Women’s Notebook – NCAA East Regional recap and thoughts
By Stephen Zerdelian
For the first time in twenty-one years, the Pace Setters have advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, outlasting Daemen in a sizzling title game in Manchester, New Hampshire. The title tilt represented the first time in regional history that the final was a 7-seed (Pace) against an 8-seed (Daemen) but you wouldn’t know that based on how the teams played to get there. For a season filled with lots of good, but little great, the regional capper was a thrilling way to end.
Of course, the ending was better from a Pace perspective than it was for Daemen. Carrie Seymour’s team received an excellent weekend of play from star Lauren Schetter (named as the Most Outstanding Player), especially during Monday’s championship game. But it was the younger, less-heralded players that pushed Pace over the top. The coming of age of Kat Mansaray, Arianna Stockinger, Shanice Sinclair and others meant Schetter didn’t have to do everything – and consequently, it made Pace a much more dangerous team.
Pace played three close games and made the key plays in every single one. Its opener against Chestnut Hill (the #2 seed) was decided in the final two minutes. Sinclair (9 points) snapped a 51-all tie with 1:50 to go but the vital sequence came with :11.6 ticks left and CHC inbounding in the frontcourt when the score was 55-53. Mansaray looked like a defensive back while defending the inbounds pass, picking it off in one nearly clean motion. It led to two foul shots (57-53) and the Griffins were cooked. Schetter had a so-so night in this one (12 points before fouling out) but Mansaray (16 points, 6 boards) was on top of her game with Sinclair and Jasmine White (9 points each, the latter going 3-6 from three-point land) leading the depth scoring.
The Setters led all the way against the University of the Sciences in the semifinal round but never really pulled away. Lauren Hackett was everywhere for Pace (19 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds and 0 turnovers in 38+ minutes) while Schetter (17 points, 7 caroms) was back to her usual self. The Devils hung around and sliced a 13-point deficit to 61-58 but a Stockinger trey (remember that) at the 2:26 mark doubled the Pace lead and they never looked back.
Schetter, despite facing multiple defenders all game, provided Pace with a 27-point (12-20 FG), 8-board performance in the regional final. She had important help from the likes of White (11 points, 3-6 again from 3FG-land), Mansaray (10 points) and Naya Rivera (9 points) as the Setters rallied from a 58-51 deficit with 7:37 left. Stockinger (remember?) drilled a right-wing triple with 2:35 left to put Pace ahead for good, 62-60, as part of a 13-2 surge. Daemen had a chance to tie; after a Mickayla Ivy (18 points) bucket drew them within 64-62 with 58 seconds left, the Wildcats got a stop and had the ball in the frontcourt. Stockinger came up with a vital deflection on the inbounds pass, leading to two Schetter free throws with :12.4 left. Katie Titus (a terrific game – 27 points, 15 boards and 4-8 from deep) brought Daemen as close as 66-65 (:03.1) with a long three-pointer but the Wildcats were out of timeouts, so after Mansaray hit the front end of two free throws with :01.8 left, they had no chance for a final shot.
Seymour was as surprised as anyone that her team was even in this spot.
“If you said to me in the pre-season that we would be here, I’d have thought you were crazy,” the longtime mentor admitted. “We were like strangers early in the season, trying to blend six veterans with a group of players who never played here before but the returners set the tone and the others followed everything they said.”
They certainly did it well enough in March, sending Pace to its third Elite Eight in history, following the 1985 and 2001 teams. Seymour guided the ’01 team to the national quarterfinals but admits that team and this one don’t have a lot in common.
“They (the ’01 team) were athletic but with limited basketball experience, so we tried to do the best we could with them,” she said. “This team has more experience, and we will look forward to the Elite Eight with them.”
Pace has been tabbed as the #8 seed in the Elite Eight and will play 5th-ranked North Georgia (the #1 Elite Eight seed) Monday in Birmingham. The 28-3 Nighthawks won the Southeast Regional crown by knocking off #22 Carson-Newman and #11 Lander. There is a tie between the teams, albeit tangentially – UNG plays in the Peach Belt Conference, whose commissioner is former NE10 head honcho, David Brunk. It’s been a while since the East winner advanced past the quarterfinal stage (Bentley in 2016), but Pace is a dangerous underdog against North Georgia, so let’s see how it plays out.
Whatever happens at the Elite Eight, this Pace team has left its mark on the region as the second #7 seed to advance from the East region, following in the footsteps of the ’19 Saint Anselm outfit. The Setters will lose key players after the run ends but the younger players, who came into their own in Manchester, will undoubtedly benefit in the long run.
Thoughts on the other teams in the field…
Daemen, the defending champion coming into the ’22 regional, did itself proud and firmly cemented its status as a regional heavyweight. Yes, they did win in ’21 in a reduced field, and yes, SNHU wasn’t whole for this tournament, but the Wildcats faced everything put in front of them and dealt with it well. They couldn’t control the external circumstances over the last few years and did everything that was asked of them, so anyone thinking that Daemen doesn’t belong in the discussion about the top programs in the region is flatly incorrect. That they fell short against Pace should not negatively color their body of work over the last two seasons, and you can bet Jenepher Banker’s team will be back in the field on a regular basis.
Titus exploded with a 34-point, 14-board game in the semifinal against Jefferson after a relatively quiet 15/12 game in the opener against #1 seed Southern New Hampshire, giving her 66-point, 41-rebound totals for the weekend, more than living up to her billing as the regional Player of the Year. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Tiara Filbert, whose outing against SNHU (27 points) was pure dynamite. She also had 18 points against Pace, justifiably earning her all-tourney honors. The Wildcats will miss both but have a program that can withstand losses and move on. Their play this weekend, in which they shot 45% or better in all three games (no other team did that even once!), shows the system works and it’s not just about one or two players. They will be back.
So will a young Jefferson team that finally grabbed a win for head coach Tom Shirley, his first NCAA victory in 25 years (longer than any of his current players have been alive). Haley Meinel (33 points in two games, and an all-tourney pick) and Morgan Robinson (17 points, 25 boards and 8 assists, along with superb defense) led the way as the Rams edged Bentley, 50-47, but fell short against Daemen. Their defensive profile (trapping and creating havoc, leading to 39 turnovers in the two games) will sustain their growth and adding this sort of experience will help them going forward. Expect the Rams to be a threat to win the region when we hit March of 2023.
One team that will not be back, and now ceases to exist as a separate basketball entity is the University of the Sciences. Of all the stories in the region this weekend, this is the saddest and leaves all with a sense of melancholy. No need to go into the weeds here but with the Devils now part of St. Joseph’s University, it must be said that the region is much the poorer without them. Jess Huber ended her career with an all-tournament award (and 32 points) while Isla Brennan (27 points) and Taylor Hamm (11 points, 29 rebounds, 13 assists and just two turnovers) played well, too. The Devils rolled Le Moyne in the opener before falling, 65-60, against Pace, and then the emotions came roaring to the surface. Anyone who has ever seen them in action over the last seven years knows they will be missed. Also missed will be Jackie Hartzell, as good a coach as there is. Don’t we all wish for just one more game?
Southern New Hampshire, the host, was on the back foot from the start as NE10 All-Stars Meg Knollmeyer and Gyanna Russell were both injured and unable to play in the tournament. The Penmen gave it a good run, but Daemen’s experience and depth proved too much and sent Karen Pinkos’ team packing after one night. The forever unanswered question will be about what SNHU could have achieved with their stars healthy, but things happen, and life goes on. They will have a few nice pieces back (Jenna Roche, Adrianna Timberlake, and Jessica Knight to name a few) but the ‘21-’22 season will always feel like a glorious chance cruelly wrenched away at the exact wrong time.
The lone regional NCAA debutant was Chestnut Hill, which played valiantly against Pace but came up short. That the Griffins lost is not a shock – the last 8-team field debutante to win a game in this region was Merrimack in ’03 – but it feels like the start of something for CHC, not the end. Jim Connolly’s team loses the engine of the club in Cassie Sebold (who ended her career #2 on the all-time CHC scoring and assist charts) but they have several key parts back like Emily Chmiel, and they may get injured pivot Leah Miller back for next season, also. Look for the Griffins to fill the vacuum left by Sciences in the CACC South, and maybe the region, if all goes well.
Bentley was nicked by Jefferson in the first round, ending C White’s first season with a downer. But don’t weep for the Falcons. The NE10 champions return the bulk of their rotation and anticipate continued growth from rookies Maggie Whitmore, Amada Kabantu, Janessa Gonzalez, and Brooke Obar. Toss in veteran guards Ella Thompson and Kari Brekke, and you have a nice basis to stay in the regional race. Bentley will miss Autumn Ceppi and will need to revamp their interior game to evolve into a regional favorite, but they are more than capable of doing so. It’s been a long time in Bentley-speak since they won an NCAA tournament game (2018 was the last time) and the Falcons are overdue to change that storyline next season.
The worst fate to suffer in the NCAA tournament format is to lose the first game (noon on Friday) and be eliminated before the sun goes down but Le Moyne was the unlucky recipient of that outcome this time around. The Dolphins had more than a week off coming into play but seemed like they had no legs, shooting just 20.4% (11-54 FG) and allowing a game-killing 13-0 run to start the second half from Sciences. Mary Grimes did a remarkable job in her first season, though, and she will look to strengthen and lengthen the rotation in the off-season.
Notes…
This was the first time in Division II (either gender) that a 7-seed faced an 8-seed in a regional final since 2016, when Francis Marion (7-seed) beat Augusta (8-seed) to win the Southeast region… The NE10 is now 3-1 against the ECC in regional finals since the ECC was rebranded. Bentley beat NYIT (’16) and LIU Post (’14) but lost to Dowling (’13), each time in Waltham… This was the first time that the CACC had two regional semifinalists but they’re still waiting for a regional champion.
Etc…
One thing that I get asked about is the relative strength of the conferences and cross-over play. This season, as has been the case every season, the NE10 was the deepest and most competitive league. While it wasn’t a vintage year for the loop, they still picked up four NCAA bids, won the region and had the best record in games between the three leagues. Thankfully the regional committee mixed the first round NCAA matchups, and it proved that when it comes to the postseason, it’s not conference against conference but individual teams against each other.
The NE10 was just 1-3 in the opening round this season, as the specific matchups worked against them. Bentley faced a mixture of defenses against Jefferson and had difficulty adjusting. The Falcons didn’t have enough penetration against the Rams' zone, and they also committed turnovers against the press. A more seasoned team may have handled it better… SNHU had the misfortune of losing two starters/All-Stars late in the season and then ran across the best #8 seed the region will ever have in Daemen. Even thought they were at home, the Penmen were unable to generate enough consistent play to turn back the Wildcats, nor did they figure out a way to slow Tiara Filbert down… Le Moyne ended up facing the exacting Sciences attack and their lack of offensive pop came back to bite them. The other NE10 teams may or may not have fared better than LC against the Wildcats but it’s worth remembering that when March arrives, conferences don’t play each other, teams do.
Sliding Doors…
I found myself contemplating some questions over the course of the weekend, and never came up with any answers. There may not be answers, though, but these thought-provoking bites rattled around my brain...
What happens if Gyanna Russell and/or Meg Knollmeyer were healthy for SNHU?
What would the field – and seeds – have looked like if Stonehill won the NE10 playoff title?
How far would Sciences have gone if Irisa Ye played out her final season of eligibility?
What if Leah Miller were healthy enough to play for Chestnut Hill?
What if the NCAA national committee had not flipped Le Moyne and Pace as the -#6 and #7 seeds?
What happened to scoring? I know all the teams defended well in Manchester but only twice did a team reach 70 (both times, Daemen). Explanations on a postcard, please…
That’s all for now. Best of luck to Pace in Birmingham!