| Muhlenberg celebrated Alexandra Chili's
game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds. Rochester athletics photo |
Four of the top 12 teams in the country were clustered in one pod, and even though Hope has played host to the Final Four and will do so again, this is just the first weekend. As such, this pod of death claimed one victim early as No. 12 Washington U. knocked off No. 10 Denison 71-55, handing the Big Red their first and only loss of the season.
No. 4 Hope and No. 8 DePauw square off in the other half of the pod and Carrie Snikkers scored a game-high 21 on 7-for-11 shooting, with Liz Ellis adding 16 in Hope's 77-65 win. So there will be another rematch of last year's national title game. And it will be in the second round.
The other two undefeated women's teams advanced to the second round. Babson defeated Medaille 78-58 behind Kathleen King's double-double of 20 points and 19 rebounds. No. 1 Thomas More held off Piedmont 53-44 after the Lions cut the lead to four with four minutes left.
Muhlenberg had the biggest heroics of the night as Alexandra Chili drained a 3-pointer with two seconds left in a 64-63 win against Williams. Check video highlights from Muhlenberg (scroll to the 3:30 mark for just the final shot). It was the only loss the NESCAC suffered among four teams in the first round. Amherst pounded Husson 102-44, Colby got past Stevens 58-48 and Bowdoin took care of Salve Regina 74-64.
Outside of the Hope pod, there were four other first round matchups of nationally ranked teams. Meghan Herrick scored 25 points and Bryanne Halfhill flirted with a triple-double (eight point, seven assists, 10 rebounds) as No. 6 Chicago defeated No. 25 Hanover 76-62. Molly Martin had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Panthers who finish their season 25-2. Greensboro's five starters scored 78 of the team's 83 points and the 15th ranked Pride beat No. 20 St. Vincent 83-66.
Nobody complained that Mount Union and UW-Whitewater were on the same side of the bracket in this sport, and of the football purple powers, it was Mount Union that advanced as the No. 16 Purple Raiders defeated the No. 24 Warhawks 69-55 behind 17 points from Rosa LaMattina. The Purple Raiders play Thomas More tomorrow night. No. 3 UW-Stevens Point eliminated No. 14 St. Norbert 79-69.
The last game of the night was one of the best. Regional host Chapman trailed No. 21 Louisiana College 59-58 in the game's final minute. Chapman guard Christina Ly drove into the paint and found Brandi Hood for two points, giving the Panthers a 60-59 lead. On the ensuing inbounds play, the Wildcats player stepped on the baseline, causing a turnover and giving the ball back to Chapman with five seconds left. Louisiana College fouled Emily McCoy who missed the front end of the one-and-one. Shasidy Ludgood grabbed the rebound for Louisiana College and was fouled with two seconds left. She calmly hit both free throws to give the Wildcats the 61-60 victory. On Saturday they will play George Fox who beat Occidental 53-46 behind a combined 39 points from Hannah Munger and Keisha Gordon.
Tanisha Carter led Eastern Connecticut with another double-double of 20 points and 19 rebounds as the Warriors defeated Baruch 75-65.