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Posting Up - Scoreboard - Top 25 - Features - Notables - Team of the Week - Live Audio |
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Coverage of the women's Final Four '99 Sectional semifinal game stories |
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Northeast Sectionals Top-ranked Williams and No.2 Salem State went about their business in markedly different fashion Friday night in the Northeast sectional semifinals at the Chandler Athletic Center. That development was probably fitting. That's because Williams and Salem are markedly different institutions. When the doubleheader was over, however, the two Northeast region entries were left standing in the same position -- Saturday night's sectional final. Williams, 25-1, delighted the home crowd of 1,230 in the second game of the doubleheader by outlasting Rowan, 62-56. The New England Small Conference Athletic Conference members trailed by a point with under three minutes to play before pulling out their 17th consecutive victory. In the first game, Salem (27-1) came close to blowing a 22-point second-half lead before holding off Gallaudet, 75-65. The victory was the 23rd in a row by the Vikings. Gallaudet center Ronda Jo Miller, the nation's leading scorer in Division III, was limited to 13 points in 22 minutes, mostly due to foul trouble. Salem, the perennial champs of the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference, will face Williams here tonight at 7:30 for the right to advance to the national Final Four March 19 in Danbury, Conn. This will be the first time that the NCAA has taken its women's national semifinals and finals to a predetermined site. Williams and Salem are not exactly household names in a state whacked out by UConn basketball, but at least the come from nearby Massachusetts. At least there will be some semblance of a home team for the March 19 semifinals, when either Williams or Salem plays the winner of the West sectional. "I think it's great that there's going to be a Northeast representative at the Final Four," said Williams coach Pat Manning. "That's what we wanted." Williams took the lead for good with 2:56 to play in overcoming a 52-51 deficit. Center Rebecca Brooks, who is also the school record holder in the shot put, scored on an easy lay-up from underneath when Rowan center Jessica MacNeill was caught out of position while overplaying a pass. Williams was still leading by only 57-56 with 20 seconds to play, when three-time NESCAC player of the year Kathleen Higgins hit a 3-pointer from high atop the left side. For Higgins, who averages 16 points a game and hit 134 treys during the season, the perimeter conversion was her first and only of the game. Higgins scored seven points. Like a variety of players in the two games, Higgins was in personal foul trouble in this one. Rowan found itself in collective trouble, though, as Higgins circled around from low on the left side and sprung out to find an open spot well outside the arc. "It was a routine play that I got the shot off on," said Higgins. "I had an excellent look at the basket." Williams guard Liz Tilley, who averages six points a game, scored six in the final two minutes alone, and finished with 11 points. There were 14 lead changes in the game and seven ties. At one stage early in the second half, Williams led by as many as seven points, but Rowan came charging back. "We have a tendency to get six or seven-point leads, and then let teams come back for baskets," said Tilley. "It’s hard to play like that. Every possession is so crucial." Six-two Williams forward Erin Duffy scored 12 points and blocked eight shots. Brooks, the 6-2 center whose brother, Ethan, plays for the St. Louis Rams, also scored 12 points. MacNeill, a transfer from Division I Mount St. Mary's, took in 21 rebounds for Rowan as part of the battle of titans on the inside in Game 2. But MacNeill hit a mere 6-of-15 from the floor while guard quick-stepping guard Meleena Edward was 6-of-26 from the field. As a team, Rowan shot 26 percent on field goal attempts. Rowan, which reached the 1998 Final Four at Southern Maine, will not graduate any players from its 22-6 team. In the first game, Salem built a 60-38 lead with nine minutes remaining in the game despite going without starting guard Katie Duffey (foul trouble). Gallaudet, however, scored 10 straight points to pull back into contention at 60-48, then cut its deficit to 63-58 with 3:40 to go. Gallaudet began its climb back after losing its third-leading scorer, guard Ronda Johnson, to her fifth foul. Salem center Kara Lunden stopped her team's backward slide by grabbing an offense rebound and drawing a shooting foul on the put back. Lunden hit her two free throws, and guard Melissa Smock bought the Vikings breathing room by hitting her fourth 3-pointer of the game. Andrienne Johnson's four straight free throws lifted Salem into a 72-58 lead, essentially settling the score. With Miller on the bench with two fouls in the first 3:11 of the game, Salem out-scored Gallaudet by 22-10 over the final 10 minutes of the first half to take a 36-25 lead. Salem, which had eliminated Southern Maine in the previous round, was slow in starting. The Vikings did not hit a field goal for the first four minutes. Smock, a sophomore guard, provided Salem with a spark off the bench in the first half. She hit two 3-pointers and fed Duffey and guard Dee Jackson for lay-ups on the break in helping build the 11-point lead at intermission. Before incurring two quick fouls, Miller (26.8 ppg) scored Gallaudet's first four points. "When (Miller) had to sit out for 16 minutes in the first half, it was certainly a factor," said Salem coach Tim Shea, who won his 400th career game earlier this season. "We had planned to go directly after Ronda, not stay away from her." Jackson scored 23 points and registered 12 rebounds and four steals for Salem. Duffey added 16 points while Smock hit 4-of-7 3-pointers and scored 17. Miller still managed 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 22 minutes. Gallaudet finishes at 24-6 after shocking the tournament with an upset of College of New Jersey in the second round. The Bison put together a streak of 21 wins in 22 games after opening the season with three losses in their first four games. In two of those early losses to NYU and Defiance, Gallaudet allowed 100 or more points. "I think we had a magical season in some ways," said Gallaudet coach Kitty Baldridge. "Too bad the magic is over." GALLAUDET (65): Rollven 2-7 0-0 5, Whitney 2-5 2-2 6, Ouahid 5-19 3-5 13, R. Johnson 4-13 2-3 13, Miller 5-9 3-6 13, S. Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Virnig 1-3 0-0 2, Cooper 5-7 3-9 13, Nowak 0-0 0-0 0, England 0-0 0-0 0; TOTALS: 24-64 13-25 65. SALEM (75): Jackson 8-16 7-8 23, Johnson 0-5 12-16 12, Lunden 0-7 3-6 3, Duffey 6-12 4-5 16, Niles 1-9 0-0 2, Smock 5-10 3-5 17, O'Brien 1-1 0-0 2, McKeen 0-4 0-0 0; TOTALS: 21-64 29-40 75. Halftime: Salem 36, Gallaudet 25; 3-point goals: Gallaudet 4-20 (Rollven 1-5, Ouahid 0-7, R. Johnson 3-7, Virnig 0-1), Salem 4-10 (Niles 0-3, Smock 4-7); Rebounds: Gallaudet 45 (Whitney, Miller 6), Salem 53 (Jackson 12); Assists: Gallaudet 15 (Ouahid 6), Salem 12 (Johnson 6); Total fouls: Gallaudet 28, Salem 23; Technical fouls: none; Fouled out: R. Johnson, Miller, Cooper, Duffey.
Second game WILLIAMS (62): Brenneman 4-9 1-2 10, Tilley 2-4, 7-8 11, Higgins 3-9 0-0 7, Duffy 6-9 0-1 12, Brooks 5-13 2-6 12, Goldman 1-5 1-1 3, Ford 2-6 1-2 5, Stephens 0-0 0-0 0, Daigneault 0-2 0-0 0, Effler 1-2 0-0 0, Griffin 0-0 0-0 0; TOTALS: 24-59 12-20 62. Halftime: Williams 28, Rowan 25; 3-point goals: Rowan 5-16 (Edwards 4-12, Pointin-Hahn 0-1, Clark 1-2, McCullough 0-1), Williams 2-10 (Higgins 1-2, Brenneman 1-5, Goldman 0-2, Daigneault 0-1); Rebounds: Rowan 53 (MacNeill 21), Williams 44 (Daigneault 7); Assists: Rowan 8 (Dunbar 3), Williams 12 (Duffy, Higgins 3); Total fouls: Rowan 17, Williams 13; Technical fouls: none; Fouled out: none; Att: 1,230
Salem State 75, Gallaudet 65 Gallaudet suffered greatly in the first half because Team of the Year center Ronda Jo Miller fouled out after playing only 2:57 in the first half and only played 22 minutes total in the game. Miller had only 13 points tonight; her average is 26.8 points per game. Salem led the game 36-25 at half. The Clippers were powered by the play of junior guards Dee Jackson and Adrienne Johnson, who supplied Salem with 19 points from the foul line. Jackson went 7 for 8 at the line; Johnson was 12 for 16. Gallaudet tried to minimize the lead, and cut it down to 5 with three and half minutes remaining in the game, but Salem went 5 for 6 at the line during this crucial time to secure the win. Gallaudet finishes the season at 24-6; Salem is now 27-1.
Pacific Lutheran 54, Hardin-Simmons 34 The Lutes improved to 22-5 and advance to the quarterfinal championship game on Saturday to face the winner of the DePauw at St. Benedict game. The Cowgirls finished the season at 24-4. Pacific Lutheran led 22-18 at the break and held the Cowgirls to just 27% shooting in the first half. Hardin-Simmons shot just 24 percent in the second half as they were outscored 32-16. Kathryn Otwell led Hardin-Simmons with 13 points.
St. Benedict 78, DePauw 67 St. Benedict improved to 26-1 overall and DePauw finished at 22-5.
Great Lakes Wrapup Playing before 2,223 fans -- the largest crowd ever to witness a women's basketball game at the Calvin College Fieldhouse -- the Knights had number-four ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh on the ropes before finally succumbing by a score of 61-59 in an NCAA III Tournament "Sweet 16" round game. With the victory, Oshkosh moves on to the "Elite Eight" where it will face number-one ranked and defending national champion Washington University at 7:30 pm in the national quarterfinal with the winner advancing to the NCAA III Final Four next weekend in Danbury, Connecticut. In Friday's night's contest against Oshkosh, Calvin found itself trailing 33-21 as the Knights struggled against the tall, physical front line of the Titans. Oshkosh then worked its way to a 20-point advantage early in the second half, leading 43-23 with 43-23 with 15:15 remaining. But then one of the most courageous and remarkable comebacks in Calvin women's basketball history took place as the Knights outscored the Titans 34-12 over the next 12 minutes to take a 57-55 lead on a pair of free throws by senior Jodi Toonstra with 3:04 remaining. The Calvin comeback effort was fueled by three-point shooting as junior Mindi Andringa of Pella, Iowa nailed three consecutive triples, the final triple coming from nearly 24 feet out that pulled Calvin to within eight at 47-39 with 10:41 to go. Freshman Brooke Millard (St. Charles) then nailed a three-pointer at the 10:16 mark and added a pullup jumper from the left baseline that pulled Calvin to within three at 47-44 with just under nine minutes left to play. Calvin then tied the game at 53-53 on a three-pointer from Toonstra with 4:19 left, sending the partisan crowd into a frenzied uproar that rivaled the noise at many of the sold-out Calvin men's games over the years. Toonstra's free throws with 3:04 left would give Calvin its only lead of the game but Oshkosh responded by pounding the ball inside and controlling the glass, turning a number of offensive chances underneath into Calvin fouls and free throw opportunities. Oshkosh would hit six free throws in the final three minutes to pull away for the win. Oshkosh took a two-point lead at 59-57 on a pair of free throws from Kelly Warnke at the 2:46 mark. After defensive stops on both ends, Millard came up with a steal at midcourt, drove the floor and flipped in a left-handed layup in traffic to tie the game at 59-59 with 47 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Oshkosh worked the ball inside, missed a shot but Warnke was able to corral the rebound with 24 seconds left, was fouled and sent to the free throw line in the double-bonus situation. Warnke hit the first free throw and missed the second but came up with her own rebound off the miss and passed the ball to Kristin Stecckmesser who was fouled with 17 seconds left. Like Warnke, Steckmesser made the first and missed her second free throw try and this time, Calvin was able to grab the rebound and bring the ball up the floor. With time ticking down, Andringa drove the left baseline and floated up a shot in heavy congestion from 10 feet out that bounced off the rim twice and out with Oshkosh grabbing the rebound with one second remaining. Oshkosh would go to the free throw line with a second left and miss both free throws but Calvin was unable to get off a good shot at the basket before the buzzer sounded. "It's disappointing to lose a game like this but there are so many positive feelings we take with it as well," said Calvin coach Gregg Afman in a post-game press conference. "I was so proud of the way our kids came back in the second half. They were simply courageous and I can't say enough about our crowd. They were tremendous. That is about as loud as I have ever heard it in the Calvin Fieldhouse and for our players to have that kind of experience in an NCAA III Tournament game is something that they will never forget. It was a special night even though we came up on the losing end." Calvin completes its season at 24-6, setting a school-record for victories in a season. Friday's game also marked Calvin's first-ever appearance in the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA III Tournament. "After we played Hope in the MIAA Tournament semifinals two weeks ago, we figured that we had played our last home game," said Afman. "To host an NCAA Sectional at our place is just a privilidge and a thrill, particularly for our four seniors (Kerry Walters, Jodi Toonstra, Rochelle Larson and Tara Dyk)." Walters led the Calvin scoring attack with 20 points on 9-for-16 shooting along with five rebounds. Walters completes her collegiate career as the all-time Calvin scoring leader at 1,322 points and second on the all-time Calvin rebounding list with 616 caroms. Andringa also came up with 15 points Friday including 11 in the second half as she was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Toonstra also had a terrific all-around effort as she came up with 10 points, seven steals, six rebounds and four assists against just one turnover in 37 minutes of action. Millard also chalked up seven points and four assists in 26 minutes of playing time off the bench. Oshkosh was led by Rachel Lachecki and Jennie Vosters who tallied 16 points apiece while Kelly Warnke added 10 points and 10 rebounds and Steckmesser eight points and six assists. Calvin shot 42.6% overall and 48.3% in the second half. Each team finished with 18 turnovers with Calvin committing 12 turnovers in the first half and Oshkosh 12 turnovers in the second half. The Titans shot 48% overall including 50% in the second half. Oshkosh outrebounded Calvin 31-27 and was 11 of 18 from the line to Calvin's 7 of 8 performance at the charity stripe. Saturday's quarterfinal Saturday's game will feature a rematch of last year's quarterfinal that saw second-seeded Washington defeat top-seeded Wisconsin-Oshkosh 53-45. The role are reversed this year with Washington riding a 35-game unbeaten streak and carrying the top seed while Oshkosh is seeded second. Washington advanced to Saturday's quarterfinal with a 77-70 overtime victory over Capital in the first game Friday night at the Calvin Fieldhouse. The Washington-Capital game was much like the Calvin-Oshkosh contest as Capital trailed 37-27 at halftime and then fell behind by 18 points at 49-31 with 15:07 left to play. Capital then outscored the number-one ranked Bears 29-10 over the next 13 minutes to take at 60-59 lead with 2:36 left in regulation. During its comeback run, Capital cranked in five three-pointers including four from junior Joey Hayes. Washington would come back to go up 64-62 on a three-point play from junior All-American center Alia Fischer with 31 seconds remaining but Capital was able to send the game into overtime on a putback from LeAne Mallernee with six seconds left. In overtime, Washington outscored Capital 13-6 including 13-3 over the first four minutes to pull away for the win. Fischer led Washington with 27 points and 11 rebounds, converting 12 of 22 field goal attempts. Tasha Rodgers also had 15 points and six boards for the Bears while Emily Nolan had 14 points and Sue Tucker 11 points to round out the Washington scoring attack. Mallernee led Capital (24-5) with 20 points and eight rebounds while Kendra Meyer had 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds while Hayes had 12 points, all coming from three-point range. The contest was turnover-filled with Capital turning the ball over 27 times and Washington 21 times. Both teams finished with 42 rebounds with Capital shooting 36.4% overall and Washington 41.7%.
NYU 87, Elizabethtown 70 |
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