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Terre Haute

Coverage of the women's
NCAA Tournament

2002 season

St. Lawrence 73, Case Western 67

CANTON, N.Y. — After scoring just two points 4:11 into their second round NCAA Tournament game with Case Western Reserve, Bruce Tallon decided that the Saints needed to calm down.

The Saints were 1-for-6 shooting and had turned the ball over four times in the opening moments of the game. Tallon, St. Lawrence’s assistant coach, told Saint head coach G.P. Gromacki to take a timeout.

"I told them that we needed to settle down, and we’d be fine," said Gromacki. "We missed a lot of easy shots. After that timeout, we settled down, hit some shots, and that set the tone for the game."

Hit some shots indeed. The Saints went 5-for-5 and were 2-for-2 from the free throw line during a 13-0 run over the next minute and a half to take a 15-2 lead with 13:23 remaining.

The Saints held onto the lead for the remainder of the game, beating the Spartans 73-67. St. Lawrence, now 25-3 on the season, advances to the Sweet 16 with the win and will face Ohio Wesleyan on Friday, March 8. Ohio Wesleyan beat Ithaca, also by a score of 73-67, in Ithaca on Saturday. Case Western, which beat Mount Saint Mary 59-56 in the first round, finishes the season 20-7.

While the Saints held a lead for the final 35 minutes of the game, it was never a comfortable lead. Case Western gained momentum near the end of the game.
Meredith Eisenhut seemed to put the game out of reach with a 3-pointer to give the Saints a 67-52 lead with less than two minutes to play, but Angie Zeuch responded with a 3-pointer for Case Western which started a 9-1 run in 62 seconds, pulling the Spartans back within six.

"I felt pretty good about our situation after Meredith hit that shot," Gromacki said. "But (Zeuch) came right back down the floor and hit a 3-pointer for them. We missed some free throws late, but (Nicole Leary) made a pair with 22 seconds left to put it out of reach."

Leary was one point shy of a season high, scoring 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Eisenhut added 14 points, while Cara Barbierri scored 10 points for the Saints.

JeNine Nickerson led Case Western, scoring 27 points on 11-for-19 shooting and adding 17 rebounds, including 10 offensive rebounds.

"She is a player," said Gromacki. "She was going strong to the basket, getting offensive rebounds, and hitting huge shots on us."

Nickerson was complemented by Zeuch, who scored 22 points for the Spartans on 9-for-18 shooting. But other than Nickerson and Zeuch, Case Western’s offense struggled, shooting just 3-for-36 (8.3%).

"We’re excited to get a win," said Gromacki. "We’re happy to advance to the next round of the tournament, and beating a team like Case Western gives us confidence for the next round."

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