UW-Whitewater celebrates on Saturday after winning the WIAC title. Photo by Dane Sheehan, UW-Whitewater

No. 7 UW-Whitewater won the WIAC and won't have to leave home for the WIAC playoffs while the NESCAC had an unusual team clinch hosting rights in an unusual way. Plus the Coast-to-Coast conference lived up to its name as new conference foes met for the first time.

• Saturday scoreboard: Men | Women
• Rough weekend for ranked men's teams: Friday upsets | Saturday upsets

No. 7 UW-Whitewater wrapped up the WIAC title in impressive fashion, as the Warhawks sailed past UW-Stout, 87-56. UW-Whitewater converted 28 Blue Devil turnovers into 36 points and had a 26-point reserve scoring advantage. Aleah Grundahl scored 18 for UW-Whitewater (22-2, 12-1) which won its third WIAC crown in five seasons. The Warhawks and UW-Oshkosh have alternated titles each year since 2017.

The NESCAC regular season came to a close with Trinity (Conn.) perched atop the standings for the first time in program history.

No. 11 Amherst defeated the Bantams 49-41 on Friday night and took over first place, but the Mammoths' game on Saturday with Connecticut College was cancelled. Trinity moved on to Hamilton and rallied past the Continentals, 63-61, giving the Bantams a better winning percentage than Amherst. No. 12 Tufts defeated Williams, 69-64, behind a combined 42 points and 23 rebounds for Maggie Russell and Sofia Russell. The Jumbos (19-3, 8-2 NESCAC) have the same conference record as Trinity, but the Bantams own the tiebreaker via last weeks' win over Tufts.

The NWC playoffs will run through Walla Walla, Washington because No. 6 Whitman defeated Pacific Lutheran, 73-70, and clinched first place. The Lutes looked like they would deny the Blues' celebration when they took a 64-53 lead after three periods. But Whitman scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter and the Blues finished the game on a 6-0 run. Kaylie McCracken led Whitman (22-1, 14-0 NWC) with 18 points and nine rebounds.

The Coast-to-Coast Conference lived up to its name and produced an entertaining game between new foes. UC Santa Cruz flew to Fredericksburg, Virginia and pushed No. 1 Christopher Newport to the limit before falling, 74-70.

All-American Sondra Fan scored 18 of her 23 points in the first half and helped Christopher Newport build a 45-35 halftime lead. The Captains led 64-53 early in the fourth quarter when the Banana Slugs started to crawl closer. Ashley Kowak scored six straight for UC Santa Cruz before Anaya Simmons’ layup pushed Christopher Newport’s lead back to seven. Kowak hit another three and brought the Banana Slugs within four, 72-68, with 40 seconds left but the Captains made their free throws and held on for the win.

Kowack finished with 25 points and Kaylee Murphy added a double-double for UC Santa Cruz (13-3). Christopher Newport (20-0) extended its winning streak to 37 games.

Smith beat Babson, 72-63, and broke the first-place tie with the Beavers atop the NEWMAC standings. The Pioneers (19-2, 8-0 NEWMAC) shot 50 percent from the field and hit seven 3-pointers. Katelyn Pickunka notched a double-double for Smith with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Samantha Smith finished one rebound shy of a double-double for Babson (15-6, 6-1).

No. 13 DePauw protected its first-place spot in the NCAC with a 51-41 win at Oberlin. Both teams struggled to score but DePauw committed six fewer turnovers and the Tigers outscored the Yeowomen by 10 in the paint. DePauw (19-2, 12-0 NCAC) can win the NCAC title with a victory at Hiram on Sunday.

No. 16 Messiah survived a scare at Alvernia, 60-58, and extended its winning streak to 12 games. The Falcons trailed 54-47 midway through the fourth period but rallied in front of the Golden Wolves, 59-57, on Reese Harden's three-pointer with 24 seconds left. Alvernia's Jannelle Robinson was fouled with three seconds left and split the free throws. Messiah grabbed the rebound, split its free throws and survived a three-point attempt from Alvernia at the buzzer.

No. 17 Scranton made its big first quarter at Elizabethtown hold up, beating the Blue Jays, 64-55. The Lady Royals (21-2, 12-0) outscored Elizabethtown 22-12 in the first period and led the rest of the way. Elizabethtown pulled within 58-55 with under two minutes to play but Scranton's Abby Anderson scored six straight from the foul line to end the game. She finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for Scranton.

SUNY New Paltz defeated Cortland, 51-42, and ended the Red Dragons 17-game winning streak. The game turned in the second quarter when the Hawks outscored Cortland 21-2. Maddie Gillis scored 14 points for SUNY New Paltz (16-6, 12-4 SUNYAC) which trails the Red Dragons by three games with three to play.

The University of New England also played the role of temporary spoiler. The Nor'easters defeated Roger Williams 61-57 in overtime and ended the Hawks' perfect run through the CCC. Allie Goodman scored 18 points for UNE while Roger Williams shot 29 percent from the field and 2 for 23 from three.

Kean outscored Rutgers-Camden 25-6 in the first quarter and cruised to victory, 68-41, grabbing the NJAC's playoff hosting rights in the proces. Shannon McCoy led the Cougars (15-6, 14-2 NJAC) with 17 points, nine rebounds, six steals and five assists. New Jersey City defeated Montclair State, 59-55, and picked up its first-ever regular season road win over the Redhawks in program history.