* Championship Sunday yielded a trio of conference champions and dished out three official NCAA tournament automatic qualifier bids. The recap starts with the closest game of the bunch…
* CACC tournament Most Outstanding Player Alynna Williams drilled back-to-back three-pointers in the final two minutes to catapult Jefferson to the title and claim an NCAA berth. In a tight contest with Philly foe Holy Family, Williams’ 6-0 spree flipped a 57-56 deficit with 2:21 left into a 62-57 advantage with 1:00 to go. Try as they may, the Tigers couldn’t overcome the Rams surge and fell at the last hurdle, closing their season just short of a crown. The first half in this one was +/- five points either way, ending with the Tigers ahead, 27-26. Megan Hughes (11 points) canned a trey with 2:24 left in the third period to give HFU a 46-41 edge but the Rams netted the last five of the frame to level matters at 46 with one period to go. Holy Family equaled that run to go up, 51-46, but the Rams eventually caught up and went ahead, 56-55, at the 3:02 mark thanks to a Haley Meinel (13 points; 6-11 FG) bucket. Moe Moore’s two foul shots gave Holy Family its last lead (57-56), setting up the Williams (23 points; 5-8 3FG) heroics. Elizabeth Radley (8 points, 11 rebounds) cut the margin to 62-59 (:43) and the Tigers got the ball back after a Jefferson miss but turned it over, one of their twenty miscues. Maddie Haney split a pair of FT’s with 11 seconds left to create the final tally and extend the Rams winning streak to a dozen games, equaling Stonehill for the region’s current longest run. Sabria Lytes (12 points, 9 boards) added quality depth for the Rams, who turned the ball over only a dozen times and profited in points-off-TO’s, 18-12. The rest of the team stats were understandably close. Moe Moore (16 points, 8 boards, 6 assists) shined for Holy Family despite the outcome. The victory was Jefferson’s first ever post season success against HFU in the CACC playoffs, including title game losses in ’07 and ’15. Jefferson (the tenth regional outfit to win 20 games this season) is the likely #8 seed in the NCAA East Regional field but they know they are in for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
* A key 11-1 fourth quarter run provided the platform for Daemen to win the ECC championship over Molloy, 68-56, and send the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament, both firsts for the program. This was another hard-fought clash that was in the balance until the last few minutes, with both teams having their spells in the ascendancy. Molloy scored the game’s first seven points but Daemen responded with a 10-0 run and never trailed again. Their first half lead peaked at 23-11 and they held a 29-22 edge at the intermission. The Wildcats pushed the chasm to 46-34 with 3:20 left in the third period, only to see the Lions rip off the last eight points to make it 46-42 game. Kadijah Dickson (26 points; 9-23 FG, 8-10 FT) scored to start the fourth quarter and make it 46-44 and a little later Gabriella Aspuru (15 points) brought Molloy within 51-50 (5:35) but the Lions never quite made it all the way back. Jordan Heinold (10 points) registered the first five points of the aforementioned run, finished off by four Tiara Filbert (13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) free throws, and Daemen was in full control, ahead 62-51 with 47 seconds left. Katie Titus (24 points, 13 boards; 10-21 FG) collected Most Outstanding Player honors in topping the Wildcat stat sheet while Caroline White (12 points, 7 boards) also played well. Daemen had the upper hand from the field (35%-27%) and off the glass (48-34) in a game that saw exceptional foul shooting (Daemen 20-20; Molloy 21-23 FT) both ways. The Lions, who had their eight-game win streak halted, still hold out hope for an NCAA at-large bid but Daemen will be making their NCAA tournament debut for sure on Friday.
* The day’s most convincing winner was Stonehill, who earned their sixth NE10 crown (their first since ’08) with an 80-61 decision over St. Anselm. The Skyhawks (on a twelve-game winning tear) enjoyed great balance, putting Kayla Raymond (17 points, 7 rebounds), the tournament Most Outstanding Player, Kelsey Shaw (17 points, 7 rebounds; 6-9 FG), Madison Seymour (13 points; 4-4 FG, 3-3 3FG) and Gabrielle Reuter (10 points, 6 blocks and 5 rebounds) in double digits while shooting very well (51% FG, 10-16 3FG). The Hawks had the early edge, leading 14-7 with 3:00 left in the first quarter, but Stonehill scored the next eleven points (17-14) to go ahead for good. Their run continued for nearly ten minutes and eventually reached 29-6 and a 36-20 lead with 3:23 left in the half. The margin was 41-25 at the break and the game stayed solidly in their control thereafter. It was a 62-42 tally after three quarters and when Stonehill opened the last stanza on an 8-1 blitz (70-43, 8:23) the outcome was assured. Shannon Ryan (22 points, 13 boards; 10-14 FT, but she was the sole Hawk to attempt at free throw) and Peyton Steinman (18 points, 6 caroms) accounted for the bulk of the St. Anselm scoring as they shot a respectable 43% overall (5-13 3FG) but were eclipsed in bench points by a 16-2 count. Both teams will be in the NCAA tournament field with Stonehill having an outside chance to host the regional. At worst, they will be the #2 seed. The Hawks, who missed a chance to match their male counterparts with an NE10 crown (which would have been the first time one institution won both playoff titles), are a lock for the tournament field as they try to defend their regional hegemony.
* The NCAA Division II tournament field was released on Sunday night and will be hosted by #1 seed Adelphi. The Panthers will face #8 seed Jefferson. On the same side of the bracket, #4 seed the University of the Sciences faces #5 seed Molloy. Stonehill is the #2 seed and plays NCAA debutante Daemen (#7) while #3 seed St. Anselm clashes with NE10 foe Le Moyne, the #6 seed, in a rematch of last year's regional final. The first round is Friday, followed by Saturday semifinals and a Monday evening title game.