Women’s Notebook – Championship Weekend and NCAA Selections at hand
By Stephen Zerdelian
Our three regional conferences are down to brass tacks this weekend with the ECC and CACC having semifinals tomorrow and title games on Sunday, while the NE10 crown will also be decided on Sunday. Before we set those stages, a check on this week’s regional rankings, which were released on Wednesday (considering games through last Sunday, March 3):
- Assumption
- Bentley
- Saint Rose
- Frankin Pierce
- Jefferson
- Daemen
- SNHU
- Mercy
- SCSU
- Pace
Assumption, Bentley, and the College of Saint Rose stayed where they were from last week’s poll and should occupy the top three spots when the regional field is announced on Sunday night. The top two are very close but given the Falcons went further than the Greyhounds in the NE10 tournament, Bentley may well usurp Assumption and take the top spot/host duties. CSR seems to be a lock for the 3rd seed. Franklin Pierce is up two spots to #4, which is appropriate as they’ve been the hottest team in the NE10 lately, at least until losing at Bentley last night. Jefferson stays put at #5 while Daemen moved up a place to #6. The Rams could move up a spot but should still be in the laundry game either way, while the Wildcats probably must at least win their ECC semifinal game to be totally certain of a spot in the field. My guess is that the top six will all be in the brackets for sure, with the final order still to be decided. After that, it is open.
Southern New Hampshire tumbled three spots to #7 and are rooting for favorites to win across the board this weekend. An upset in any league (including the NE10) would burst their bubble (pardon the pun), and they’re nervous right now. Mercy is #8 after not being in the top 10 last week and has a chance to boost their resume with success in the ECC final four. Southern Connecticut, at #9 (up one spot from last week), controls their fate since they’re still alive in the NE10 tourney but they lost to Mercy early in the season and that may come back to bite them. Idle Pace (#10) is just filling a spot – they have no chance at an at-large NCAA bid. Anyone outside the top nine still playing this weekend is in win-or-go-home mode.
Moving on to the regional action this week and upcoming this weekend…
The CACC semifinals is an all-South Division affair, with Jefferson (#1 seed) and Chestnut Hill (#2 seed) holding serve but #3 seed Holy Family and #4 seed Goldey-Beacom claiming quarterfinal road victories. Those four outfits will travel to neutral site Caldwell for the weekend activities.
Jefferson is the heavy favorite to win the CACC championship, and they summarily dismissed Bridgeport in the quarterfinals, 64-48. This was a six-point game after three periods the Rams pulled away during the final frame. CACC Player of the Year Sam Yencha racked up yet another double-double (10 points, 15 rebounds) while CACC Defensive Player of the Year Haley Meinel nabbed five steals to go with 10 points and six assists. Cassie Murphy (14 points) and Morgan Robinson (7 points, 12 dimes, and 7 boards), both of which claimed league all-star honors along with Yencha and Meinel, also had their say. Jefferson, now on a 19-game win streak, has hardly been challenged in the league this winter, and if Tom Shirley’s (CACC Coach of the Year) team completes the job and win the title, the CACC will be a one-bid NCAA league.
Chestnut Hill squeezed past defending champion Dominican, 51-49, with a 13-1 burst in the fourth period flipping a 44-38 deficit (7:15) into a 51-45 lead with 4:12 to go and holding on for dear life. CACC Rookie of the Year Bridie McCann netted 13 points for CHC, joining Kaitlyn Carter (14 points, 14 boards) and Caraline Herb (13 points) in double digits. Cayla Howard (19 points and 10 rebounds) topped the Chargers attack but a severe three-point shortfall (CHC was 9-26; Dominican went 1-12) and the late Griffin rally ended their title reign.
The most notable upset in seeding terms was Goldey-Beacom knocking off Post, 68-64, in Waterbury. Then again, the Lightning closed the regular season by winning five of its last six games, the only setback being to Jefferson, so GBC is certifiably hot. The Lightning held firm under major fourth quarter pressure, as the Eagles closed the gap to one point several times in the stanza. Janiya Stevens (16 points) was one of five Lightning players to score at least 10 points and the balanced attack, plus superior shooting (46%-35%), paid off. It’s a disappointing end to a fine season for the Eagles.
Finally, Holy Family jumped on Felician early, won all four quarters, and sailed into the semifinals with a 67-48 victory. CACC All-Star Taylor Hinkle (21 points, 11 rebounds) led the way with Carolyn Prevost (17 points, 8 caroms) and Kara Meredith (12 points) adding quality depth. Ane Valle (24 points, 8 rebounds) wrapped up a terrific rookie season to top the Golden Falcons effort.
In one semifinal, Holy Family and Jefferson will clash for the third time this year with the Rams recording 19-point and 20-point wins over the Tigers. In the other one, Chestnut Hill and Goldey-Beacom, who split a pair of games during the campaign (CHC won big on the road on January 1, 84-61, while GBC nipped the Griffins in Philadelphia on February 20, 55-53), will meet.
The ECC is also at the semifinal stage, with Daemen (#1 seed) and Mercy (#2 seed) earning byes and moving right to the final four in western New York. They’ll be joined by #3 seed St. Thomas Aquinas and #4 seed UDC, as chalk eventually held in the ECC first round. Both the Spartans and the Firebirds had battles on their hands, though, to get past the opening round.
Erin Leary (28 points, 23 in the second half) fueled STAC’s recovery from a 24-15 halftime deficit to rub out D’Youville, 62-53. Sarah Ericson added 13 points and 10 boards for the Spartans, who used a 13-0 third period run to gain footing. The Saints were dogged foes behind Mercy Lasu (16 points and 13 boards in 24 minutes off the bench), and they were ahead late in the third frame when Leary netted six points in an 8-0 spell which spanned the periods and gave STAC a lead (45-38) they never lost.
UDC left their comeback even later, but they did finally turn back the College of Staten Island, 70-67. The Dolphins held a 56-45 lead after three quarters, but the host Firebirds fought back and finally pulled ahead thanks to two Latavia Jackson (17 points) foul shots with 1:12 to go. Destiny Ryles (23 points) tallied the final two points of the game at the line (:41) to provide the final margin for UDC. Jenalyse Alarcon (18 points, 12 boards) and Ashley Lambert (18 points) topped the ticket for CSI and, while they and D’Youville were eliminated in the first round, the future seems bright for the ECC’s two newest squads.
The ECC semifinals pit Daemen against UDC and Mercy against STAC. The host Wildcats, the defending ECC champions, split two games with UDC this season, both played within the last month. A 71-65 Firebird win in the nation’s capital was balanced off by an 82-68 Daemen victory in Amherst. Daemen has the experience factor working here, as well as home court, so they are favorites. The Mercy-STAC game may result in the loser being out of NCAA contention, so both will play it in win-or-perish mode. These two also split their regular season series with STAC rolling up a 73-59 win in early December and the Mavericks getting revenge last weekend with the #2 seed on the line, 57-52. A neutral site game should be fascinating, given all that’s at stake.
The NE10 championship will be decided on Sunday, as well, with Bentley hosting Southern Connecticut in Waltham. The two-time defending league champion Falcons beat AIC (73-61) and Franklin Pierce (66-57) to secure their spot in the title game for the 11th time in the last 13 NE10 tournaments. Maggie Whitmore (17 points, 9 boards) led Bentley to the win over AIC and then ascended the 1,000-plateau as the Falcons edged the Ravens. AIC gave Bentley a run into the fourth period, but an 8-0 Bentley surge stretched their lead to 48-38, and that was enough to see them prevail. FPU, who dumped SNHU thanks to a 19-0 fourth quarter explosion in the quarterfinals, didn’t trail in the semifinal until the last 30 seconds of the third period but a Whitmore trey ignited a 15-2 spurt to give Bentley a 57-46 lead, and they held on. Ella Thompson (15 points, 13 during the second half), who joined Whitmore as NE10 first team All-Stars, led the Falcon scoring and made a vital triple with just over a minute left to push the Falcons over the finishing line.
Meanwhile, Southern Connecticut had to win thrice to make it to the championship game, their first appearance in it since 2012 (when they lost to, you guessed it, Bentley). Their path began with a comfy 60-44 victory over cross-town for New Haven. Next up was a trip to Albany to face Saint Rose in what turned out to be the last home basketball game in CSR’s history. The Owls opened a working lead in the fourth quarter, but the Golden Knights fought back and had the chance to tie the game late but missed a trey when down, 56-53. Rheyna Steinauer’s two free throws with four ticks left locked up the win for SCSU, 58-53.
The win in Albany sent SCSU to Worcester to face defending regional champion Assumption, and although the Owls led for the entire second half, this semifinal clash was close until the late stages. With SCSU ahead 46-45, they unleashed a killer 14-2 binge in the last few minutes to take the win and keep their league and regional hopes alive. Makenzie Helms tied her career-high with 26 points and Hope Fox netted a personal-best 15 points to galvanize the Owls, which forced 23 Assumption turnovers.
SCSU now tries to complete the road sweep of the top three seeds by heading to Bentley, who swept the Owls this season (66-47 at Moore Field House and 72-57 at the Dana Center). A win will mean their third NE10 title in history (head coach Kate Lynch helped her alma mater to crowns in 2006 and 2007) and a definite NCAA bid but a defeat means it’s bubble time for SCSU. Bentley is seeking its’ third consecutive title, which would make them the fourth team in league annals to claim at least three in a row (all Falcon teams, naturally, since they’ve won 22 NE10 championships in all). Falcon head coach C White has yet to lose an NE10 tourney game as head coach and, win or lose this one, Bentley looks to be the regional host when the field is revealed on Sunday.
Last note – the NCAA Division II selection show will be streamed on Sunday night at 10:30pm (don’t forget to change your clocks on Saturday night!), so all the talk will go from speculation to definitive NCAA match-ups next weekend. This space will be back next week to parse the field and prep for the regionals. Until then, enjoy the fun!
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