• The penultimate set of games in the CACC produced all home winners and cleared up some playoff questions while a three-game ECC set did the same. The Wednesday report starts with the CACC North Division playoff picture…
• Dominican wrapped up the top seed in the CACC North thanks to an 82-66 win over Felician, shooting 58% from the floor and putting four players in double digits. The Chargers won all four periods, building their lead as they went along, including 60-45 after three periods. Alpresia Parker (18 points; 6-9 FG, 4-5 3FG) and Korina Guerra (16) points led the way for DC, which has won five games in a row. Kayla Diaz scored a career-best 25 points to top the Golden Falcons attack but they shot only 35% overall and never solved the Chargers. Felician is in the CACC playoff field despite having dropped six straight games… Caldwell stayed hot, winning their sixth in a row to nail down second place in the division, this one a 71-64 victory over Concordia. The Cougars had to rally to eclipse the Clippers, overcoming 34-26 (halftime) and 51-49 (three quarters) deficits. Tina Lebron’s (12 points) three-pointer with 5:24 left kicked off a decisive 12-2 Caldwell spurt, putting them into a 67-59 lead with 1:36 on the clock. That was too much for Concordia to handle and the Cougars held firm. Andie Lennon (26 points; 7-16 FG, 11-11 FT) and Alessia Smaldone (13 points) also had strong games for Caldwell while Cameron Corbett (21 points, 9 rebounds) and Nicole Nicholson (13 points) topped four double digit scorers for Concordia… Post has the inside track for third place in the CACC North after they rubbed out Bloomfield, 62-47. The Eagles led from start-to-finish in this one and won all four periods, and are a game ahead of Felician with one left on the slate. They established a 36-23 halftime lead over the Bears (who are on a seven-game slide) and maintained the edge for the duration behind the steady play of Sha’Raya Haines (17 points, 7 boards), Taylor Ceballos and Gabriela Middleton (11 points apiece). Deja McKenzie (14 points, 14 boards) double-doubled for Bloomfield in vain and was the only Bear in twin digits.
• The game of the night in the CACC South was Georgian Court’s 75-74 squeaker over Goldey-Beacom thanks to a pair of free throws by Jada Atchison (16 points) with 6.8 seconds left. The Lions seemed to have this game in hand early in the third period with a seventeen-point lead on multiple occasions but the Lightning drew within 70-58 by the end of the quarter. GBC then began the last stanza with a 12-0 blitz to tie the game at 70 (4:15), setting the stage for a frantic ending. Atchison’s three-pointer gave GCU a 73-70 lead with 2:25 to go but two foul shots each from Alanna Speaks (16 points, 7 boards, 6 steals) and Amanda McGrogan (career-high equaling 28 points; 8-22 FG, 12-14 FT) sent the Lightning ahead with 1:20 to play, 74-73. Atchison’s game winning charity tosses preceded a miss by Goldey-Beacom in the dying embers and means that GCU has clinched third place in the division. Destiny Thompson (19 points, 11 boards) and Ivona Krakic (15 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks) filled key roles for the winners while Sarah Round added 17 points to the GBC cause. Goldey-Beacom’s last game will be a virtual playoff game as they face local rival Wilmington with fourth place and the final CACC South playoff berth as the prize… Speaking of Wilmington, the Wildcats did their part by nudging past Holy Family, 70-65, to keep their playoff hopes alive and eliminate the Tigers. WU’s five starters all reached double digits, led by Macy Robinson (17 points), Emily Ansah (16 points, 8 boards; 8-11 FG) and Nyree Grant (14 points, 14 caroms), and they withstood a furious HFU rally to procure the win. The Wildcats led by a 59-41 margin with 7:07 to go, only to see Holy Family tear off a 24-9 spree and pull within 68-65 with 19 seconds left. Jadyn Whitsitt (11 points) dropped in a pair of free throws with :06 left, finally dousing the HFU comeback and allowing Wilmington to stay alive. Elizabeth Radley (23 points) and Molly Masciantonio (10 points) led an HFU effort that went 10-30 from three-point land but just 3-4 at the line, while Wilmington hit 14-19 at the stripe… Jefferson received big outings from Beverly Kum (26 points; 11-18 FG), Jessica Kaminski (18 points, 10 boards) and Alynna Williams (13 points) en route to a 79-65 win over Chestnut Hill, the later now out of playoff contention. The second quarter staked the Rams to a non-refundable lead, out-scoring the Griffins 24-11 to craft a 42-27 halftime edge. CHC came within 46-39 midway through the third frame but a 9-0 Ram retort put the spread into double digits (55-39) to stay. Leah Miller (17 points, 10 caroms), Lauren Crim (15 points) and Jaeda Wildgoose (13 points) led the way for the Griffins but they were out-shot (49%-38% FG) and unable to overturn the Rams after the decisive second period.
• Robyn Francis’s basket with 1.2 seconds left gave LIU Post a thrilling 61-59 win in the final Battle of the Boulevard over NYIT, wrapping up the regular season for both teams. The Bears will take the #3 and the Pioneers grab the #4 seed in the ECC tournament and both will host first round playoff games next Wednesday. If this is the final match between the two rivals it was a fitting one, as both teams had their moments. LIU Post used an 8-2 run to open the fourth period and grab a 52-41 lead but NYIT answered with a 9-0 spurt to slip within 52-50 (4:38) and it stayed close the rest of the way. Tiara Place made a pair of free throws with 8.4 ticks left to even the game at 59 but Francis, with a runner in the lane, had the last word and with it a Pioneers victory. Sasha Patterson (18 points, 11 boards) and Shannon Doyle (12 points) joined Francis (11 points, 8 boards, 6 assists) in double digits for LIU Post, who won the glass (43-33) but were only 3-10 at the line. Meg Knollmeyer (14 points, 12 caroms), Place (13 points) and Taylor Tripptree (11 points) submitted strong efforts for the Bears, who also left points on the table at the line (10-16 FT). The Long Island teams will host Bridgeport and Roberts Wesleyan in the post season but those seeds (#5 and #6) have yet to be decided between the latter pair… Ihnacince Grady netted a career-high 25 points (9 rebounds and 5 steals, also) to lead Molloy to a 76-69 overtime win against the University of the District of Columbia, eliminating the latter from the ECC playoff race. The Lions led by as many as thirteen points in the third period (34-21) but the Firebirds rallied and snagged a 56-53 lead early in the fourth period. Molloy reclaimed the edge with an 8-1 binge (61-57, 1:11) but two foul shots by Tyra Coombs (12 points, 17 boards) and a basket from Natasha Roy with 27 seconds left evened it a 61 and prompted the OT session. After a spell of back-and-forth, Molloy seized control with a 9-2 run (74-68, :34) and held on the ice the win. Tyra Harrison (16 points), Jenna Silletti (15 points) and Ellen Iversen (11 points, 11 caroms) helped the Lions cause as they shot better than UDC (43%-32% FG), balancing off a 58-43 Firebird advantage on the glass. Mia-Alexis Lloyd (19 points) and Maya Thomas (16 points, 9 boards) provided support for Coombs for UDC but their current five-game losing skid has cost them any chance to reach the playoffs… St. Thomas Aquinas made it nine wins on the spin by dropping Queens, 63-53. The Spartans did their work in the first half, building a 38-17 halftime lead and keeping the Knights at bay thereafter. Julia Winnik and Zaria Thomas each had 14-point games and shot 4-9 from three-point land to lead STAC with Emily Preston (10 points, 12 boards) and Ruth Adams (10 points) chipping in to buttress them. Lakeisha Officer (11 points, 8 boards), Nora Gabel (11 points) and Emer Moloney (10 points) supplied the pop for QC, who actually shot better than STAC (43%-37% FG) but were high-jacked by 23 turnovers.
• This week’s NCAA Division II East Regional poll came out on Wednesday and it is the exact same as last week: (1) Sciences, (2) Bentley, (3) Jefferson, (4) Le Moyne, (5) St. Thomas Aquinas, (6) Stonehill, (7) St. Anselm, (8) Southern New Hampshire, (9) Merrimack and (10) Daemen. The poll is through last Sunday’s games.