By Brian Falzarano
Columnist, D3sports.com

Jaclyn Daigneault was held to four points in Amherst's 2009 meeting with Wash U and six points in last year's meeting.

Compared to Amherst's previous two trips to the NCAA Division III Final Four, G.P. Gromacki is a relative picture of coaching calm entering Friday's national semifinal encounter with Christopher Newport.

On experience alone, the fourth-year coach and his Lord Jeffs appear poised for a breakthrough under this weekend's bright lights: 10 of their players are making their third consecutive Final Four trip, having become battle toughened through back-to-back semifinal setbacks against perennial power and defending national champion Washington University.

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Having watched his squad triumph in its first four tournament games by an average of 29.5 points, Gromacki and his players are believing their third time at the Final Four could finally lead to them cutting down the nets Saturday evening at Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center.

“I just watch what our players are doing out there,” Gromacki said. “They're focused and committed. The captains have done a great job just get the team ready. I just say a few things and they already know what they need to do."

"We are very excited to be go back," senior center and co-captain Sarah Leyman said. “We know it's a rare opportunity to go three times in a row. We're look to take advantage with our experience.”

Although the Lord Jeffs' last Final Four experience fell short of their national-championship aspirations, it was actually a positive enough experience to provide an impetus for this latest run through the NCAA brackets.

Following their overtime setback against Wash U in the 2010 semifinals, Gromacki issued his players a challenge immediately afterward: Defeat Rochester in the consolation game less than 24 hours later and the Lord Jeffs would not only finish third in Division III, but also enter 2010-11 with enough momentum to build toward something bigger when they returned to Bloomington, Ill.

“It's not where you want to be, but we kept saying only two teams have a chance to end with a win,” senior forward and NESCAC Player of the Year Jaci Daigneault said. “So we said, 'Why not carry it forward.' ”

Amherst played it forward into this season, winning 29 of its 30 games by double-digit outcomes. The only thing that derailed a potentially perfect season was an 85-82 road loss to No. 9 Kean on Jan. 11 – a matchup scheduled by Gromacki, who scrambled to find extra games after the Lord Jeffs' flight to late December's inaugural D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas was cancelled due to inclement weather. (Amherst even considered taking a 12-hour ride to Ohio in order to find an airport that wasn’t snowed in.)

However dominant Amherst might have been, Gromacki noticed something different about his roster right before the NESCAC Tournament a few weeks ago. That explains his sense of calm. Leyman described her teammates' shift in approach as “a palpable intense focus” – or a heightened sense of understanding the demands that come with every 40 minutes of postseason basketball.

“You hate to say, 'Let's pick it up in March,' but we have smart players,” Gromacki said. “I don't know if they were pacing themselves, but it's a different level of intensity out there and a different level of focus. In some ways it's hard to describe, but you can tell by feel. The feel of practice is different.”

“We've been really focused,” Daigneault said. “This group of players has been to Final Fours. We're hungry this year. We're on the attack, we like to say. That definitely drives us to work as hard as we can. We feed off each other.”

Through their experience together, Amherst has developed a cohesive lineup that presents matchup problems. While Daigneault (15.2 points per game, 7.2 rebounds) leads seven players averaging at least 6.1 points per game, the Lord Jeffs have allowed just 49.0 points per contest.

Amherst has been in a zone, so to speak (except on defense, where it plays man-to-man), with near-perfect performances in its last five games -- a rout of Bowdoin in the NESCAC title game and four straight easy NCAA wins.

One of the unlikely stars was guard Kim Fiorentino, who has scored 46 points in the last three games. She made five consecutive 3-pointers in a second-round win over Eastern Connecticut, then nearly matched that in each of her next two games.

Leyman, whom Gromacki calls one of the hardest workers he's ever coached, had 15 points and six steals against Eastern Connecticut. She's a bulldog on the boards, particularly the offensive glass, with 12 offensive rebounds in the past three games, despite often going up against taller defenders.

Daigneault is a player who makes the most of her touches. She was 10-for-15 in the Elite 8 despite often being matched up with Babson's star forwards Kathleen King and Nicki Wurdeman, slithering around them for easy hoops.

And now, Amherst will learn whether its time together will lead to a national championship. Provided they get past Christopher Newport, they could find a Wash U team making its third consecutive Final Four appearance standing between them and cutting down the nets Saturday.

“Words can't describe how I would feel,” Daigneault said. “It would be the greatest way to go out off your senior year. I love this team more than anything. Getting to do that together would be amazing.”

Added Leyman: “No matter what, I wouldn't trade my experience on this team for anything. It would just be overwhelming and so exciting. It's hard to put into words like Jaci said, but I know we're go to give our all this weekend.”