Women’s Notebook – Conference titles decided, NCAA field set
By Stephen Zerdelian
Deep breath, everyone. The regional conference tournaments are done, champions were crowned, and NCAA bids were handed out last night. Before we get to the latter, let’s check in on each of the three conference tournaments that wrapped up yesterday.
Jefferson polishes off perfect CACC season:
After a clean regular season in the CACC, the Rams rolled into Caldwell and beat fellow South Division members (and city foes) Holy Family (65-57) and Chestnut Hill (61-39) to secure the crown for the first time since 2020 and reach the 30-win mark plateau for the first time.
A wild semifinal contest with Holy Family was punctuated by a pair of massive runs (one each way) and a clutch showing at the line down the stretch to secure the title. Jefferson used a 20-2 explosion to claim a 53-37 lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers rallied by netting the next 16 points to remarkably tie it at 53 with 2:36 left. The top seeded Rams didn’t let HFU take the lead, though, scoring the next five to make it 58-53 with 56 ticks left, and they sank 7-8 at the stripe to nail down the win. Sam Yencha (18 points, 8 boards), Haley Meinel (17 points) and Morgan Robinson (13 points, 8 boards, 6 assists) led the Jefferson effort which saw the starting quintet score all their points. Taylor Hinkle (15 points, 12 boards) led a trio of double-digit scorers for Holy Family, but their season ended, nonetheless.
In the other CACC semifinal, Chestnut Hill brushed aside Goldey-Beacom, 66-48, with Avery White (16 points, 6 boards) and Caleigh Edwards (10 points) topping the scoring. The Griffins out-shot (45%-31%) and out-rebounded (42-26) the Lightning, racing to a quick 11-0 lead that was never erased. Rory Ciszkowski (10 points) was GBC’s only double figure scorer as their Cinderella run was shut down.
The Rams left no doubt about their superiority in the championship game as they won all four periods (31-23 at the half; 47-30 after three periods) and rolled to victory. Yencha (12 points, 16 caroms), Robinson (12 points, 6 rebounds, 5 helpers) and tourney Most Outstanding Player Meinel (12 points) fronted the winners, who will look to take one more step than last season and advance to the Elite Eight.
Daemen survives an ECC gauntlet to claim the crown:
Alahana Paige was the star for the Wildcats as they shaded UDC and Mercy to win the ECC title for the third straight season and fourth time in five years. Paige buried the game-winning three-pointer with three seconds left to nip the Firebirds, 69-66, and dropped 26 points on Mercy in the final to fuel her team to a 55-50 success.
In a game with 14 ties and six lead swaps, Daemen trailed 53-42 with 8:20 left against UDC. They rallied to even it at 61 thanks to a Paige (23 points, 6 boards, 5 assists) score with 2:16 left, part of a 10-0 spree that put them ahead 66-61 (1:02). This time the Firebirds fought back to tie it at 66 thanks to a Destiny Ryles (20 points, 5 boards, 5 assists) trey with :15 left, only to see Paige stun them with the game-winner shortly thereafter. Gabby McDuffie (18 points, 8 rebounds) and Natalie Angeletti (11 points) added double figures for the winners, who were finally able to exhale when Laci Johnson’s 3FG missed at the horn.
Mercy conjured an amazing rally to beat St. Thomas Aquinas in the other ECC semifinal, 59-48. The Mavericks fell behind 21-4 after one quarter (23-4 was STAC’s peak lead) but stuck with it and finally surged ahead, 31-30, with 12 seconds left in the third stanza. That occurred during a 12-0 burst which gave them the lead for good, and they held off STAC down the stretch to prevail and end the Spartans season. Jacklyn Stanavich (25 points, 6 rebounds) and Katie Wall (15 points, 8 boards) spearheaded the Mercy attack, while their defense held STAC to a paltry 1-21 from three-point land. Erin Leary led the Spartans with 16 points and 10 rebounds, a fine effort during a disappointing ending for STAC.
The title game was air-tight, with 16 ties and ten lead changes but Mercy thought they had a measure of control with a 48-40 lead and 5:57 on the clock. Alas, Daemen snowed them under with a 15-2 stretch to end the game and take the honors. Paige (27 points, 6 boards, 5 assists), the obvious choice for tourney Most Outstanding Player, sank 3-4 at the line in the final 11 seconds to ice the win. Wall (15 points) and Stanavich (11 points, 6 boards) had strong games again but despite the loss the Mavericks picked up an NCAA at-large bid, their first time in the dance since 1985. Still, the ECC championship stays in western New York in large part thanks to Paige’s heroics.
Another three-peat for Bentley in the NE10:
The region’s #1 seed, Bentley, surged past Southern Connecticut to win its third straight (and 23rd overall) NE10 crown, 64-49. Tourney Most Outstanding Player Cierra Norman (15 points) was one of several Falcons to play key roles along with Kylie DuCharme (11 points, 9 boards), Amanda Kabantu (10 points) and Ella Thompson. The latter scored all nine of her points in the final four minutes as Bentley scored the last eleven points to sprint clear of the Owls.
SCSU never trailed in the first half but found the score knotted at 26 at the break. Bentley pulled ahead, 44-40, at the end of three quarters and finally shed the dogged Owls down the stretch. Jillian Martin (12 points) topped the Owls scoring but their season is done after missing out on an NCAA at-large bid. Bentley’s free throw prowess (22-24; SCSU was 8-9 at the line) was a major factor, as well, as this Falcons edition joins three others in winning at least three straight NE10 titles.
NCAA East Regional:
After finishing off their NE10 title run, Bentley was a clear choice for the top regional seed and hosting duties for the first time since 2016. The other conference tournament winners, Jefferson and Daemen, also earned automatic spots in the field, which will begin play on Friday at Bentley’s Dana Center in Waltham, Massachusetts. The five at-large bids resulted in four other NE10 teams getting in (Assumption, the College of Saint Rose, Southern New Hampshire, and Franklin Pierce) along with Mercy. Here is a look at the opening round contests (times TBA):
#1 Bentley vs. #8 Mercy
#2 Assumption vs. #7 Franklin Pierce
#3 College of Saint Rose vs. #6 Daemen
#4 Jefferson vs. #5 Southern New Hampshire
I’ll be back later this week with a more detailed review of the field. For now, time to rest up. Congratulations to all the tournament winners and the teams in the NCAA field. We now are set to truly enter one-and-done territory, otherwise known as the most fun part of the season for fans. See you soon!
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