley ended up with better shooting numbers (46%-40%), bolstered by a blistering third period (10-13 FG; 5-6 3FG). The Falcons also produced from long-range (9-20 3FG, including 7-9 in the second half) while NYIT made 4-18 from behind the arc. Superior ball-handling (assist/turnover ratio heavily favored Bentley, 17/9 to NYOT’s 9/16) by the hosts made amends for the Bears exceptional work on the glass (47-30, including a 23-12 edge in offensive rebounds). All in all, it was a fitting conclusion to an exciting East Regional tournament with both teams doing their programs and conferences proud.
- Notes… Gemma (MOP), Lewis, Ragab and Vukosavljevic were joined on the all-tournament team by Queens’ star guard Madison Rowland… Gemma continues to compile program records for Bentley, surpassing the 1,500-point mark in this game. The junior now holds the single-season point record (658), pushing Keri Flynn’s old mark to #2, and bypassed Lauren Battista for most points scored by a Falcon prior to her senior year (1,517 points)… Barbara Stevens won her 956th game overall on Monday, 799 of which have come at the Falcons helm… Bentley (28-5) is now 18-1 in their last 19 NCAA tournament games played on their home floor and they have an active 15-game win streak in all post season games going into the Elite Eight… NYIT completed its best season ever (26-9) and became only the third #6 seed in the current format to reach the East Regional final. The others (Pace in 2011 and Holy Family in 2012) also lost to top-seeded Bentley at the Dana Center… NYIT has won 20 or more games in three of the last four seasons after never having won that many games in a season prior to the 2012-’13 campaign…The ECC has now sent three different teams to the regional final in the last four years (Dowling in 2013, LIU Post in 2014), the first time that has occurred… Ragab ends her career as NYIT’s all-time leading scorer with 1,565 points… Bentley will face Virginia Union at the Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota a week from today (March 22). The Panthers were the #1 seed in the Atlantic Region and proceeded to defeat IUP (91-72), Wheeling Jesuit (74-66) and West Liberty (91-77) to reach the national semifinals for the first time since 1984 (VUU win the national crown in 1983). The Panthers (28-2) are led by the nation’s leading scorer, Kiana Johnson (29.3 ppg), and Lady Walker (18.2 ppg, 13.4 rpg) and enter the Elite Eight on a 15-game winning streak… Also on the same side of the bracket is #1 and undefeated Lubbock Christian from the South Central region. The Lady Chaps sport a 32-0 record and are trying to become only the third unbeaten D2 NCAA champions ever (North Dakota State, 1995; Bentley, 2014); the former NAIA power has a multitude of productive players as they average almost 83 points a game. LBU will face Florida Southern in their quarterfinal matchup on March 22; this will be the first game of the day (1pm EST) with the Bentley-Virginia Union game at 3:30pm… The semifinals will be played the next day (March 23) but the title game will be held on April 4 in Indianapolis, the same site as the Division I and III championship games.