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Terre Haute

Coverage of the women's
NCAA Tournament

2002 season

St. Lawrence 57, Ohio Wesleyan 56

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Meredith Eisenhut drilled a 3-pointer to put St. Lawrence ahead to stay and sank 2 free throws in the closing seconds to seal a win over Ohio Wesleyan in an NCAA Division III sectional semifinal game on Friday at Springfield College.

St. Lawrence advances to the section championship game against Bowdoin. The sectional championship game will tip off at 5 p.m. on Saturday with the winner advancing to the Final Four.

Eisenhut's 3-pointer from the left wing gave the Saints a 55-53 lead with :55 left in the game. The Battling Bishops were clinging to a 53-52 lead and Eisenhut had just driven the lane but had her shot blocked out of bounds by senior post Katy Sturtz. St. Lawrence retained possession and Eisenhut got the ball on the left wing, pump-faked and then buried the shot.

Junior post Mindy Hammond drove the left baseline and missed a shot on the Bishops' next possession, but Hammond tied up a Saint player on the rebound and Ohio Wesleyan retained possession. The Bishops then sent the ball inside to sophomore post Tiffany Barbee, but the Saint defense knocked the ball free with :20 to play.

Hammond recovered the ball on the perimeter and was fouled by St. Lawrence's Katie Griffith with :16 to play, but Hammond missed both free throws and Saint center Lauren Foran snared the rebound.

Foran missed the front end of the one-and-one and Sturtz snared the rebound. Ohio Wesleyan called time out with :05.7 left to set up a shot, but the pass inside to Sturtz was knocked loose and Eisenhut recovered on the end line with :02.7 on the clock.

Eisenhut sank both ends of the 1-and-1, allowing the Saints to withstand a 3-pointer by freshman wing Kelly Heil from 40 feet at the buzzer for the 57-56 final.

Both teams started out cold, battling to a 4-4 tie over 4 minutes into the game before St. Lawrence's Cara Barbierri sank a 3-pointer to put the Saints ahead.

That basket started a 15-0 run that featured 4 points by Aliza Bogdanovich and a pair of 3-pointers by the Saints. After a Heil free throw, St. Lawrence's Nicole Leary followed with a jumper to hike the Saint lead to 21-5 with 9:32 left in the first half.

Another day, another double-digit deficit. As in two of their previous three games, Ohio Wesleyan shook it off and came back. Sturtz converted a 3-point play and senior guard Michelle Wolfe scored 4 points during a 7-0 run, and after the Saints restored the lead to 25-12, the Bishops scored 12 straight to close within 25-24 with 2:38 left in the first half. Heil and Barbee scored 4 points apiece during that burst.

St. Lawrence held off the charge and took a 35-28 lead into the locker room, but the Bishops slowly chipped away at the deficit early in the second half.

Scoring in transition and inside, Ohio Wesleyan tied the game at 36-36 and then got lay- ins by Sturtz and Barbee to cap a 12-1 run that gave Ohio Wesleyan a 40-36 lead with 11:55 left.

Ohio Wesleyan still led 43-41 with 10:51 left in the game when the Bishops assembled another run, putting together nine unanswered points.

Hammond sank four consecutive free throws during the spurt, and after St. Lawrence's Jessica Zuk dribbled the ball off her foot and out of bounds, and Wolfe nailed a 3-pointer on the Bishops' next possession for a 52-41 lead with 6:32 to play, it appeared that the Bishops had the upper hand.

But it was St. Lawrence's turn to peck away at the deficit. Nicole Leary hit a pair of baskets to bring the Saints within 7, then Eisenhut canned a 3-pointer to make it a 52-48 game with 4:13 remaining. Megan Dietrichsen followed with a pair of free throws to make it 52-50 with 3:27 remaining.

Hammond hit a free throw to stop the Saint run at 9 straight points, but a Sturtz turnover on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession led to Katie Griffith's transition lay-in that brought St. Lawrence within 53-52 with 2:04 to play.

The Bishops were called for traveling on their next 2 possessions, setting up Eisenhut's last-minute shot.

Sturtz led the Bishops with 14 points and 12 rebounds. She finishes her career as only the fourth player in North Coast Athletic Conference history to surpass both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Barbee followed with 12 points, Wolfe scored 11 points and Heil finished with 10 points

Eisenhut led St. Lawrence with 17 points, while Dietrichsen had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

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