* Action in all three conferences on Wednesday offered a mild upset or two and a few tight games. In digest form, we start with CACC South play…
* Irisa Ye scored a career-high 34 points on near-perfect shooting (11-12 FG, 12-14 FT) to lead the University of the Sciences to their fifteenth straight win, a 99-53 romp over Georgian Court. Ye was aided by Jordan Vitelli (16 points) as the Devils shot a brilliant 63% and raced to a 53-19 halftime edge. Safiyyah Lee topped the Lions with 18 points and nine rebounds but GCU shot just 30% and watched their three-game win streak come to an end… The Devils lead in the CACC South is two games now, as Goldey-Beacom dumped Holy Family by a 62-60 count. Amanda McGrogan’s (21 points, 6 boards, 5 assists) pair of free throws with 10 ticks left for GBC capped a magnificent rally that saw them recover from a 54-36 deficit with 6:43 to go. The Tigers still held a 58-46 lead with 2:45 on the clock but the Lightning ran off a 12-0 spree to catch them (58-all, 1:31) and eventually prevailed. Elizabeth Radley led the Tigers with 19 points but they find themselves locked into the #2 spot in the loop. Goldey-Beacom’s triumph keeps them within a game of third (and fourth) place in the division… Alynna Williams netted 31 points (13-22 FG, 5-9 3FG) to spark Jefferson to an 84-71 win at Wilmington, their fourth in a row. The Rams slowly built a solid lead through three frames (68-46) and absorbed a Wildcat rally in the last period that cut the margin to ten points but no closer. Four Wilmington players reached double digits, led by LaShyra Williams (24 points, 10 rebounds), yet the loss all but extinguishes their CACC playoff hopes.
* Post beat Dominican in a battle for the CACC North lead, 59-53, meaning the Eagles now sport a two-game (loss column) edge over the Chargers. The Eagles led by as many as 17 points (43-26) early in the second half but DC came back and, riding a 10-4 run to start the fourth quarter, trimmed the arrears to 51-50. Taylor Williams (21 points) and Sha’Raya Haines (16 points) responded by collecting all the points in an 8-0 Post response to boost the lead back to 59-50 (:26), icing the result. Khay’la Latimer (16 points, 9 boards) and Taylor Tomlinson (16 points) keyed the Charger attack but they seem destined to the #2 seed in the division… Caldwell jumped into third place in the division by zapping Concordia, 95-83. Alessia Smaldone (25 points, 10 assists; 8-13 FG, 8-8 FT) and Paula Dits (20 points, 7 boards) were the main ingredients for the Cougars, although all five starters did reach double digits. They shot 55% overall and put up a 10-0 run to begin the second half to claim the lead for good (47-38). The Clippers, with four in twin figures led by Nicole Nicholson (19 points) and Christina Brown (16 points, 6 assists), managed to slice the deficit to seven points a few times in the fourth quarter but the damage was done by then. Concordia is now two games adrift of Nyack for the last playoff place in the division… The only home winner in the CACC was Felician, which gained a 91-70 victory over Bloomfield to snap an eight-game slide. Haylee Ramirez (28 points; 7-10 FG, 5-7 3FG, 9-10 FT) and Briana Lee (25 points, 20 rebounds, 7 assists) turned in dominant performances for the Golden Falcons, who led by just a 57-52 tally after three periods. The Bears scored first in the fourth quarter to make it 57-54 but a 17-3 binge put the game to bed for Felician (74-57, 5:53). Caitlin Townes (20 points) and Jaylah Bennett (17 points) played well for the Bears despite seeing their losing streak reach a dozen games.
* Stonehill consolidated its lead atop the NE10 Northeast Division, slipping pastFranklin Pierce in Rindge, 64-57. In a game of runs, the Skyhawks conjured the most critical one, an 11-2 spree after the Ravens had tied the contest at 51 with 6:44 left. Emily Bramanti (9 points) scored the first five points of the run, which eventually gave Stonehill a 62-53 lead with 3:33 to go. They managed the game from there and took home their sixth straight victory to pull one full game ahead of St. Anselm. Gabrielle Reuter led the winners with 18 points and six boards while Raven Izzy Lipinski (20 points, 10 boards) led the home team’s efforts. FPU, which has now dropped eight games by single-digits, is on the brink of playoff elimination…New Haven came up with an 11-3 run in the fourth quarter to repel the College of Saint Rose in Albany, 56-49. The game was even at 43 with 7:23 to play when a Bionca Chambers trey got the decisive run started for the Chargers. By the time it ended, UNH held a 54-46 edge with 25 seconds left, too little for the Golden Knights work with. Micah Womack (18 points, 13 boards) and Aurora Deshaies (14 points) were the best threats for New Haven, which won the glass (37-24) and are in fourth place in the NE10 Southwest Division, within a game of Le Moyne and Pace. Becca Townes (14 points) led the Saint Rose scoring but they have lost nine games on the bounce and nearly out of the playoff race.
* Molloy stayed in third place in the ECC thanks to their 68-45 win over Queens. Robyn Francis (19 points; 7-9 FG, 3-4 3FG) and Gabriella Aspuru (15 points; 7-11 FG) led the attack for the Lions, who claimed the game with a killer third quarter. It was a 29-25 game at the half in Molloy’s favor but they locked down the Knights in the next frame, out-scoring them 28-4 and keeping QC to just two baskets (2-12 FG, 8 turnovers). Runs of 11-0 and 17-0 in the stanza were more than enough to provide separation and they actually netted the first four points of the fourth quarter to stretch the gap to 61-29. Raiana Brown (22 points, 15 boards) did the work for QC, who still have a half-game lead for the final ECC playoff spot… New York Tech remained a half-game behind Molloy in the chase for third place by beating the University of the District of Columbia, 59-41. Zoe Amalbert’s 16 points led a trio of Bears in double figures as they eased to a 50-22 lead after three quarters and rolled home. Maya Thomas (13 points) was the pick of the bunch for the Firebirds but they missed a chance to leap over Queens for the last playoff slot in the loop.