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| Heather Johns helped lift
Whitman to sole possession of first place in the Northwest
Conference. Whitman athletics file photo |
Whitman locked down George Fox late and pulled away for a 75-63 win over the Bruins in Saturday night's showdown between highly ranked Northwest Conference teams.
No. 8 George Fox held a 61-59 lead over No. 4 Whitman at home with 5:23 to play. Whitman's Megan White scored six straight points to give the Missionaries the lead and Whitman held the Bruins without a field goal the rest of the way. Heather Johns, Sarah Anderegg and Megan White combined for 45 points for Whitman, which improves to 15-0, 6-0 in conference. George Fox drops to 14-1, 5-1 in conference. The teams will meet again on Whitman's court on Valentine's Day.
Last season Montclair State pushed past Kean to become the dominant program in NJAC women's basketball. On Saturday Kean pushed back and upset the 11th ranked Red Hawks, 74-69. Jaquetta Owens scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Cougars, who sit two games behind Montclair State and TCNJ in the NJAC standings. The Lions defeated New Jersey City 72-54 to move into first-place tie.
Concordia-Moorhead sent No. 15 St. Thomas to its first home loss in 10 games and its second loss in conference, 71-58. The Tommies built a 40-29 lead early in the second half, but only scored 18 points the rest of the way. The Cobbers and Tommies sit a half game back of idle St. Mary's (Minn.) and Bethel, which beat Augsburg 67-58.
No. 7 Tufts finished its big weekend by rolling past Trinity (Conn.) 68-48 and into sole possession of first place in the NESCAC. No. 3 Amherst, which lost at Tufts on Friday night, bounced back by pounding Bates 88-54. Megan Robertson did not play for the Lord Jeffs after being injured early in Friday's game.
Ohio Wesleyan rode a fast start to a 13-point lead on No. 1 DePauw, but the Tigers rallied to take a six-point halftime lead and pulled away for a 76-61 win. DePauw has won 50 consecutive games and 69 straight in the regular season.
No. 6 Thomas More blasted through its toughest conference game of the season, as the Saints rolled over homestanding St. Vincent, 89-64. Sidney Moss had 29 points and 11 rebounds and Devin Beasley dished out 18 assists for the Saints.
No. 17 UW-Whitewater erased a 13-point halftime deficit at UW-Superior and defeated the Yellowjackets 84-79. Amy Mandrell led the way for the Warhawks with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Illinois Wesleyan defeated No. 12 Wheaton (Ill.) 93-85 and stayed unbeaten in CCIW play. Next Saturday the Titans play at No. 14 Carthage, which is also 5-0 in conference. Austin bounced No. 25 Trinity (Texas) 78-68 behind Erin Riley's 30 points. The Kangaroos made 23 of their 26 free throw attempts.
Keystone snapped a three-game losing steak in a big way, knocking off defending Colonial States Athletic Conference champion Cabrini 64-55 to deal the Cavaliers their first conference loss since Jan. 28, 2012. The Giants move to 10-5 overall and 4-2 in league play while Cabrini sees their record drop to 12-4, 6-1.
Jasmine Brandon upped her own school record for points with a career-high 47 and New Rochelle put a program best 99 points on the scoreboard in knocking off Albertus Magnus 99-93 in overtime. It's her third game of 40-plus points this season.