| Trine's defense held Hope to 31 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers in the Thunder's 70-53 win in Holland, Mich. Photo by Tom Renner, Hope College |
No. 22 Trine won its first MIAA women's basketball program title in program history the hard way. The Thunder went to No. 8 Hope and beat the Flying Dutch, 70-53.
- Saturday scoreboard: Men | Women
- Saturday news releases: Men | Women
- Men's recap: Williams, Trinity and Calvin upset arch rivals
- Women's conference tournament tracker
Hope came into Saturday's game with a 30-1 record all-time against the Thunder, including the 76-65 victory over Trine on Jan. 18. That didn't phase the Thunder who jumped out to a 23-12 lead at the end of one period and never looked back. Hope trailed by double-digits for much of the game and only pulled within eight briefly in the fourth quarter before Hayley Martin scored six straight for Trine to put the game out of reach. Recap
Martin and Brandi Dawson combined to score 43 points and grab 12 rebounds for Trine (22-2, 15-1 MIAA). Francesca Buchanan scored 20 points for Hope (22-3, 14-2 MIAA). Trine's title is the first for any program other than Hope and Calvin since 1992.
No. 24 George Fox got a badly needed win over a ranked opponent and grabbed the second seed in the NWC tournament by beating No. 17 Whitman, 65-62. The Bruins held a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Blues rallied to tie the game at 62 with 54 seconds left. On George Fox's next possession, Kaycee Creech scored a layup to put the Bruins back in front. Whitman missed a shot on its next possession, George Fox added a free throw and Whitman missed a potential game-tying three. The teams will meet again on George Fox's court in the NWC semifinals. Box score
The NESCAC quarterfinals went according to form on the women's side with No. 1 Amherst, No. 3 Tufts and No. 20 Bowdoin each winning by double digits. Fifth-seeded Colby stifled fourth-seed Middlebury 48-39 in a game where the teams combined for 29 turnovers and 31 field goals.
No. 2 St. Thomas shook off a slow start to beat Concordia-Moorhead 70-61 and win the MIAC title outright. The Tommies completed their second undefeated regular season in three years and had already clinched the top seed in the conference playoffs.
Three other teams also completed perfect regular seasons with wins on Saturday afternoon. No. 3 Thomas More topped Washington Jefferson 73-50 to finish another perfect regular season. The Saints have not lost a regular season game since November 23, 2012. Recap
No. 5 Ohio Northern cruised past Marietta 82-43 to complete its run through the OAC and No. 18 SUNY Geneseo buried Cortland 74-39 to finish its run through the SUNYAC.
Albright defeated No. 19 Messiah 70-63 at home to sweep the regular season series and claim the top spot in the MAC Commonwealth playoffs. The Lions have won 11 straight since losting 78-45 at Amherst on Jan. 9.
Payton Smith nailed a three-pointer with 14 seconds left to lift No. 23 Catholic over Moravian 57-54 and give the Cardinals' the Landmark Conference regular season crown. The game-winning shot was only Smith's second made field goal, though she finished with 10 points.
Babson shut down Springfield 59-35 and claimed the top spot in the crowded NEWMAC tournament field. The Beavers finished one game ahead of Springfield, MIT and WP which all finished with a 13-3 mark in conference. Springfield will be the second seed in the NEWMAC playoffs.
Sara Tarbert scored 24 points and grabbed 23 rebounds in Stevenson's 67-57 victory over Lycoming. Tarbert tied the Division III women's basketball record for consecutive double-doubles. Recap
Alyssa McDonough and Jill Valley celebrated their Senior Days in style. McDonough became the second player at FDU-Florham to tally a triple-double, notching 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the Devils' 74-54 win over King's. Valley scored 52 points in Westfield State's 102-82 victory over Worcester State.