Saturday women: Bants, Profs advance

More news about: Loras | Muskingum | Rowan | Trinity (Conn.)
Feb 18, 2023
Reilly Campbell's double-double lifted Trinity over Amherst in a battle between two of the top three teams in the NCAA Region 1 rankings.
Trinity College athletics file photo
 

The top seeds advanced through the NESCAC and NJAC women’s playoffs with No. 19 Trinity (Conn.) edging Amherst and Rowan rallying past Ramapo. Elsewhere, No. 24 Loras knocked off No. 20 Wartburg and Muskingum closed its season by upsetting No. 11 Ohio Northern.

No. 19 Trinity (Conn.) avoided a long wait until Selection Monday and advanced to the NESCAC tournament semifinals with a 58-57 home win over Amherst.

Trinity held Amherst to four points on 2-for-13 shooting in the third quarter and entered the final period with a 47-42 lead. The Bantams pushed the advantage to six on Bria Fuller’s layup with 1:51 remaining. Amherst responded with a layup and a three from Kori Barach that pulled the Mammoths within one with more than a minute to play. On its next possession, Trinity ran the clock down to 31 seconds before missing its a shot, giving Amherst a chance to win the game. But Amherst also came up empty on its last possession, and the Bantams survived.

Reilly Campbell scored 22 points and 12 rebounds for Trinity (21-4), which will face Williams in next weekend’s NESCAC semifinals hosted by Tufts. The Jumbos took care of Bowdoin, 75-61, and will play fourth-seed Middlebury.

Amherst (17-8), which was third in this week’s Region 1 rankings, will have to wait until the at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament are announced on February 27.

Rowan used a 9-0 to rally past Ramapo, 69-65, and into the NJAC tournament semifinals. After Ramapo took a 65-60 lead on Jackie Ventricelli’s three-pointer, the Profs shut down the Roadrunners and eventually went ahead for good on Grace Marshall’s three-pointer with 31 seconds left. Dakota Adams led Rowan (18-8) with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

No. 24 Loras entered the ARC playoffs on a high note by defeating No. 20 Wartburg, 63-55, in the regular season finale for both teams. Madison Fleckenstein tallied 16 points, five rebounds and four steals and Sami Martin added a double-double (13 points, 14 rebounds) for the Duhawks. Wartburg and Loras had already secured the top two seeds for the conference playoffs, with the Knights finishing one game ahead of Loras in the standings.

No. 8 Hardin-Simmons completed a perfect run through the ASC regular season with an 84-67 win over rival Mary Hardin-Baylor. Parris Parmer and Natasha Blizzard combined for 41 points on 75 percent shooting (15 for 20), and the Cowgirls shot 55 percent as a team. Hardin-Simmons will host the ASC semifinals and championship game next weekend.

The NAC played down to its final two teams as Maine Maritime and SUNYIT won that tournament’s semifinal contests. Maine Maritime defeated Husson, 52-49, despite Bailey Donovan posting 14 points and 22 rebounds for the Eagles. Molly Burdick had a double-double (14 points, 18 rebounds), and SUNYIT downed SUNY-Cobleskill, 51-44, in the Western Division side of the bracket.

Sophomore Caitlyn DeMassimo set school records for points (38) and free throws (16) in Muskingum's 89-83 double-overtime win over No. 11 Ohio Northern. After falling behind 59-44, the Polar Bears roared back to tie the game at 64 by scoring four points in four seconds. The Muskies put the game away at the free throw line where Caitlyn and sister Taylor DeMassimo made nine of 10 shots at the end of double overtime. Muskingum, which finished the season one game out of the final playoff spot, improved its record to 10-15, 7-11 in the OAC. 

With Saturday marking the end of the regular season for most Division III basketball teams, dozens of seniors completed their college basketball career. Few will finish their careers in as memorable a fashion as Lauren Hill who collected a rebound and scored in the final second of Keuka's 48-47 win over Medaille. The Wolves finish the season 5-20, 2-16 in the Empire 8.