Ariana Dalia and Bates found just enough room to get past Roger Williams in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Photo by New York University athletics

The conference champions from the NESCAC and ASC survived stiff challenges from the champions of the CCC and SLIAC, while Trinity won its Texas rematch and the OAC had a great first round of the 2022 NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament.

• Updated 2022 Division III NCAA Tournament bracket
• Game of the Day: To come
• First-round scoreboard: Women | Men
• Second-round schedule
• More NCAA Tournament headlines
• First-round photo galleries from d3photography.com

The Tournament’s first dramatic finish came in New York City where NESCAC champion Bates tied its game against CCC champion Roger Williams at the buzzer and then won in overtime, 68-64.

Trailing 58-55 with nine seconds left, Bates inbounded the ball and nearly turned it over. Ariana Dalia saved the ball in the backcourt and passed it to Maria Roy, who also narrowly avoided a turnover before hitting a game-tying shot at the buzzer. Dalia scored the go-ahead basket in overtime for the Bobcats and finished with 27 points. Katie Galligan scored 25 points for Roger Williams, but the Hawks went 0-for-14 from three and 14 for 22 from the foul line.

ASC regular season champion Mary Hardin-Baylor trailed Webster by four with 66 seconds left before rallying past the Gorlocks, 79-76. After Bethany Lancaster gave Webster a 76-72 lead with 1:06 to play, Arieona Rosborough cut the deficit to one with a three-point play for the Crusaders. Webster turned the ball over on its next possession and Bethany McLeod drained a three to put Mary Hardin-Baylor in front, 78-76. The Crusaders added a free throw and McLeod stole the ball from the Gorlocks on their final possession.

Rosborough led the Crusaders with 25 points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes. Julie Baudenistel scored 22 points for Webster which ends its season at 25-1.

The other two unbeaten teams stayed that way. No. 1 Christopher Newport ran past Mitchell, 89-42, and No. 3 Transylvania defeated Washington and Jefferson, 69-52.

No. 13 Trinity defeated No. 22 Hardin-Simmons 61-57 in a rematch of two Texas teams that played early in the season. Maggie Robbins opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a layup that put the Tigers in front 46-38. Hardin-Simmons came back to briefly take the lead, 50-49, on Parris Parmer's three-pointer with 3:36 to play. Trinity responded with a 5-0 run capped by Kelly Simmons' jumper and the Tigers made enough free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Robbins scored 17 points and Maggie Shipley added 15 more for Trinity, which has won 25 straight since losing to Hardin-Simmons on 65-63 in Abilene on November 12, 2021. Next up for the Tigers is No. 6 Whitman since the Blues held off Whittier, 62-57. Whitman's dynamic front court duo Kaylie McCracken and Korin Baker combined for 30 points and 19 rebounds.

The ASC won the other regular season rematch between southern teams, as East Texas Baptist defeated Rhodes, 65-53. The Tigers outscored the Lynx 41-26 in the second half and outrebounded the SAA champions, 56-43. East Texas Baptist, which lost to Rhodes 88-82 in the second game of the season, earned a rematch with conference rival Mary Hardin-Baylor tomorrow night.

Gustavus Adolphus' second shot at No. 5 Simpson went better than the first, but the Storm still prevailed, 73-67. After losing to Simpson by 24 in the season opener, the Gusties looked like they were headed for another lopsided loss, trailing by 17 entering the final period. Gustavus battled back within six at 68-62 on Kylie Baranick's three pointer with 1:15 to play. Simpson's Cameron Kincaid and Kia Rasmussen made their free throws in the final minute and the Storm held on to win.

Simpson will host UW-Oshkosh tomorrow night because the Titans ground out a 48-42 win over No. 18 Wisconsin Lutheran. Both teams struggled offensively as they combined to shoot 34 percent from the field (35 for 103), 23 percent from three (11 for 47) and 56 percent from the foul line (9 for 16). Nikki Arneson was the only player to score double figures for either team, tallying 17 points and 10 rebounds for UW-Oshkosh.

The OAC plowed through the first round with all three teams winning neutral court games by double digits.

No. 14 John Carroll started fast and ended the game early in a 100-56 romp over Elizabethtown at Trine’s regional. The Blue Streaks led by 13 after one period, 25 after two and 49 after three. Sarah Balfour scored a career-high 24 points for John Carroll, which will meet host Trine tomorrow. The fifth-ranked Thunder took care of Immaculata, 62-37.

No. 10 Baldwin Wallace closed the first quarter against Salisbury on a 9-0 run and gradually pulled away for a 66-54 win over the Sea Gulls. All-American Kaylee Otlowski finished her career with a double-double for Salisbury (18 points, 12 rebounds) while All-American Lilly Edwards kept hers going with 22 points and nine boards for the Yellow Jackets.

Marietta shook off a slow start and beat Wittenberg, 65-50, at Hope College’s regional. The Pioneers trailed by 10 after the first period, but cut the deficit to one at the half and outscored the Tigers in the second half. Olivia Gribble scored 15 points for Marietta which picked up its first NCAA Tournament victory.

The NEWMAC also went 3-0 in the first round with the headline victory coming in Upstate New York where Springfield defeated No. 17 Messiah, 73-68. The Pride converted 13 Messiah turnovers into 20 points and got 16 points off the bench from Angela Czeremcha. Sam Hourihan posted a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) for Springfield, which will play at No. 19 Ithaca tomorrow night. The Bombers downed Catholic, 75-63.

CUNYAC MVP Chanel Jemmott erupted for 30 points and 22 rebounds and Brooklyn beat Emmanuel , 70-57, for the conference’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2015. Ericka James tallied 17 points and eight rebounds in 40 minutes for the Bulldogs whose starters scored 66 of 70 points. Jemmott's 22 rebounds were two short of the tournament record held by Kylene Culler of Ferrum (24 in 2014).

Averi Jordan and Mikaela Reese combined for 46 points and 19 rebounds, and DeSales overpowered Cortland, 78-52. Reese had 26 points and 11 boards for the Bulldogs, which have won 21 straight.

Super sophomore Elyce Knudsen poured in 36 points for Millikin and the Big Blue beat No. 23 Wartburg, 81-68, at the regional in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Knudsen scored a dozen points in the second period in which the Big Blue outscored the Knights, 27-17. Jordan Hildebrand added 18 points for the Big Blue whose last NCAA Tournament win was the national title winner over Randolph-Macon in 2005. 

As is usually the case, the home teams mostly won their games by lopsided margins. Besides Hardin-Simmons and Rhodes, the only other home team that lost on Friday night was Johns Hopkins, which fell to Mount St. Mary, 57-54. Morina Bojka paced the Knights with 15 points on 6 for 15 shooting. Johns Hopkins is hosting this regional instead of No. 1 Christopher Newport because the CNU men have hosting priority in the first weekend of this year's NCAA Tournament.