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Notables
News and notes from around D-III
From late February 2000
Springfield Back in the Playoffs
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Sophomore forward Michael Parker led four players
scoring in double figures with 20 points as Springfield captured its first
NEWMAC title with a 68-60 victory over defending champion Clark Feb. 26
at MIT's Rockwell Cage.
Springfield, seeded fourth in the tournament, improved its record to 19-8 while receiving an automatic invitation to the NCAA Tournament. SC held a 35-23 halftime advantage and held off Clark (19-8) who won last year's conference tournament crown with a 72-69 win against Springfield.
The Pride received a tremendous lift from freshman center Adetokunbo Adewuyi, who compiled a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Adewuyi also added three assists, two steals, and two blocked shots. Sophomore guard John Gleason contributed 12 points off the bench while junior guard Lydell Capers chipped in with 11 points.
Springfield played the game without leading scorer Randy Alexander (14.8 avg.) who missed his fifth consecutive contest with an injury.
On Feb. 25, Springfield upset top-seeded Wheaton (Mass.) 55-51. The Pride led 33-18 at halftime and withstood a furious Lyons challenge to advance to the championship game. Springfield held Wheaton to only 19 field goals in 60 attempts (31.7%). The Lyons didn't help themselves by making only 7-of-18 free throws (38.9%). Adewuyi led the Pride with 19 points (9-for-12 from the field) and eight rebounds while Capers tied his career high with 15 points. Parker scored a season low four points, but contributed a game high 11 rebounds. Wheaton posted two victories against Springfield during the regular season taking a 63-54 decision at Blake Arena on January 29 and posting a 66-57 win in Norton on February 19.
Ohio Northern Rallies to Make Tournament
ADA, Ohio -- Top-seeded Ohio Northern rallied from an 11-point deficit early in the second half to defeat Otterbein 78-69 in the championship game of the Ohio Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament Feb. 26 evening at the ONU Sports Center. The Polar Bears improve to 18-8 after winning their eighth consecutive game.
It marks the sixth time in the eight-year tutelage of ONU head coach Joe Campoli that the Polar Bears have advanced to the NCAA Tournament. "I think we stepped it up defensively in the second half and that was the key," Campoli said. "We did a great job of defending the three-point line and got some good offensive production down the stretch. Our seniors were magnificent. We are very excited about going back to the Tournament."
Otterbein, who shared the OAC regular-season title with ONU and was the second seed in the tournament, ends its season at 18-9. Northern appeared in trouble early in the second half when Jason Dutcher hit a free throw with 17:25 to play to give the Cardinals their biggest lead of the game at 46-35. ONU rallied behind nine points from Kris Oberdick, which included a four-point play, to go on a 17-6 run to tie the game at 52-52 with 12:07 to play.
Otterbein scored eight of the game’s next 10 points to take a 60-54 advantage, but ONU would score the next nine points to take the lead for good. A tip-in by Mike Heitkamp put ONU up 61-60 and a jumper by Kluse extended the advantage to 63-60 with 4:16 remaining. Northern got a three-pointer from Adam Davis and made 12 of 16 free throws from there to seal the victory.
Jeremy Thompson led all scorers with 25 points. Oberdick scored 18, Kluse got 13 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and Davis ended up with 13 points off the bench to spark ONU. Otterbein was led by Dutcher with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Chad Dresbach with 15 points, Kevin Shay with 13 points and Jeff Gibbs with nine points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
Marymount Men Make First Trip to Tournament
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Marymount posted a 70-46 win over Goucher in the Capital Athletic Conference championship game Saturday at the Bell Atlantic Sports Arena to earn their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Saints (16-11) held a 46-34 rebounding advantage and shot 49% from the field, while the Gophers managed just 25%. The field goal percentage was Goucher's all-time low. The 24-point loss was Goucher's most lopsided of the season. The 46-point total was the lowest of the season for Goucher, which finished at 13-13.
The Gophers trimmed the lead to 37-32 with 15:04 to play. However, Marymount used a 10-2 run during a 4:24 span to lead 47-34 at the 10:40 mark. The Saints held a double-figure lead throughout the remainder. MU's biggest lead was the 70-46 final.
In the first half, Marymount used a 16-2 run midway through the frame and led 33-26 at the intermission.
MU led early in the game, but the Gophers bounced back and led 14-13 with 12:03 remaining in the frame. MU freshman Dusty Berry drilled a three-point field goal with 10:04 remaining to give the Saints a 16-14 lead they would not relinquish. The 16-2 first-half run culminated with a 29-16 MU lead with 5:06 remaining. The Gophers closed off the half with a 10-4 spurt.
Junior Henock Berhanu led the Saints with 19 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Dallas Crawley added 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Berry finished with 13.
Sophomore Todd Sykes led the Gophers with 18 points. Sophomore Freddie Biggs contributed 10 points. Goucher did force 29 MU turnovers and had 18 steals during the game.
Bethany Beats Washington & Jefferson
BETHANY, W.Va. -- The Bethany women defeated Washington & Jefferson 62-52 Feb. 26 to win the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament championship. It’s the second consecutive conference crown for the Bison and their third in the last four years. Bethany (22-4) will now wait until tomorrow night to find out if it will receive a likely Pool B bid to play in the NCAA Tournament.
The Bison never trailed in the game but couldn’t put the Presidents (12-14) away. W&J never trailed by more than 10 in the first half and slimmed down the deficit to six at halftime. Junior center Jill Kamerer tossed in 10 points to lead the Bison in the first half.
Bethany quickly surged out to an 11-point lead three minutes into the second half. The Presidents answered quickly with a 14-4 run over the next five minutes and got within one point on a layup by Reina Genis with 12:23 left.
That would be the closest W&J would get as senior Rose Scott took over for the second consecutive night. The 5-8 guard, who was named First Team All-PAC for the fourth consecutive year and Conference MVP for the second time in her career before the game, scored 13 of her game-high 24 points in the final 12 minutes to help the Bison put the game away. Scott sank 12 of 13 free throws for the game and four of four in the final minute to clinch the Conference title.
Kamerer, who was also named First Team All-PAC, finished with 20 points. Scott, along with her 24 markers, also had eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. The Presidents were led by Diana Brush with 14 points.
Roanoke Women Receive ODAC Bid
SALEM, Va. -- The Roanoke women won their 13th Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship with a 59-48 win against Emory & Henry Feb. 26 at the Salem Civic Center. The Maroons (21-6) receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Maroons will be making their 10th appearance in the NCAA postseason.
With the exception of one tie in the second half, the Maroons led from start to finish in the contest. As has been the case all season the Roanoke defense was the key to the game. The Maroons held Emory & Henry to just 48 points, the lowest total by a team in the history of the championship game. The Wasps were able to shoot just 37% from the floor in the game, including 3-for-10 from the three-point line. Emory & Henry had trouble finding an open shot all game, twice being called for shot clock violations. Roanoke on the other hand, knocked down 46.5% of their attempts from the floor, 52.6% in the second half.
Emory & Henry tied the sore at 32 with 17:20 left in the game, but a free throw by senior Cheryl Rhodes, who finished the game with 11 points, gave the Maroons the lead for good. It was a six-point game (49-43) with 5:21 left on the clock, but the Wasps could manage just five points in the remaining time, while Roanoke scored 10 during the span, the final five from the free throw line.
Roanoke jumped out to an early 11-2 lead (just four minutes into the game), but the Wasps fought back to within two with 6:23 left in the first half. The Maroons pushed the game back up to seven, but a Lindsay McKnight jumper with just 1:00 to go in the half brought E&H to 28-25.
Roanoke senior Carrie McConnell had 11 points to match Rhodes' team-high effort, and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
The Wasps were led by sophomore Kelly Smith, who had 14 points on the afternoon. In the process, Smith set a school record for the best scoring average in one season (18.8 ppg).
DeLuca, Siuchta Spark Widener to MAC Title
SCRANTON, Pa. -- Junior guard Frank DeLuca scored 28 points and sophomore forward Mike Siuchta had 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to lead No. 19 Widener to an 81-71 win against Scranton in the MAC championship game Feb. 26 at the John J. Long Center. Both teams are already in the NCAA tournament based on winning their respective divisions in the regular season.
The Pioneers (24-3) also received 16 points from sophomore guard Chaz Williamson and 10 points and six rebounds from junior forward Chris Hightower. Scranton (17-10) was led by junior guard Al Callejas, who set a Royals' single-game record with eight three-point field goals en route to a season-high 28 points.
Scranton led through much of the first half until Widener went on a 8-2 run in the final three minutes of play to take a 37-34 lead at intermission. DeLuca and Siuchta combined for 22 first half points for the Pioneers, who shot only 41.4% from the field but were guilty of only three turnovers. Callejas had 14 first-half points for the Royals.
DeLuca scored eight points during a 14-7 run as Widener extended its lead to 51-41 with 15:02 remaining. The Royals fought back and closed to 61-57 with 8:13 left on a three-pointer by Callejas and to 76-71 with 2:25 remaining on a jump shot by senior guard Mike Reno. Williams then hit three of four free throws and DeLuca added a pair down the stretch to seal the win.
Senior forward Henry Condron added 16 points and Reno added 15 for Scranton, which shot 45.2% (28-for-62) from the field.
Play it Again: King's Defeats Scranton
SCRANTON, Pa. -- Sophomore forward Fran Monte scored 14 points and freshman guard Nikki Kingston and senior forward Joanne Polakoski added 12 and 11 points respectively, to lead No. 18 King's to a come-from-behind 64-61 victory against No. 9 Scranton on Feb. 24 at the Long Center. The Lady Monarchs (22-4) trailed by 15 points in the first half and six points at intermission to move into Saturday's MAC championship game against the winner of Messiah-Allentown. Scranton (23-3), which has already clinched a bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the MAC Freedom regular season, was led by senior guard Kelly Halpin with 14 points. Scranton maintained its lead until the Kingston drained a three-pointer to give King's a 60-58 lead with 1:42 remaining. Kingston then made a steal and Monte a layup before Scranton senior guard Heather Mohrman drained a three-pointer to cut the margin to 62-61 with nine seconds remaining. But Stephanie Schneider hit two free throws to end the game. The win keeps King's hopes of a Pool C bid alive.
Pacific Lutheran Women Remain Atop NWC
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Jessica Iserman scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench to spark Pacific Lutheran to a 71-35 victory against Lewis & Clark in a Northwest Conference women's basketball contest Feb. 25 at Pamplin Sports Center. Iserman made 6-of-8 shots from the field, to go along with two assists and two blocked shots, in 19 minutes of playing time.
The win upped the Lutes' record to 18-5 overall, 13-2 in conference play, and kept them in a first-place tie with George Fox, which beat Pacific 78-52. The Pioneers fall to 8-16 and 3-12.
Both teams played a sloppy first half while combining for 27 turnovers, with Pacific Lutheran committing 12 and Lewis & Clark 15. In addition, both teams shot poorly from the floor as the Lutes were 10-of-35 for 28.6% and the Pioneers were 6-of-23 for 26.1%. But the second half was all Pacific Lutheran, connecting on 20 of 33 field goal attempts for a stellar 60.6% clip to finish with 44.1% overall. Meanwhile, the Pioneers remained cold at 15.4% (4-for-26).
The Lutes had a strong presence on the boards, holding a decisive 51-30 rebounding advantage. Tara Millet led the Lutes with nine, and added 12 points. Lauren Dunnigan led the Pioneers with 10 points. Senior Gwen Forrest, who was making her final home appearance in an orange and black uniform, scored on a lone field goal.
Christopher Newport Men Advance to Dixie Final
FERRUM, Va. -- The Captains held off a determined Methodist and scored an 82-79 victory in the semifinals of the Dixie Conference Tournament on Feb. 25 at Ferrum and earned their 12th spot in the Dixie finals in the last 13 years.
No. 7 Christopher Newport never trailed, but also never led by more than 10 points (30-20) in the first half. But Methodist never relented, cutting the margin to one numerous times, including 80-79 with 11.7 seconds to play. After Brandon Jones missed a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining the Monarchs turned the ball over with 0:03.6 left. Jones then made two foul shots with 2.5 seconds to play to finish the win.
Jones led CNU with 23, while Antoine Sinclair added 21 with ten rebounds and Tiran Matthews contributed 16. The win lifted CNU to 23-2 on the season, while Methodist finished at 9-16. The win puts CNU in Saturday's Dixie title game against Averett at 4 p.m.
Carthage Wins CCIW Title, Bid
WHEATON, Ill. -- Carthage clinched its first-ever College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship Feb. 24 with a 73-62 win at No. 20 Wheaton. With the CCIW title Carthage has earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Wheaton (18-6, 9-4), now tied with Illinois Wesleyan for second place, will have to hope for an at-large berth to the tournament.
The Redmen (22-3, 11-3) shot 50.8% (30-for-59) from the field, while holding Wheaton to 37% (20-for-54) shooting. The athletic Carthage squad outrebounded Wheaton 38-29, led by freshman forward Rob Garnes with 18 rebounds, 19 points, five blocked shots and three assists. Garnes shot 75% (9-for-12) from the field in 37 minutes of play. Sophomore forward Jason Wiertel led the guests with 20 points, while freshman guard Antoine McDaniel added 18 points and four rebounds.
Wheaton was led by junior center Luke Moo's 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Senior forward Jermaine Ellis added 14 points and eight rebounds with two field goals from behind the three-point arc.
Carthage took the lead for good thanks to a 14-4 run in the final 5:00 of the first half to give it a 39-29 advantage at halftime. Carthage led by as many as 17 points on two occasions in the second half, thanks to 53.8% (14-for-26) shooting effort from the field in the period.
Kratzer's 21 Points Lead Alvernia to PAC Title
READING, Pa. -- Chad Kratzer has been called many things this year. Crazy, psychotic, a lunatic on the court, Kratzer has heard them all including some unfit for print. But Feb. 24 you can call him the MVP of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Championship game for going 5-for-8 from three-point range and scoring a team-high 21 points to lead Alvernia to its first PAC men’s title in a runaway 88-72 win.
In the first half, Kratzer was 4-for-5 from long range to give Alvernia an insurmountable 51-28 lead going into the second frame. In the second half, Keith Lambert slashed and dashed to 10 of his 20 points as the Crusaders coasted to the 16-point win.
The tale of the stats though show how dominating Alvernia was in the game. The team hit 36 buckets and had 24 assists, including 8 from PAC assist champion Chris Alba who entered the game averaging 6.2 per contest. Alba finished with 11 points, going 4-for-8, 3-for-5 from three-point range. Further, Alvernia never trailed building a 28-point lead with 4:37 to go in the game before relaxing and coasting to the first PAC title in the school’s history.
Misericordia put up a valiant effort in the second half outscoring the Crusaders 43-40. Division III scoring leader Willie Chandler finished with 26 points, right at his season average. The last time Misericordia visited Alvernia, Chandler walked away with 23 points.
St. John's Advances to MIAC Finals
MINNEAPOLIS -- Troy Bigalke hit two free throws with six seconds remaining to give St. John's a 58-57 win against host Augsburg in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's semifinal Feb. 24 at Si Melby Hall.
St. John's, now 19-6 overall, advances to play St. Thomas (21-4), which beat Bethel (14-11) 79-70 in the other semifinal game Thursday, in the playoff championship game Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at UST's Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. Augsburg ended its season 16-8 overall.
After trailing 35-28 to Augsburg at halftime, the Johnnies took over the tempo of the game and slowly rallied to tie and take a four-point lead (43-39) at the 10:56 mark of the second half. Augsburg came back to take a 52-46 lead at the 5:33 mark on two three-pointers by Kevin Van Rossum and one by Chris York.
But the Johnnies rallied again and cut the lead to 55-54 on a driving layup by Bigalke. The Auggies brought the ball to halfcourt and called time out with 34 seconds remaining. But the Auggies were forced to call time out two more times on inbounds attempts, finally getting the ball in and forcing a foul against SJU's Luke Witt.
Jeoffrey Reed hit two free throws with 22 seconds left to put Augsburg ahead 57-54. St. John's drove the ball and after two misses and offensive rebounds, Mike Nester hit a layup with 11 seconds remaining. Augsburg turned the ball over on the inbounds pass, giving the Johnnies the ball underneath their own basket.
Reed, who shared MIAC Player of the Year honors with Bigalke this season, fouled Bigalke with six seconds remaining. Bigalke hit two free throws to produce the final scoring margin, as Reed's shot attempt to win the game on the Augsburg end at the buzzer did not connect, giving the Johnnies the upset win on the road.
Nester came off the bench to lead St. John's with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Buth had 12 points and three steals, and Bigalke had 11 points and eight rebounds. Bigalke became the 25th player in St. John's history to reach the 1,000-point mark in the game; he now has 1,006 career points.
Augsburg was paced by Reed, who had 18 points, three rebounds and two steals. Van Rossum scored 13 points, hitting three three-pointers to finish his school-record total at 239, tying him with Jim Lovrein of Carleton (1994-98) for the No. 2 spot in career three-pointers among MIAC players (all games). He finished his career with 1,025 points, 15th-best in school history. Reed finished his career with 791 career points (27th-best in school history) and 249 career rebounds.
Platteville Goes One-and-Out
Justin Kamps drilled a three-point basket with 0.8 seconds remaining to lift UW-Oshkosh to a 67-66 wild first-round victory against No. 21 UW-Platteville. UW-Oshkosh (15-10) advances to the WIAC semifinals, where the Titans will play No. 13 UW-Eau Claire. The Pioneers took a 66-64 lead with eight seconds remaining when Merrill Brunson took an inbounds pass and hit a short pull-up jumper on a cleared-out right side. The Titans did not call a timeout, and Montrell Ross penetrated almost to the foul line, then kicked the ball out to Kamps on the left side, who buried the three for the game-winner. The final minute 1:27 was heightened by a 10-minute delay for lost power. The Pioneers (18-7) had led by as many as nine before the Titans came back to tie the score at 64-64. Brunson led the Pioneers with 18 points and finished his career with 1,538 points. Platteville's senior class finishes with a four-year record of 102-12, three WIAC titles and two national championships.
Goucher Upsets Catholic Again
WASHINGTON -- Goucher scored 13 of the last 19 points to break a 53-all tie and defeat No. 5 Catholic 68-59 in the Capital Athletic Conference semifinals. Catholic (22-4), which trailed 47-40 midway through the second half, went on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 49-49 on three consecutive three-pointers by junior guard Pat Maloney, who finished with a game-high 23 points. But the Gophers (13-12) pulled away thanks to junior forward Josh Stolz, who scored nine of his 11 points in the final 6:40. Goucher outrebounded Catholic 30-17 in the second half. Senior forward Tavar Witherspoon led Goucher with 12 points. Goucher advances to the CAC championship game at Marymount. That game will be broadcast live on D3hoopsNet Saturday night at 7:00.
Bailey Breaks Terry Porter's
Season Record
UW-Stevens Point senior forward Brant Bailey scored 26 points to lead the Pointers to a 94-82 victory over UW-La Crosse on Feb. 22 in the quarterfinals of the WIAC tournament and now has 605 points for the season, breaking Terry Porter's single-season school scoring record.
Bailey is averaging 24.2 points per game through 25 games this season and surpassed the record of current San Antonio Spurs guard Porter, who scored 600 points in 32 games in 1983-84 as the Pointers reached the NAIA championship game. Bailey entered his senior season with a total of 783 points in his first three seasons combined.
Benedict's Barlau Injured
Saint Benedict starting freshman wing Michelle Barlau is out for the season after suffering a fractured first cervical vertebrae in her neck when she fainted Feb. 20. The fracture did not cause any paralysis and Barlau has complete mobility. She was released from St. Cloud Hospital Feb. 22, and should return to school next week. Doctors expect a full recovery, however she will be in a brace for the next four months. Barlau was averaging 14.4 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game and has played more minutes than any other Blazer.
Jostens Finalists Announced
Korey Coon gives a 'high' five to every kid along the baseline at Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center before every game.
Photo by Pat Coleman |
Roanoke Upsets No. 1 HSC to Win ODAC
Roanoke pulled off the first conference championship upset of the 2000 season, sending No. 1 Hampden-Sydney to its first loss, 69-63 before 3,153 at the Salem Civic Center. The No. 20 Maroons (23-4) held Hampden-Sydney to 21.9% shooting in the first half en route to a 36-21 lead. Hampden-Sydney (26-1) cut that lead to as little as three points before Roanoke put the game away at the free-throw line. Brad Dunleavy led Roanoke with 21 points, including 11-for-12 shooting from the line.
Wheaton Wins at Shirk for First Time
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Wheaton used balance, depth and a lot of determination Feb. 19 to pick up an 88-83 win at No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan. It was Wheaton’s first win on the Illinois Wesleyan campus since 1986 and the first since the Shirk Center opened. The Crusaders saw six players reach double-digits in scoring. The Crusaders also picked up 32 points and 10 rebounds from their bench. Wheaton (17-5, 8-3 CCIW) also connected regularly in the second half, making 55.2% (16-for-29) of their shots from the field.
Senior forward Michael Collins led the balanced attack with 16 points, 10 rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals. Of his team-high 16 points Collins scored 14 points in the critical second half. Freshman Nate Collord and senior Nick Otten each came off of the Crusader bench to score 15 points. Otten was 6-for-7 from the field with a blocked shot, while Collord made three field goals from behind the three-point arc and added three assists. Center Luke Moo scored 14 points with two steals for Wheaton, while senior point guard Travis Senik scored 12 points with seven rebounds and three assists while senior forward Jermaine Ellis scored 11 points with seven rebounds and three steals.
Illinois Wesleyan (16-7, 8-4) was led by its senior Korey Coon with a game-high 30 points, helped by five three-point field goals. Coon scored 19 of those points in the first 12 minutes, including two four-point plays. Freshman Luke Kasten added 16 points with 15 rebounds.
King's Ends Scranton Streak
Fran Monte's basket with nine seconds left proved to be the difference as the No. 18 King's women upset No. 5 Scranton 62-60 Saturday. With the score tied at 60-60, Monte put back
an offensive rebound to give the Lady Monarchs the lead. Scranton (22-2) had one final chance but Kelly Halpin's three-pointer at the buzzer from just inside half-court fell short as King's posted just its second win over the Lady Royals since the 1982-83 season in ending their 21-game winning streak. Senior Joanne Polakoski led all scorers with 25 points while tearing down a game-high 11 rebounds for King's (20-4).
Washington U. Reaches 61
PITTSBURGH -- The Washington University Bears won for the 61st consecutive time, defeating Carnegie Mellon 61-38. As heard live on D3hoopsNet, the No. 1 Bears improved to 23-0 with a 15-4 run that straddled halftime after the Lady Tartans had but the lead to 20-19. It was business as usual for the Bears, who did relatively little celebrating in breaking the record held by Capital University. It is also the longest winning streak in Division III basketball, bettering the men's record of 60 held by Potsdam State.
Team of the Year center Alia Fischer led all scorers with 22 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 9-for-12 from the floor to key the win. "I think we were excited," the senior said. "I think you kind of had to be, with the crowd we had today. You knew it was kind of a big game."
The closing seconds of the game, as called by Ray Martel.
St. Thomas Women Clinch Automatic Bid
No. 6 St. Thomas became the second women's team to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament Field of 50 on Feb. 16 as they defeated No. 12 St. Benedict 72-61. Sophomore Missy Pederson had seven of her 17 points in a game-closing 20-9 run as the hosts (21-1, 19-0) won their 20th consecutive game and secured a share of the conference championship. St. Thomas is now 70-2 at home since January 1995. St. Benedict (17-5, 16-3), the defending national runner-up, has to wait for one of seven Pool C bids to the women's tournament. St. Thomas joins Washington University as having clinched tournament bids. Chicago clinched the first automatic bid to the men's Field of 48 and was joined by Webster, which clinched the SLIAC championship with a double-overtime win Thursday night.
Halpin Becomes Scranton's Assist Leader
SCRANTON, Pa. -- Senior guard Kelly Halpin scored 20 points and handed out 10 assists to lead No. 5 Scranton to a 102-67 victory against FDU-Madison on Feb. 16 in MAC Freedom League action at the John J. Long Center.
The Lady Royals (22-1, 13-0) also received 14 points from sophomore forward Gillian McGovern and 12 each from senior center Shannon Milder, freshman forward AnneMarie Russo and junior guard Jaime Eilbacher. Senior forward Dee Williams and junior guard Heidi Kindel paced FDU-Madison (14-9, 5-8) with 15 points apiece.
Halpin, McGovern and Russo combined for 28 first-half points as the Lady Royals took a 45-33 lead at intermission. FDU-Madison stayed within 10 points with 17 minutes remaining before Scranton went on a 15-2 run to take a 65-42 lead with less than 12:55 left. The final score was the largest margin in the game.
Halpin's 10 assists pushed her ahead of Fran Gabriel (471 assists, 1978-82) and Fran Harkins (474 assists, 1980, '81 and '83) on the Lady Royals' all-time list. Russo added 12 rebounds to record her third consecutive double-double and Milder also had 10 rebounds to record a double-double.
E. Mennonite Closes Student Center With Loss
HARRISONBURG, Va. -- The final game ever played at the EMU Student Center built in 1958 ended in a sad note as the Generals beat the Lady Royals 71-54. It is over for the Student Center, as Royals' basketball will move into the new University Commons next season. The Generals (13-11, 10-10 ODAC) started the game with a 14-4 run led by Ansley Miller who spotted up for two treys. The Lady Royals were ice cold, 2-for-7 to open the half. Washington & Lee opened a 19-point lead when Jessica Mentz hit a short jumper with 7:57 remaining in the
first half. Mentz was on fire scoring 20 points in the first half on 10-of-12 shooting and grabbing five rebounds. EMU (8-14, 7-11 ODAC) shot just 27% in the first half and found themselves down by 15 at the break. Washington & Lee hit 19-of-32 shots in the first half.
A bright spot for EMU was Tara Froese, who scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the second half. Mentz paced the Generals with a double-double, 22 points and 11 rebounds. Megan Babst contributed 13 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Jessica Morton dished out a game high 10 assists for Washington & Lee. Froese led the Lady Royals with her third double-double, 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Emily Mullet added 10 points and 10 boards.
Hope Women Clinch MIAA Regular Season
By Greg Chandler, D3hoops.com
HOLLAND, Mich. -- Hope ended Calvin's four-year reign as Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association women's basketball champions Feb. 15, as the Flying Dutch defeated the Knights 59-36 at the Dow Center to win their first conference title since 1995. Hope won its eighth consecutive game since a 56-54 loss to Calvin in Grand Rapids Jan. 15.
The Flying Dutch (19-4, 14-2) used a suffocating defense and a dominating presence on the boards in turning the contest into a runaway. Hope limited the Knights to just 23% shooting from the field (13-for-56) and outrebounded Calvin by a whopping 54-33 margin, a complete reversal of the first meeting, when the Knights held a 52-34 edge on the glass.
"I think it really came down to defense, as far as our ability to stop them in man-to-man defense and play very hard," Hope coach Brian Morehouse said. "(In addition) ... we rebounded, and I thought that was the big key versus the last time when he played them, when we didn't rebound nearly as well."
The tone for the game may have been set on Hope's second offensive possession. The Flying Dutch had completely broken down on offense, and sophomore point guard Jodi Boom chased down a loose basketball near midcourt. With the shot clock near zero, Boom let fire with a 40-foot shot that hit nothing but net.
That shot gave Hope a 3-0 lead, and the Flying Dutch never trailed. Hope extended the lead to 13-4 seven minutes into the game behind six early points by freshman center Amanda Kerkstra.
Calvin (17-6, 12-3) responded with its biggest run of the game, an 8-0 burst highlighted by five points from senior guard Mindi Andringa, that cut the lead to 13-12 midway through the first half. However, Hope limited the Knights to just two field goals the rest of the half, and went into the locker room at halftime with a 27-18 lead.
Calvin's Robyn Fennema, the MIAA's scoring leader coming into the game, finally got her first points of the game nine seconds into the second half to pull the Knights to within 27-20. But Hope quickly responded with a 10-2 run, capped off by Beth Woolley's 3-pointer, to open up a 37-22 lead with 14 minutes remaining.
Still, Morehouse was nervous. In Hope's previous two games, he had seen his team fritter away big leads and having to hold on against Defiance and Kalamazoo. Calvin pulled to within 10 when Fennema rebounded her own miss, scored and was fouled, making it 43-33 with 6:44 to play. But Hope put it away. Senior Lisa Hoekstra, the league's second-leading scorer behind Fennema, sank two baskets and Kerkstra added two more, sparking a closing 16-3 run that turned the game into a runaway.
"I think we learned a little bit the last couple of games," Morehouse said. "We learned that teams are going to make runs (at us), and you can't sit on the basketball and hope for a victory. You've got to finish it out."
Kerkstra led the Flying Dutch with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Sarah Zoulek provided a spark off the bench with 10 points. Hoekstra added nine points, while Kristin Koenigsknecht grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds.
Andringa, whom Morehouse called "the best guard in the league, without a doubt," kept Calvin in the game with 10 first-half points, but was shut out in the second half, finishing the game 4-of-18 from the field. Fennema also had 10 points, all of them in the second half. Jill Kreuze was the Knights' top rebounder with 11.
The MIAA regular season title is the third for Hope, all in the last 10 years. The Flying Dutch won their first league crown in 1990, the year they went on to win the Division III national championship.
"These are winners. We've recruited kids off of winning teams on purpose, because we felt we wanted kids who would not allow themselves to lose games," Morehouse said. "I think we've got a really nice group of players, who have a lot of confidence in themselves and they expect to win."
Now, Hope must guard against the upset bug in the MIAA tournament. In two of the last three seasons, Calvin won the regular season championship, only to be upset by Hope in the conference tournament.
"The league championship feels wonderful," Morehouse said. "But you know what? It doesn't mean a thing. We could win 21 games and not get into the national tournament (if we lose) ... if we don't win that MIAA tournament, we could be sitting on the outside looking in."
CALVIN (12-3, 17-6): Lauren Louters 1-9 2-4 4, Mindi Andringa 4-18 0-0 10, Robyn Fennema 5-11 0-1 10, Jill Kreuze 0-1 1-2 1, Tricia Dyk 1-4 0-0 2, Jennifer Plakmeyer 1-3 5-6 7, Emily Mejeur 0-5 0-0 0, Kendra Toonstra 0-2 0-0 0, Mandy VanDenBosch 1-3 0-2 2. Totals 13-56 8-15 36.
HOPE (14-2, 19-4) Lisa Hoekstra 4-14 1-3 9, Kristin Koenigsknecht 1-7 2-2 4, Amanda Kerkstra 7-14 1-4 15, Amy Baltmanis 2-6 0-0 4, Jodi Boom 2-4 0-1 5, Laura Poppema 2-4 2-2 6, Sarah Zoulek 4-9 0-0 10, Beth Woolley 2-2 0-0 6, Kathi Grotenhuis 0-1 0-0 0, Courtney Brehm 0-0 0-0 0, Colleen Corey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 6-12 59.
Halftime - Hope 27, Calvin 18. 3-point goals - Hope 5-11 (Zoulek 2-6, Woolley 2-2, Boom 1-2, Grotenhuis 0-1), Calvin 2-15 (Andringa 2-9, Mejeur 0-3, Plakmeyer 0-2, Dyk 0-1). Rebounds - Hope 54 (Koenigsknecht 13), Calvin 33 (Kreuze 11). Assists - Hope 13 (Baltmanis 6), Calvin 6 (six with 1 each). Fouled out - None. Total fouls - Hope 11, Calvin 10. Technicals - None. A - 900.
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