Saturday women: Back where we began

More news about: Christopher Newport | Emmanuel | George Fox | Haverford | Mary Hardin-Baylor | UW-Oshkosh
Feb 29, 2020
 
Haley Strowbridge's basket with 1.5 seconds left kept George Fox's season going and ended someone else's.
 File photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com
  

Remember when UW-Oshkosh, George Fox, Emmanuel and Christopher Newport were ranked at the start of the season? Their rankings are gone, but their seasons will keep going after winning titles on Saturday. Plus there were great finishes in the NECC, Centennial and ASC title games.

George Fox went on the road and beat No. 7 Whitman 57-55 in the NWC championship game on a Haley Strowbridge layup with 1.5 seconds remaining. After trailing by six in the fourth quarter, the Bruins pulled even at 53 on Strowbridge's jump shot with 36 seconds left. On Whitman's next possession, Makana Stone was called for a loose-ball foul while going for an offensive rebound, sending the Bruins to the line. Emily Holder made both shots to briefly give George Fox the lead, 55-53. Whitman called timeout and got the ball to Taylor Chambers who drove to the rim for the game-tying layup. George Fox called timeout and set up the game-winning play with Hailey Hartney finding Strowbridge for the win.

Despite the loss, Whitman (24-3) is in good shape to get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. But the Bruins' win will burst someone else's bubble since they were unlikely to make the Tournament without winning the automatic bid.

Remember the Titans of UW-Oshkosh? After losing three of their first four games in the WIAC, Oshkosh completed its run to the NCAA Tournament with a 52-50 win at UW-Eau Claire. Emily Miller's layup gave the Titans (18-10) a four-point lead in the closing minute, 52-48. Two possessions later, Eau Claire got the ball to All-American Hallee Hoeppner who scored a layup to cut the Titans' lead in half. Oshkosh turned the ball over on its next possession, but the Blugolds final show was off the mark.

Christopher Newport hit eight of its first 11 shots against York (Pa.) and led the rest of the way in an 86-66 win over the Spartans in the CAC tournament finale. Anaya Simmons scored 15 of her game-high 26 points off the CNU bench in just 20 minutes. The Captains (24-3) went 12-0 against their conference opponents this season.

New England College triumphed over Eastern Nazarene 84-81 in one of Saturday afternoon's rare close games. The Pilgrims (21-6) led by six at the start of the fourth quarter but Eastern Nazarene battled back to even at 71-all with four minutes left. The two teams exchanged leads in the closing minutes with Stevie Orton giving the Lions an 81-80 lead with 29 seconds left. New England College responded with an Asia Jones layup and, after an ENC turnover, Haleigh Martin added two free throws for the Pilgrims. Eastern Nazarene missed its final three point attempt and New England College claimed the NECC title again.

For the second season in a row, Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda put on a show and Emmanuel defeated St. Joseph's (Maine) in the GNAC title game, this time by a score of 67-50. Ramirez-Tejeda had a double-double (20 points, 14 rebounds) for the Saints (20-7), giving her a Divsion III-leading 22 double-doubles in the season.

Hardin-Simmons' hopes of a Cinderella run to the NCAA Tournament came up one shot short, as No. 17 Mary Hardin-Baylor edged the Cowgirls 60-58 in the ASC championship. The Crusaders built a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter before Hardin-Simmons scored the next 12 points and pulled within two at 53-51. After the Cowgirls evened the score at 58, Alicia Blackwell hit a running jumper for Mary Hardin-Baylor. Hardin-Simmons missed three shots on its final possession, and the Crusaders had the ASC title that evaded them the past two seasons.

Haverford rallied from a 14-point deficit and claimed its only lead of the game with less than 10 seconds to play, edging Gettysburg 49-46 in the Centennail Conference championship. With the game tied at 46 and 40 seconds left, Haverford (23-4) forced a jump ball to regain possession. The Fords missed a three but a loose ball foul on the rebound sent Anna-Sophia Capizzi to the free throw line. She sunk both free throws and the Bullets missed two shots on their final possession. Capizzi and Julianna Clark accounted for almost all of Haverford's offense by scoring 19 apiece.

Monmouth was nearly perfect from the foul line and that was the difference as the Scots held off Ripon for the MWC title, 74-69. Ripon took a 69-68 lead with 31 seconds left on Bonnie Jensen's layup. Monmouth responded with two free throws by Carly Turnbull and then two more from her after a Ripon miss. Becca Gallis iced the game with two free throws, her tenth and eleventh of the game. Monmouth (21-6) shot 28 for 29 from the free throw line.

No. 9 Bethel shot a much lower percentage from the charity stripe (20 for 33, or 61 percent), but the Royals made their free throws when they needed to do so in a 72-70 win over No. 16 Augsburg. Bethel's Taite Anderson's layup broke a 63-all tie with 1:15 to play but she wasn't able to make the free throw to complete the three-point play. On Bethel's next possession, Makenna Pearson sunk two free throws to push the Royals lead to three. Four more free throws from Haylee Barker in the closing 17 seconds put the game away for the Royals (26-1).

Hope completes perfect run to the NCAA Tournament

Arika Tolbert, Lauren Newman and Kenedy Schoonveld (left to right) celebrate Hope's victory over Trine in the MIAA tournament championship.
 Photo by Hope College athletics


The NCAA Tournament will have at least one unbeaten team in it. No. 2 Hope fimproved to 27-0 by defeating No. 24 Trine, 59-57, in the MIAA tournament title game. Tara Bieniewicz's three-pointer gave Trine a 52-51 lead with 7:32 to play in the fourth quarter, but that was the Thunder's last made field goal of the game. The Flying Dutch took the lead on two free throws by MIAA Most Valuable Player Kenedy Schoonveld, who finished with 15 points. Her three-pointer extended Hope's lead to 57-53, and the Flying Dutch's top-ranked defense did the rest. Trine's 57 points is the most any team has scored against Hope this season.

No. 1 Tufts will have a chance to join Hope in the Big Dance with a perfect record since the Jumbos took care of Williams in the NESCAC semifinals, 69-63. In a role reversal from a year ago, No. 5 Bowdoin will have a chance to deal Tufts its first defeat on Sunday. The Polar Bears (24-2) got 22 points from Sela Kay and 21 points from the foul line in a 74-60 victory over No. 6 Amherst.

The other matchups between Top 25 teams produced similarly comfortable margins of victory. No. 8 Wartburg topped No. 11 Loras 67-54 in the ARC championship game, making the Knights (24-3) the first program to win four consecutive regular season and tournament titles in that conference.

No. 10 Baldwin Wallace won its rubber match with No. 25 John Carroll and secured the OAC's automatic bid, 80-63. The Yellow Jackets (26-2) jumped out to a 23-7 lead after one period and pushed their advantage to 20 points before halftime. Hannah Fecht scored 25 points for Baldwin Wallace, which should be in good position to host a regional next weekend, if geographic and budgetary considerations cooperate in building the bracket.

No. 22 Messiah shot 70 percent from three (7 for 10) and the Falcons beat Albright for the third time this season, this time by a score of 78-69. Leah Springer scored 27 points on 12-for-16 shooting and made all three of her 3-point attempts. Messiah (23-4) has won the last four MAC Commonwealth titles.

After surviving the frenetic game with Augustana on Friday night, Illinois Wesleyan had an easier time beating Wheaton (Ill.) 84-76 for the CCIW's automatic bid. Kendall Sosa poured in 31 points and Samantha Munroe added 26 more, with 21 coming from behind the arc for the Titans (19-8). Illinois Wesleyan was outscored 40-18 in the paint but had a 25-8 advantage on second chance points.

In other Saturday night title games:

DeSales completed an impressive run through the MAC Freedom schedule with a 25-point win over King's in Saturday's title game.
 Photo by Pat Jacoby Photography


No. 21 DeSales lost its first conference game to King's back on January 11, but that seemed long ago on Saturday when the Bulldogs rumbled past the Monarchs, 78-53, and into the NCAA Tournament. DeSales (23-4) outrebounded King's by nine and outscored them by 20 in the paint, as Samantha Shinkus flirted with a triple-double (22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists). Rylie Rittenhouse continued her strong play off the bench with 18 points and Molly Jansco finished one rebound shy of a double-double.

No. 14 Scranton stifled Catholic in the second half and pulled away for a 63-42 win and another Landmark Conference crown. Bridgette Monaghan hit a three that put the Lady Royals (24-3) ahead 7-4 midway through the first period and they led the rest of the way. Makenzie Mason filled the stat sheet with 21 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and three assists.

No. 3 DePauw held Denison to five points in the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 66-47 win and another NCAC title. The Tigers (27-1) held Denison to 2 for 11 shooting in the final period. Sydney Kopp scored 13 of her game-high 28 points in the final period. Claire Keefe (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Hayley Cange (11 points, 12 rebounds) had double-doubles for DePauw.

Marymount cannot win an automatic bid because its conference doesn't have one yet, but the Saints are basically a lock to make the NCAA Tournament after beating Cabrini, 67-49. The Saints (23-4) were ranked first in the Atlantic Region entering the week and did nothing to hurt their position by holding the Cavaliers to 25 percent shooting. Symantha Shackelford posted 26 points and Katie McShea added a double-double for Marymount, which will likely receive the lone Pool B spot reserved for teams in conferences without automatic qualifying bids. 

SUNY New Paltz has flown under the radar most of the season but the Hawks are headed toward the NCAA Tournament after a 63-53 win over Cortland. Maddie Van Pelt posted a double-double (25 points, 13 rebounds) for the Hawks (24-3) who got all but two points from its starters. Cortland will have a good chance to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid, especially if arch rival Ithaca wins the Liberty League tomorow and enables the Red Dragons to be the first East Region team at the table for consideration.

Elsewhere in Upstate New York, St. John Fisher secured the Empire 8 title with a 74-53 win at home over Sage. The Cardinals (21-6) put the game away early, leading 24-9 at the end of one period and 47-20 at the half. Amy Gardner scored 27 points and made six 3-pointers for St. John Fisher, which shot 11 for 21 from behind the arc as a team.

A strong performance from Emily Pratt paced Endicott to a 74-57 win over the University of New England in the CCC tournament finale. She had 17 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Gulls (17-10).

In other Saturday afternoon title games: