Women’s Notebook – My favorite regional finals, Part 2
Last time out, I touched upon three of my favorite NCAA regional finals and mapped out the project. Here is a quick look back before moving on…
This time, we put the cherry on the sundae. It’s time for my top three regional finals…
#3 - 2013 – Dowling-53 Bentley-51 (@ Bentley) - Wilson’s put-back propels Lions to victory
One of the most exciting and tense games in regional final annals was in 2013 when Dowling beat Bentley with seconds left at the Dana Center, courtesy of Danielle Wilson. The host Falcons rolled past LIU Post and Holy Family to book their spot in the contest while the Golden Lions beat NYIT and Stonehill to earn their spot. Bentley was the favorite, having been ranked in the top three all season long (including a week at #1), but Dowling sported possibly the best defense in the nation and was primed to break hearts.
It started well for the Golden Lions, who raced to a 7-0 lead within the first three minutes. As was Dowling’s style, the tone was set at the defensive end, and by a rather unlikely source at that, Julia Koppl. She drew the assignment of guarding one of Bentley’s best post players, Jacqui Brugliera. Koppl rejected three Brugliera shots, another from Courtney Finn and had a steal to lay down a marker for the Dowling defense right off the bat. Even though the Koppl didn’t have much of game at the other end (0-7 FG, 0 points), her overall contribution (five blocks, two boards, two steals, two assists and zero turnovers) was critical.
Bentley stayed in the game but a 15-1 Dowling run helped build a 28-11 lead with six minutes to go in the first half. Dowling led 35-25 at the break and extended the gap to 40-27 before the Falcons finally enjoyed an extended spell of effectiveness. A 17-2 excursion over a seven-minute span from Bentley handed the hosts a 44-42 lead (their first of the game) and got the large crowd rocking. Even though the game was played a day after St. Patrick’s Day, the Golden Lions, for the first time all tournament long, looked a bit green. The teams swapped points, with Bentley freshman Jane White scoring at the 9:49 mark to put the Falcons ahead, 48-46, but now it was time for Dowling to invoke its template for success; defense and timely scoring. Bentley did not score another field goal in the remaining time, going 0-9 from the field. As for timely scoring, how about a three-pointer from Christine Verrelle with 7:01 to play, 12 seconds after Brugliera had put Bentley back on top at the line, 50-48?
Verrelle’s trey gave Dowling a 51-50 lead and signified the start of the crux of this contest. Neither team scored for more than six minutes but there was a telling sequence in that stretch. After a Bentley miss with 2:43 left, DC had possession for almost two full minutes. They missed four shots but culled four offensive rebounds; even though the trip ended with a turnover (an offensive foul on Connie Simmons), there were only 50 seconds left and the pressure was on for the Falcons to respond.
Lauren Battista tied the game at 51 for Bentley (30-2), splitting a pair of free throws with 34.7 seconds to play. Dowling couldn’t hold for an official last shot but they could get close. Simmons (13 points, 11 rebounds) tried to manufacture a good shot (Bentley played very good defense, too) but could only come up with a heavily-contested left elbow jumper with about seven seconds left which fell well short of the iron. Wilson, who was dynamic in the lane all night (23 points and 15 boards, seven of the offensive variety), followed the flight of the ball, grabbed it, and stuck in a leaner with 5.4 seconds to play to put DC ahead. (Wilson later said, “We have been emphasizing offensive rebounding all season long. I just attacked and went after the ball.”) Bentley decided not to call timeout but its last shot, a runner from the left by Kelsey Roberson, missed.
In the aftermath of the game, Dowling (30-4) celebrated, cut down the nets and saw Wilson (Most Outstanding Player) and Simmons named to the All-Tournament team. The Golden Lions had ended Bentley’s two-year regional title reign and handed them a home postseason defeat for the first time since 2007 (21 games). Their Achilles heels - turnovers (-18 in the first two games but a +2 here) and free throw shooting (a 66% foul shooting team that went 26-43 against NYIT and Stonehill but buried 8-9 at the stripe against Bentley) - were put aside for this night, which proved to be extremely helpful. They continued the success at the Elite Eight in San Antonio, where they dispatched Colorado Mesa (60-44) and Augustana (76-54) before falling to Ashland (71-56) in the Division II championship game but that could not dim Dowling’s majestic season nor erase the memory of Wilson’s winning shot.
Why is this game on the list?
Any incredibly tense and competitive game, which features heroics at the end and a nominal upset, usually belongs in the upper tier of memorable games. This is a perfect example of two teams playing at a very high level while facing off with cash on the table. Add in a massive crowd (though mainly disappointed at the end), historically great players (Battista and Baylor transfer Wilson, especially) and generational coaches (Barbara Stevens and Joe Pellicane) and you have all the reasons required to make this one #3.
Why isn’t this game higher on the list?
While we all appreciate defense, this game could have used a tad more offense in the latter stages. Dowling’s eventual closure as an institution a few years later means there is no chance for a return engagement and, at least for me, means it loses a little shine.
#2 - 1998 – Bentley-50 College of Saint Rose-49 (@Siena) - High-level battle goes Falcons way
In 1998, Bentley was in the midst of a four-year run as regional champion (and a span of nine titles in eleven seasons), so they frustrated many opponents along the way. One of the most frustrated outfits was certainly the College of Saint Rose, a powerful program that routinely won 30+ games every year but could not find a way to win a regional. The Golden Knights felt ‘98 was their time, as they hosted the regional at Siena, entered the title game at 32-0, and ranked #1 in the nation (a designation they had held for the previous nine weeks).
Bentley was not exactly under-the-radar, though. The 5th-ranked Falcons racked up a 30-1 ledger heading into the regional final and had a deep and versatile team themselves. Back in ’98 the regional was just six teams and both Saint Rose and Bentley received byes into the round of 32. They hammered their foes once there (Saint Rose smoked NYCAC opponent Philadelphia Textile, 102-77 while Bentley drilled Franklin Pierce, 77-43), setting the stage for the most anticipated regional final we have ever seen in these parts.
A conservative first half, which ended tied at 21, saw both teams hold the lead. The intensity increased as the second half got underway, with each club enjoying periods (albeit brief) of superiority. Bentley scored the first four points but the Golden Knights notched the next nine to go ahead, 30-25. The Falcons countered that a little while later with an 8-0 spell to reclaim the edge, 37-33. Saint Rose didn’t buckle and eventually caught Bentley at 43. Falcon rookie center Kelly Barker contributed all four of her points at the line to hand the Falcons a 47-43 lead with 2:31 to play but Saint Rose point guard extraordinaire Colleen Sheridan answered with a big three-pointer (one of only two the Golden Knights made, both by Sheridan) to slice the deficit to 47-46.
Saint Rose forced a Danielle Chaisson miss at the other end, leading to two free throw attempts by Mbuyi Mukendi. She missed them both but star forward Krista Kandere converted the second misfire into a bucket to give the Golden Knights a 48-47 lead. Chaisson scored and was fouled at the 1:08 mark and it was now Bentley’s lead, 49-48. She missed the ‘and-one’ that came with it, and when Jen Pemberton fouled Mukendi on the rebound Saint Rose had a chance to regain the lead. It wasn’t to be, as Mukendi missed two more free throws.
The teams traded empty possessions after that, as the weight of pressure increased some more. After a Golden Knight miss, Bentley point guard Bri Fecteau was fouled with 16 seconds left and went 1-2 at the stripe to make it a 50-48 game. Kandere was head coach Curt Bailey’s choice of offensive options after a timeout. As the Latvian star went right-to-left across the lane and gathered to shoot, Fecteau fouled her with four seconds to go, sending her to the line. Kandere (a WBCA All-American that season), Saint Rose’s all-time leading scorer (1,975 points), made the first shot but missed the pressure-drenched second. Stephanie Adamian snagged the rebound for the Falcons and the Golden Knights were unable to catch her and commit a foul. As the buzzer sounded, the enormity of the proceedings became apparent – Saint Rose had come up short again and Bentley had secured yet another regional crown.
Most Outstanding Player Chaisson (14 points, 6 boards) and Fecteau (11 points) led the Bentley scoring, while Kandere (11 points, 16 rebounds) and Evija Azace (10 points) topped the Golden Knight attack. Neither team shot well, thanks to superior defense (Saint Rose had the upper hand, 38%-34%), and both left points on the table at the line (Bentley 10-17; Saint Rose 15-25 FT). It was a truly incredible game to watch unfold, with so much at stake. Those type of situations don’t deliver on the promise most of the time but this was an exception. It was a game that left everyone exhausted, both mentally and physically, and produced a lasting impression on anyone who was there.
Bentley went on to fall at the Elite Eight to powerful North Dakota, which was no shame, but they may have been forced to leave too much on the floor in upstate New York to advance any further, anyway. Saint Rose’s frustrations grew even greater the next season, when they again lost to the Falcons in the regional final, but they at last beat Bentley in 2000 to win their only regional to date. While all of these games were memorable, the 1998 clash was without doubt the dramatic high point of the era.
Why is this game on the list?
The meeting was highly anticipated and it matched the hype. This may still stand as the single most intense, physical Division II game I have ever seen. The glut of all-time greats on the court (seven made our recent Super 75 list with three others nearly joining them) and the rankings/records of the teams alone make it a contest to remember but when the thrilling conclusion and competitiveness are factored in, there is little to argue against.
Why isn’t this game higher on the list?
Well… it didn’t go to overtime? It was light on scoring? Bentley didn’t win a game at the Elite Eight? I suppose those are small crumbs that explain why it isn’t #1. Rather, I’d direct you to read the next entry, which was an awesome spectacle twelve years later.
#1 - 2010 – Franklin Pierce-82 Holy Family-79 (@Fitchburg State) - Overtime thriller extends Ravens run to three straight titles
The only regional final that has required overtime was in 2010, when Franklin Pierce completed a three-season run of dominance by shading Holy Family in a sensational game. So good, in fact, it takes #1 on my list of all-time regional finals. There were a number of stories in this regional for both teams, who both won 30+ games and produced a contest for the ages.
The Ravens were led by the superlative Johannah Leedham, soon to become the first 3,000-point scorer in Division II history. Her sister, Jennifer, graduated the season before as FPU made it all the way to the national championship game, and was an assistant on the 2010 squad. While Leedham was at the heart of the Raven offense, she was not the only strong performer for head coach Steve Hancock. Center Jewel White, forward Marielle Giroud and point guard Cynthia Gaudet were all outstanding players and filled key roles with aplomb.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Mark Miller, Holy Family was led by junior wing Catherine Carr, seniors Christine McCollum up front and Lauren Peters in the backcourt and freshman pivot Erin Mann, an imposing quartet. They were part of a legacy which had seen the program reach two of the previous three regional finals (including 2008 against Franklin Pierce) but had yet to break through and advance to the Elite Eight.
All signs pointed to a collision course between the Franklin Pierce and Holy Family (the top two seeds) but both had to negotiate two tournament games before that could happen. The Tigers eliminated Bridgeport and Stonehill on the way to the regional final while Franklin Pierce disposed of Nyack and Molloy, setting up a showdown in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, on the campus of Fitchburg State (used because the NCAA deemed FPU’s fieldhouse insufficient to host).
Early on, the game didn’t seem like a classic at all. Franklin Pierce (32-2), ranked #2 in the nation, scorched out of the gate with a 23-4 lead after eight and a half minutes of play, Leedham having registered 15 points already. The Tigers (30-3), at #16 nationally, tapped their reservoir of experience and fought back, tying the contest at 34 late in the first half. Franklin Pierce led 41-34 at the break but it was clear this was not going to be an easy task.
The Ravens kept the lead after the restart and held a 56-47 advantage with 11:35 left when things really heated up. Holy Family rattled off the next ten points to assume the lead for the first time, 57-56 (9:11), McCollum accounting for the final eight in the run which was closed with a three-pointer. Holy Family could not hold the lead, with Franklin Pierce surging ahead, 66-61, at the 5:44 mark. The Ravens maintained a five-point edge (70-65, 3:27) before the Tigers put up the next seven points to go back ahead, 72-70, the burst started by a McCollum trey and finished by an off-balance Carr basket in the key with 46 seconds on the clock.
Leedham and Carr swapped single free throws to make it 73-71 with 18 ticks remaining. Carr’s miss on the second shot meant FPU didn’t have to rely on a three-pointer on its next possession; Leedham was fouled crossing mid-court and sank both free throws on a 1+1 to knot the contest at 73 with 14.3 seconds to go. Carr’s attempt to win it, a long, contested jumper, missed and overtime was next.
Franklin Pierce led all the way in the OT session, with Leedham (two foul shots) and White (lay-in) putting them ahead, 77-73. McCollum drilled a triple to slice the arrears to 77-76 (2:03) but that was as close as it got. Leedham answered with a driving banker (79-76, 1:47), which had greater significance than just creating a three-point gap. The basket pushed her over the 3,000-point career plateau, at the time only one of eight players in all NCAA divisions (in the purely NCAA-sanctioned era) to have scored that many.
Gaudet hit a pair of freebies to extend the FPU lead to 81-76 but McCollum’s three-point play (:17.9) made it 81-79 and closed out her sensational evening with a career-high 37 points (the second-most in regional tournament history, trailing only Bryant’s Liz Davies, who netted 38 points against Bridgeport in a first round clash in 1996). McCollum made 14-20 from the floor (4-7 3FG), grabbed six boards, dished out four assists and had only one lonely turnover. Leedham split two free throws (82-79, :14), allowing the Tigers one final chance. They were unable get a shot off, though, and Franklin Pierce exhaled a huge sigh of relief.
Leedham (34 points, 11-21 FG, 4-9 3FG, 8-11 FT, 8 rebounds, 6 steals, 5 assists, a block and just one miscue while playing all 45 minutes) was her usual amazing, effective self, making the awesome seem ordinary. She was one of six players in this game to play at least 41 of the 45 available minutes. In fact, four Ravens did so; Gaudet (16 points, 5 boards, 5 helpers in 45 minutes), Giroud (7 points in 43 minutes) and White (14 points in 42 minutes), while McCollum (a full 45 minutes) and Carr (17 points in 41 minutes) did so for Holy Family. Hancock relied heavily on his starters, with only two bench players getting into action for a total of 13 minutes, which proved to be sound strategy.
Not surprisingly, Leedham walked away with tourney Most Outstanding Player honors (76 points in three games). She continued her incendiary play in the national quarterfinals, dropping a 34-point (6-12 3FG), 9-rebound, 6-assist performance on Arkansas Tech as the Ravens rolled to a 77-62 decision. The trail ended against Fort Lewis (CO) in the national semifinals, as Leedham struggled to get untracked (5-22 FG, 13 points) and the Ravens fell, 79-64. Still, what a run – and what a regional final.
Why is this game on the list?
It had just about everything, including a major NCAA record, sensational performances by multiple players, a great comeback, a chance to win at the buzzer… on and on. The game was played at an exceptionally high level and it was tough to see either team go home once it was done. For those in attendance the highs and lows were gut-wrenching yet a pure celebration of the game. Having had the honor of calling the game along with the always-magnificent Jacob VanRyn, I won’t forget it anytime soon. Maybe it’s time for another viewing of the DVD…
Why isn’t this game higher on the list?
Hard to be higher than #1, right?
Thanks for bearing with me, reliving these six games was wonderful and fills me with hope for future gems.
Questions, comments, ideas, rants? Glad to hear them. Email me at Anfield13@aol.com.
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