Saturday women: Postseason comes into focus

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Feb 16, 2019
 
Freshman Shannon McCoy's big game for Kean signaled a changing of the guard in the NJAC.
Kean University athletics file photo
 

Saturday brought the end of the regular season for much of Division III and the start of a postseason for a few conferences. Kean ensured the NJAC will have a new champion and the NESCAC's big three advanced in early results.

Montclair State's streak of six consecutive NJAC titles came to an end in the first round of the conference tournament when sixth-seeded Kean upset the Red Hawks, 72-67. Shannon McCoy's three-pointer with 6:11 to play in the fourth quarter capped an 11-2 run that gave Kean the lead for good, 62-58. Montclair trimmed the deficit to two on Domonique Wirsing's layup but McCoy responded with her fifth and final three of the game.

McCoy finished with 29 points on 10-for-19 shooting for the Cougars who will play second-seed Rowan in the NJAC semifinals. Newark triumphed over Camden in the Battle of the Rutgers branches, 65-47, so Rutgers-Newark will face TCNJ.

The first round of the NESCAC tournament went largely according to form with the three highly ranked teams advancing. All five Bowdoin starters scored double figures, led by Taylor Choate who had 22 points, and the top-ranked Polar Bears defeated Connecticut College, 96-75. Meghan Sullivan had a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds) in No. 4 Amherst's 60-40 win over Wesleyan and No. 6 Tufts cruised past Williams 75-51. Fifth-seeded Middlebury scored a mild upset with a 75-71 win at Trinity (Conn.) as Maya Davis racked up 22 points and eight rebounds for the Panthers.

The quarterfinal round of the USA South Athletic Conference tournament saw Averett break through against Maryville (Tenn.) and Piedmont end Mary Baldwin's Cinderella run. Averett held off Maryville 68-65 to earn its first win over the Scots in 13 tries and a spot in the conference semifinals. Alixis Roccia scored 17 points for the Cougars who will play Berea next weekend. Piedmont locked up hosting duties for the remaining tournament games by pounding Mary Baldwin 84-53. The Squirrels finish their season with a 17-10 record after winning 19 games combined over the previous eight seasons.

The North Atlantic Conference began with higher seeds posting comfortable victories. SUNY-Canton defeated Thomas 78-47 and NVU-Lyncon topped Maine-Farmington 66-42. Top-seed Husson hosts the remaining games next weekend. Same was true in the CUNYAC where Staten Island and CCNY advanced past Baruch and John Jay respectively. 

In non-playoff action, UW-Oshkosh won the WIAC title outright before its game began. River Falls knocked off Whitewater 59-52, ending the Warhawks' nine-game winning streak and eliminating them from the chase for first place. Oshkosh took care of business anyway, holding Eau Claire to single-digit scoring in each period of a 67-23 Titans' victory.

No. 18 Texas-Dallas finished the regular season on a very high note as the Comets won on the road at No. 13 East Texas Baptist, 71-62. Raenett Hughes scored 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting for Texas-Dallas which will be the ASC East Division's top seed in the conference tournament. The Tigers committed 24 turnovers and shot 1-for-21 from three in the loss.

Less than 24 hours after Puget Sound grabbed the second spot in the four-team NWC tournament by beating No. 25 Whitman, the Loggers gave it right back with a 61-56 loss to Whitworth. That loss coupled with Whitman's 73-62 win at Pacific Lutheran gives the Blues a home game against Puget Sound in the NWC semifinals. Whitworth's win pulled the Pirates into a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot with Linfield, but the Wildcats get that spot by virtue of sweeping the Pirates.

Marymount defeated Cabrini 66-50 to capture the top spot in the innaugural Atlantic East Conference tournament. The Conference is in the first of a two-year wiating period for an automatic qualifying bid to the tournament, but the Saints bolstered their chances of receiving an at-large bid with the victory.

Hartwick's Carly Johnson scored 24 points to become the program's all-time leading three-point scorer and the Hawks winged past Stevens 71-64 in a matchup of the Empire 8's top teams. Hartwick can grab the top seed and hosting rights for next weekend's tournament with a win over Sage or losses by Nazareth or St. John Fisher.

Texas-Tyler concluded its membership in NCAA Division III with a loss at Louisiana College, 61-56. The Patriots finish the season 13-11 and are not eligible for the ASC tournament because of their status as a reclassifying member of Division II.

Benedictine, which was also on track to join Division II before announcing it would stay in Division III, defeated Concordia (Wis.) 64-61 and the Eagles set a new program record for wins in a season with their 21st victory.