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Virginia Beach

Coverage of the women's Final Four

2005 season

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Scranton sectional game notes

The games: William Smith vs. No. 2 Bowdoin, 6 p.m. ET; No. 8 Messiah at No. 1 Scranton, 8 p.m. ET; winners meet Saturday at 7 p.m. ET

Location: Scranton, Pa.

On the air: The entire sectional will be broadcast by D3hoops.com for NCAASports.com.

Three teams ranked in the Top 10, including the nation’s top two teams, will battle it out in an NCAA sectional tournament, the equivalent of the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, this Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, at the John J. Long, S.J., Center on the campus of The University of Scranton.

Even though the Herons of William Smith come into Friday’s game as the only unranked team, first-year head coach Olympia Scott-Richardson’s squad relishes in the role of spoiler. After defeating Washington and Jefferson, 68-54, at home in an opening round game of the tournament, the Herons knocked off Oswego State, 68-58, on the road last Saturday in the second round.

Much of William Smith’s success can be attributed to the team's ability to play defense. The Herons are allowing only 52.8 points per game while holding opponents to just 33.5% shooting from the field. They have held each of their last 12 opponents to less than 60 points.

Freshman guard Marisa Vespa, who scored a game-high 15 points in last Saturday’s win over Oswego State, highlights a scoring-by-committee offense by averaging a team-leading 11.6 points per game, while five other players contribute between 6.0 and 9.3 points each time out. It's the Herons' fourth sectional semifinal and first since 1999.

The Polar Bears of Bowdoin have chilled many opponents not just this year, but ever since head coach Stefanie Pemper took over the program in 1998. She is 159-33 (.828), including a 12-5 record in six NCAA tournament appearances, while leading Bowdoin to five consecutive Sweet 16 berths. In addition to sporting the nation’s longest home winning streak at 55 games, the Polar Bears have been nearly as impressive on the road, winning 21 of their last 23 games. They are a member of the highly regarded New England Small College Athletic Conference, which currently has three teams — Bowdoin, Bates and Wesleyan — in this year’s Sweet 16 field, the most of any conference in the nation.

Bowdoin, like William Smith, prides itself on defense. The Polar Bears are giving up less than 50 points a game and have held four of their last five opponents to under 50 points, which includes allowing only 46 to Alvernia in last Saturday’s win at home in an NCAA second-round game. Senior co-captains Erika Nickerson and Alison Smith own the distinction of having the best career record of any women’s basketball class in Division III, having gone 107-8 (.930) in four years at Bowdoin.

Messiah will look to change its luck against Scranton. Coach Mike Miller’s Falcons are 0-9 all-time against Scranton, including losses to the Lady Royals in the 2000 (67-43) and 2002 (70-65) NCAA tournaments. Nevertheless, Messiah is a battle-tested team that is making its sixth consecutive NCAA appearance and seventh overall, including a runner-up finish in 2001.

Behind a 24-point effort by senior guard Kristin Sassaman in last Saturday’s convincing 69-46 win over Westminster (Pa.), the Falcons return to the sectionals for the first time since 2003. Sassaman and junior guard/forward Eli Cook, the 2005 MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year, are Messiah’s top scoring threats at 15.2 and 15.9 points per game, respectively. Cook, also leads the club in rebounds (8.1 per game), blocks (75), and steals (73).

Even though Messiah and Scranton will be playing for the first time this year, both teams have plenty of game tape to compare notes. They played seven common opponents — Wilkes, Virgin Islands, King’s, Lycoming, Widener, DeSales and Moravian — with the Lady Royals going 12-0 and the Falcons 7-3.

The Lady Royals (27-1) are hoping that history repeats itself. Twenty years ago, Scranton won its first and only NCAA Division III title under current head coach Mike Strong, who celebrated another personal milestone in late February when he recorded the 600th win of his coaching career. He joins St. John Fisher’s Phil Kahler and Elizabethtown’s Yvonne Kauffmann as the only coaches in NCAA Division III women’s basketball history with at least 600 victories.

Sophomore guard Taryn Mellody, the 2005 Freedom Conference Player of the Year, is making a strong case to become the 15th all-American in the program’s history. She is currently averaging 16.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while leading the Freedom Conference in all three shooting statistical categories: field goal percentage (.527), 3-point field goal percentage (.398) and free throw percentage (.946). Her 5-11 frame makes her a difficult defensive assignment for most guards on the Division III level.

Notes: Bowdoin’s only loss last year was a 59-53 defeat to Wilmington (Ohio) in the NCAA championship game …the Polar Bears enter Friday’s game against William Smith on a nine-game winning streak …William Smith is making its ninth NCAA tournament appearance; the Herons lost to Scranton, 64-47, at the Long Center in the sectional semifinals of the 1999 NCAA tournament …Messiah head coach Mike Miller won his 300th game earlier this year and is 323-164 in 19 seasons …Scranton has won its last 30 games at the Long Center …the Lady Royals are 24-3 in NCAA tournament games at the Long Center.

Notes are assembled by D3hoops.com from releases sent by the participating schools.

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