Women’s Notebook – NCAA tournament update
And then there were two - #2 seed Daemen will host #5 seed Roberts Wesleyan for the right to advance to the Elite Eight on Monday night. To get to this point, four games took place at Lumsden Gym in Amherst, New York, over the last two days, so let’s take a quick chronological look back…
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First round games (Friday)
#3 Georgian Court-61 #6 Concordia-54
The Lions pushed past a stubborn Clippers unit in the final few minutes to win this clash of NCAA tournament debutantes. It wasn’t a pretty game but relatively interesting.
Star of the Game
Leighanna Lister racked up a triple-double to lead the way for GCU, registering 18 points (7-10 FG), hauling in 14 rebounds and rejecting 10 shots. The 3D is the first in Lions NCAA history and it went a long way to helping her team advance. Her stat line bettered teammate Anyssa Fields (14 points, 12 boards), which is something Georgian Court fans haven’t seen happen often this season.
GCU leads but never pulls away
While the Lions never did trail in the contest, Concordia stayed in touch all night. The Lions led 17-7 after one frame and 32-21 at the break, but the Clippers rallied to within 43-37 by the end of the third period. Marigona Bacaliu (15 points, 6 steals) pulled the Clippers within 50-49 with a score with 4:42 to go but they never came closer than that.
Key moments
Lister and Tian Addison (12 points, 6 caroms) netted baskets around a Saundra Cleckley (15 points, 8 rebounds) foul shot to stretch GCU’s lead to 54-50 with 1:14 left, enough to repel any lingering Concordia hopes. The Lions made 7-8 at the line in the last 41 seconds (17-25 overall) to ice the win.
Ugly numbers
Neither team did itself proud from three-point land (3-27 combined) or with possession (47 combined turnovers) in a hard-fought but untidy clash.
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#5 Roberts Wesleyan-75 #4 AIC-61
This was an upset on paper but not in reality. A game laden with runs back-and-forth went the Redhawks' way in the second half and allowed another NCAA newcomer to advance.
Star of the Game
Hard to pick this one but Taryn Wilson (16 points, 6 rebounds) was at the heart of Roberts Wesleyan’s best moments in the game, so she gets the nod
See-saw affair
AIC led 15-12 after one period but the clubs swapped runs in the second quarter - RWC enjoyed 8-0 and 9-0 spells to establish a 34-25 lead but the Yellow Jackets used an 8-0 spree to sidle within 34-33 at the half. The Jackets continued that spree into the second half, netting the first seven points to complete a 15-0 burst and craft a 40-34 lead with 8:16 left in the third quarter. Destine Perry (25 points, 17 caroms) scored ten of the points in the spell for AIC and was their best option all night.
Key moments
Roberts Wesleyan responded to the 15-0 AIC run with a game-defining 20-5 sortie of its own to take the lead for keeps, 54-45. Wilson was responsible for ten of the points, scoring seven and dishing an assist to Danielle DiContio for a trey that ended the quarter and the run.
Depth helps Redhawks
Dimintra Gkizani (19 points, 6 rebounds) and Paige McCormick (16 points, 10 boards) were excellent for the winners, lending more than solid support for the Wilson. In contrast, AIC’s depth after Perry (Nora Young with 12 points and Kyla Smith with 11) wasn’t up to snuff.
Roberts wins the small stuff
Advantages off the glass (48-36), in shooting (41%-31% FG) and at the line (RWC 20-32; AIC 16-18) helped tip the balance for the Redhawks and helped send them into the next round.
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Regional Semifinal games (Saturday)
#2 Daemen-73 #3 Georgian Court-54
The host Wildcats had a relatively easy time with the Lions, shaking off the rust in the latter stages of the first quarter and rolling thereafter.
Star of the Game
Caroline White popped in 20 points (and added nine rebounds) to reach 999 for her career, leading the way for the winners. Katie Titus (17 points, 7 boards, 5 assists) was also sharp but White was the key figure.
Lions future looks bright
Losing this game was a bummer for Georgian Court but its outlook for next season and beyond is as good as it has ever been as a Division II institution. Freshman Fields (18 points) is not just a star in the making - she is already a star. Add in returners like Addison (12 points), Andrejla Kremenovic (13 points) and a host of others, and it’s clear GCU will be a factor in the CACC South next season.
Daemen put their foot down
The Wildcats were in no mood to allow GCU to stay in the game after a slow start. They enjoyed runs of 11-0 (bridging the first two frames), 10-2 and 8-0 to construct a 46-30 halftime lead and led by double digits the rest of the way. The margin peaked at 69-45 with 7:27 left as they let out all the pent-up frustration of not being able to play in last season’s NCAA tournament, when they would have made their actual on-court debut.
Details matter
Daemen ruled the glass (43-34) and shot better (43%-33% FG) to get back on the winning path after losing the ECC title game a week earlier.
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#5 Roberts Wesleyan-77 #1 Dominican-73 (2OT)
The best game of the weekend saw the red-hot Redhawks (nine straight victories) eliminate top seed Dominican in the first game in this regional’s NCAA history to require two overtime frames.
Star of the Game
There are plenty of candidates here, one of which is Wilson, who had a 19-point, 10-board game and scored the last four points of the contest to snap the last tie of the night (the twelfth) and secure a Roberts Wesleyan win. Gkizani (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Paige McCormick (18 points, 9 rebounds) also merited consideration but once again, Wilson is the choice.
Starters rule for RWC
The first five for the Redhawks carried a heavy load, as the bench contributed just five points in a combined 38 minutes. That meant the starters scored 72 points and played 212 minutes. Good thing they get today off.
Chargers off to a fast start but unable to hold it
DC started off nicely and used a 13-0 burst to claim a 23-13 lead early in the second quarter. Their edge crested at 43-30 with 6:04 left in the first half after a Taylor Tomlinson (12 points, 9 boards, 6 steals) basket but RWC scored the next nine points to cut the gap to 43-39 (3:40) and signal this was going to be a game after all.
Guerra puts finishing touch on wild fourth quarter
The Redhawks put up a 14-0 surge to take a 60-54 lead with 3:50 left in the fourth period, only to see the Chargers counter with the next six points to knot it at 60 with 2:12 to go. Gkizani scored twice around a Jasmine Gee (17 points, 7 caroms) hoop to give RWC a 64-62 lead with 11 seconds to go but Korina Guerra evened it with a bucket at the :01 mark, prompting the need for overtime.
Redhawks prevail in battle of attrition
Both teams struggled to score in the bonus frames (13-9 in RWC’s favor), with each team totaling four points in the first OT. After ties at 71 and 73 in the second extra session, Wilson scored with 1:26 to snap the latter tie. DC turned the ball over on its next trip but Roberts Wesleyan, despite three shots, couldn’t extend its lead. Tomlinson had a final chance to tie for DC but missed with :05 left, leading to a pair of Wilson foul shots to nail it down.
Aftermath
This was the first overtime game in regional annals since the 2014 edition, when Adelphi beat New Haven, 92-86, at Bentley. It’s the first time a #1 seed in the region lost in its first outing since 2015, when #1 Adelphi was bumped off by #8 Holy Family. In terms of a six-team regional (which was the case from 1994-2002), this is the first time since 1997 that the #1 seed fell at the first time of asking (Saint Rose losing to Stonehill at Albany).
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Regional Final (Monday, 6pm) - #2 Daemen vs. #5 Roberts Wesleyan
These familiar foes will tip off tomorrow night for the right to advance to the Elite Eight in Ohio, their fifth (yes, fifth!) meeting this winter. Daemen owns a 3-1 edge to this point but the Redhawks won the most recent game, the ECC title clash, last weekend. Here is how they fared against each other so far:
February 5 - @ Daemen-70 Roberts Wesleyan-48
Mickayla Ivy had 21 points and 16 rebounds while White racked up 19 points and seven boards to lead the Wildcats to an easy win. RWC shot just 29% and were -12 on the glass (45-33) in the defeat.
February 7 - @ Daemen-83 Roberts Wesleyan-48
White (23 points and 10 caroms) and Ivy (18 points, 7 boards) led the way again for the Wildcats, who picked up another comfortable win against RWC. The Redhawks again had shooting issues (28%) and lost the glass battle (49-33).
February 17 – Daemen-58 @ Roberts Wesleyan-42
This one was closer but a dreary first quarter (3 points) put the Redhawks in an early hole and they again shot under 30% (28.6%, to be exact). Daemen didn’t exactly light it up as it had a fortnight earlier but used 21 RWC turnovers to net 23 points and take the win.
March 6 – (ECC championship game) Roberts Wesleyan-59 @ Daemen-53
Fourth time was the charm for the Redhawks, who rode Wilson (19 points, 8 boards) and Paige McCormick (17 points and 8 boards) to the title. This time they shot better (36%) and held the Wildcats to just 25% from the floor, and it was decisive. Titus (19 points) and White (15 points, 11 rebounds) accounted for the bulk of the Daemen attack but they were unable to make it back-to-back ECC titles.
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Tomorrow’s game represents the second time the ECC has supplied both regional finalists, following ‘17’s Queens victory over Molloy. Coincidentally, that was also a #2 (Queens) vs. #5 (Molloy) seed game, albeit in slightly different circumstances. The survivor will await seeding at the Elite Eight, which will begin in a little over a week, Tuesday, March 23.
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