Trekking through history - NECC women’s tournament games of note
By Stephen Zerdelian
Tracking the lineage of the current regional Division II alignment leads us back to 1981, when the New England Collegiate Basketball Conference was formed. It eventually grew to include other sports, thus a name adjustment to just the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC). Along with the Northeast-7 (now the NE10), the NECC ushered in the modern era of Division II basketball in the region. It left a legacy that resonates even now, more than two decades after it ceased to exist.
A league history would take a lot more space than available here but a quick snapshot of a few memorable NECC tournament games is more than in order. In the process, it shines a light on some of the greats in league history. So here goes…
In 1986, Quinnipiac was the NECC power, having won the previous two conference titles and reaching the NCAA quarterfinals both years. Over a three-year span (1983-’84 to 1985-’86), QC racked up a composite record of 79-9, including a 38-2 mark in the NECC – they were the scourge of the league.
The Braves, under first (and as it turned out, only) year coach Barry Wolfson, rolled to the #1 seed in 1986 and seemed poised to claim their third straight conference tournament title. Despite the graduation of mammoth center Francine Perry in 1985, Quinnipiac still had several quality players, including 1st team NECC selection Dorise Blackmon (15.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg), 2nd team pick Rita Campbell (15ppg), Rhonda Ostrom (8 rpg) and Maria Holland (5.5 apg). It was an experienced club and looked ready to defend their crown.
New Hampshire College had different ideas. Under the direction of Nancy Rowe, the Penmen won 17 games that season and made their second straight appearance in the regional ECAC tournament. NHC was led by 1st team NECC All-Star Casey Balzano (13.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg), 2nd team choice Heidi Schuberth (10ppg, 4.3 apg), Amy Jackson, Ann Moscovics (10.3 ppg) and Anna Tarallo, a collection that could trouble any opponent. In fact, NHC stayed right with QC in two regular season clashes with the Braves (two-point and three-point losses), so their tournament meeting being close wasn’t a shock to anyone paying attention.
NHC, the #4 seed, beat Southern Connecticut in their opening playoff game to set up a meeting with Quinnipiac in Hamden. The Penmen, led by Moscovic’s 18 points, edged the Braves, 63-59, to end Quinnipiac’s run of dominance in the NECC. Sadly for NHC, they lost to the next rising power in the loop, New Haven, in the title game, 89-64. But, for one moment, the Penmen held sway in the NECC, ending one dynasty while inadvertently ushering in another.
In the 1985-’86 season, the University of Massachusetts-Lowell won one game. The next season, under new head coach Kathy O’Neil, they matched that total. But by 1988-’89, the Lady Chiefs (as they were known then) were over .500 and went on to win 20 games in the ’90-’91 and ’91-’92 seasons. Add in an NECC title and NCAA tournament showing in 1991, and a 21-win season in campaign in 1992, and you have a growing force in the league.
At the same time Franklin Pierce, who joined the NECC at about the same time Kathy O’Neil took over at UMass-Lowell, also blossomed into a league heavyweight. The Ravens won the NECC title in 1992, beating the Chiefs in the final, helping create a new-age rivalry for the league.
The 1992-’93 season saw both clubs secure 20-win seasons, and each went into the NECC playoffs with high hopes. UML was led by a dynamic frontcourt duo of Darlene Orlando-Ciarcia (19.4 ppg, 9.8 rpg), the league’s Player of the Year, and Kim Brigham (14.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg), a 2nd team All-NECC pick. Perimeter help came from Ginger Sanford (12 ppg) and Jennifer Morrison while Lakisha Phelps and Nora (Dobee) Baston directed the attack. UML went 13-1 in regular season league play, earned the #1 seed and beat Southern Connecticut (88-62) and Sacred Heart (72-62) n route to the championship game.
Under head coach Steve Hancock (his first tour of duty as the head coach in Rindge), the Ravens claimed the #3 seed in the NECC and dropped New Hampshire College (66-53) and #2 seed Keene State (60-57) to secure a chance to repeat. Vicki Carlisle (13.9 ppg, 11.8 rpg), a 2nd team NECC All-Star, led the Ravens from the inside with Dina Sawicki (10 ppg, 5.5 apg), Kelly Jewett (11 ppg) and NECC Rookie of the Year Cassie Beckwith heading a solid perimeter corp.
From the start the championship game at Costello Gym in Lowell was tight. Franklin Pierce led 27-22 at the half but the Chiefs rallied and made it close. Brigham, the tournament MVP, came up clutch by sinking an 18-footer with two seconds left to lift UML to a 56-55 victory and their second NECC crown. Brigham (22 points), Sanford (11 points), Orlando-Ciarcia (10 points) and Morrison (8 points) accounted for nearly all the Chiefs scoring while Carlisle (21 points), Sawicki (13 points) and Beckwith (8 points) carried the load for the Ravens. For context, there were only six made three-pointers in the game, two of which were courtesy of Brigham. It was a slightly different era, for sure.
UMass-Lowell won their first NCAA tournament game shortly thereafter by beating Stonehill but lost in a hard-fought regional championship game against Bentley, 68-60. They stayed regionally relevant for years before eventually decamping to Division I almost a decade ago. Franklin Pierce also nabbed an NCAA bid that season (they also lost to Bentley) and endured their ups and downs until the Johannah Leedham-led Ravens won three straight regional titles from 2008-2010.
Meanwhile, the 1992-’93 season was a virtual blank for the University of Bridgeport. After more than a decade as a pillar of the NECC, the Connecticut institution was on the brink of bankruptcy and seemed destined to close. That fate was so likely that the NECC banned UB teams from playing league contests or in the conference tournament, but the school survived, albeit turning the Purple Knights into nomads.
For the UB women’s team, a program that enjoyed seven winning seasons in the previous eight, the ban was a damaging blow. Harvey Herrer (who had been with the ultra-successful men’s team as Bruce Webster’s assistant) took the head job and trudged through a 4-23 winter. But he also revamped the roster for the following season and, almost out of the blue, Bridgeport recovered.
An 11-5 NECC campaign was part of a 22-8 season for UB in ’92-’93 and they entered the playoffs as the #4 seed. The Purple Knights were strong at the defensive end of the floor, yielding a league-low 60.8 points a night, a necessity since they didn’t have anyone in the top dozen in the loop in scoring. They beat local rival Sacred Heart in the first round of the tournament, 70-59, and pulled off a big upset over top-seeded Franklin Pierce in the semifinal, 94-59. Rookie guard Sarah Wilfong (10 ppg, 5 apg) had 20 points to lead the way with Latasha Davis (9.5 ppg) adding 19 points. The victory put UB a step from the NECC title, a feat they had yet to achieve.
Barbara Love (an All-NECC pick who averaged 10 points and a league-best 11.2 boards per game) was the hero of the championship game with 13 points, 16 boards and the game-winning shot as Bridgeport dumped #2 seed UMass-Lowell, 56-54. Wilfong added 14 points as this UB unit, with no seniors on the roster, advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time.
Saint Anselm dashed Bridgeport hopes in the NCAA opening round, 79-67, but with entire team back the following season (including guards Desiree Arbucho and Dana Williams alongside Wilfong, Davis and Love), the Purple Knights stayed near the apex of the NECC. The ’92-’93 campaign ignited a four-year stretch that may have been the best in program history, as they went 86-31, won 20 games three times and did the NECC regular season/playoff double in 1996. And it was all accomplished in the ashes of the near-ruinous ’92-’93 season.
There were plenty of other memorable NECC games and teams, so consider this a brief look back. The NECC may be more than twenty years in the rear-view mirror but its importance in regional history cannot be overlooked.