Memorable games – Part 5 – Holy Family becomes first #8 seed to win NCAA tournament game in regional history
By Stephen Zerdelian
It’s Part 5 of our Memorable Games Series, a look back at a major NCAA tourney upset
With the first official NCAA regional ranking due this week, it seems an appropriate time to revisit one of the biggest upsets in regional tournament history…
The NCAA tournament is usually the most exciting part of the season (along with opening weekend and conference tournament play) but upsets generally come in small doses. No, the top seed doesn’t always win a regional championship, but form tends to hold. In that vein, the #1 seed has only lost once to the #8 seed in the history of this region (New England/Northeast and now, East), and it happened in 2015.
Adelphi had a sensational campaign in 2014-’15, claiming the Northeast-10 championship by whipping AIC, 79-57, in the title tilt and barreling into the NCAA tourney as the top seed and host, boasting a 28-3 record. The Panthers, under Heather Jacobs, were fronted by guard Ahn-Dao Tran and forwards Kelly Mannix, Sierra Clark and Calli Balfour up front, and had depth, size, and experience. This was the first time AU had the opportunity to host the regional festival and they were expected/expecting to go a long way, especially considering they had not lost at home all season (19-0).
The #8 seed, Holy Family, earned their spot in the field by virtue of winning the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference playoffs in wacky fashion, beating the University of the Sciences in the semifinal by 38-32 count (no, that’s not a misprint) and dumping Philadelphia (now Jefferson) in the finals, 79-75, scoring 15 of the game’s last 16 points to do so. They had momentum after beating two local rivals for the CACC crown and no pressure whatsoever as they prepared to meet Adelphi in the NCAA opener.
It didn’t take Holy Family long to get into their game and take control. Adelphi led only once in the contest, a Tran trey opening the scoring – HFU scored the next eight points and never looked back. Another Tran triple tied the game at 27 but the Tigers rattled off the next dozen points (39-27) thanks to five different scorers, and rode that to a 41-33 halftime bulge. Holy Family cranked the lead to 56-40 at the 13:59 mark after an Erin Fenningham triple capped a 12-3 spurt and another Fenningham hoop made it a 62-52 game with 10:11 left.
The Panthers rallied the troops and notched the next nine points to cut the deficit to 62-61 (8:10) but never tied it or grabbed the lead. The margin stood at 70-63 (4:53) when the Panthers made another sustained run, this time completed by a Mannix three-pointer with 2:02 left to pull within a digit, 74-73. However, the clutch Fenningham scored the next four points (78-73, 1:16) and from that juncture on, Adelphi never had the ball within one possession. HFU sank a nerveless 7-8 at the foul line in the last minute-plus to hold off the Panthers and carve out a piece of history.
Highlights? Yes, indeed, check out the first minute plus in this clip…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHoKZFcGcvQ
HFU head coach Mark Miller (now at South Carolina-Aiken), who posted 169 wins at Holy Family in his seven seasons in the hoop hotbed of Philadelphia, recalls the game in its proper context – a terrific clash between two teams playing well at that point in time.
“It very quietly was a great game,” said Miller. “Adelphi was highly ranked coming off an NE10 championship and we were coming off our CACC championship after coming from behind, down 13 with three minutes to go to get the win against Philadelphia. Adelphi was so good, but we felt like had a very good game plan going into the tournament. We got balanced scoring that night with Fenningham, Jill Conroy and Kasey Woetzel all having good games. Plus, we played great defense that day and mostly limited them to one shot.”
Conroy netted a (then) career-high 23 points against Adelphi (8-13 FG, 3-5 3FG, 4-4 FT), Fenningham (who had a personal-best 36 points against Philadelphia in the CACC tournament) added 21 points (6-8 FG, 2-2 3FG, 7-9 FT) and six boards and Woetzel (14 points, 8 boards) was valuable at both ends for the Tigers. Miller’s team also shot the ball extremely well (55% FG, 7-15 3FG, 25-30 FT), fueling the upset. Even though Stonehill ended Holy Family’s dream run with a 67-60 decision in the next round, the victory over Adelphi is what stands out in the collective memory for all Tiger fans.
Adelphi shot just 39% in the match, negating solid three-point production (10-31 3FG), strong foul shooting (13-16 FT) and fine ball handling (22/12 assist/turnover ratio). Mannix (25 points, 6 boards; 9-19 FG, 5-12 3FG), Tran (25 points, 5 boards, 5 assists; 9-19 FG, 3-11 3FG, 4-4 FT), Balfour (12 points) and Clark (11 points, 5 boards) kept AU in range but could not prevent their only home loss of the season, at the worst possible time. The Panthers, ranked #11 nationally at the start of the NCAA tournament, thus became the first – and so far, only - #1 seed to go down in the first round in the region and as unfair as it seems, that label sticks.
Jacobs lasted one more season at Adelphi before assuming the head job at Division I Wagner, and currently holds the top job at Division III UMass.-Boston. Despite the way the season ended, that Panther edition should be remembered for more than just the loss to Holy Family. They won 28 games, tied for most in program annals, and were a superb team to watch in person. (Mannix, Balfour and Clark are all without doubt among the best players in Panther history).
Nonetheless, the 2015 regional had two major storylines – New Haven winning a classic title game with a late steal/hoop against Stonehill, and Holy Family’s upset of Adelphi and run to the regional semifinal. The Chargers’ achievement of claiming the regional in such an exciting manner remains the overriding memory of that regional but Holy Family’s stunner is not far off and requires a special seat at the regional history table.