Saturday women: Still the one

More news about: Christopher Newport | East Texas Baptist | Ithaca | Scranton | Widener
Feb 19, 2022
 
Ithaca and Scranton both finished their regular seasons on Saturday with wins at home over conference title contenders.
Ithaca College athletics file photo
 

No. 17 Scranton and Ithaca continued their conference dominance while No. 1 Christopher Newport pulled away from Salisbury in Saturday’s Division III women’s basketball action. 

Ithaca dominated the boards and the fourth quarter, and the Bombers defeated Vassar, 80-72, to take the top spot in next week’s Liberty League playoffs.

Ithaca started the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run that gave the Bombers a 69-59 lead. Vassar pulled within three midway through the fourth quarter before Grace Cannon and Melissa Buxton responded for Ithaca and pushed the Bombers’ lead back to seven. Ithaca made seven of its eight free throws in the final 35 seconds and secured its third consecutive regular season Liberty League title.   

Camryn Coffey led Ithaca (22-3, 17-1 Liberty League) with 17 points and Cannon added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Bombers, who outrebounded the Brewers, 63-28.

No. 17 Scranton had already clinched first place in the Landmark Conference entering Saturday’s game against No. 23 Catholic, and the Lady Royals continued their winning ways with a 72-68 victory over the Cardinals. Bridget Monaghan scored 24 points and Abby Anderson added 21 more for Scranton (23-2, 14-0 Landmark), and each made two clutch free throws in the final 10 seconds to keep the Lady Royals in front.

Salisbury hung with top-ranked Christopher Newport until the Captains sailed away for the 76-62 win. The Sea Gulls trailed by just one, 47-46, with under two minutes to play in the third quarter but Christopher Newport scored the next 12 points. Natalie Terwilliger scored eight of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Captains secured their 39th straight win.

No. 17 East Texas Baptist went to Belton, Texas and defeated No. 14 Mary Hardin-Baylor 71-57 in what could be a preview of next Saturday’s ASC title game. The game turned in the second quarter when East Texas Baptist held the Crusaders to three points on 1-for-15 shooting. The Tigers (19-4, 15-3 ASC) shot 45 percent from the field and hit six 3-pointers.

Mary Hardin-Baylor (21-3, 18-1 ASC) will be the top seed in the ASC playoffs, but East Texas Baptist will host those games since Mary Hardin-Baylor is hosting the ASC men’s tournament.

Widener outscored No. 16 Messiah 52-29 in the second half, and the Pride surged past the Falcons, 72-66. After trailing by 17 at the half, Widener got back into the game with a 14-3 run early in the third quarter. Mikayla Nicolini’s three-pointer keyed a 10-0 run that put the Pride in front for good, 55-50. Jordan D’Ambrosio posted a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) for Widener, which will be the three-seed in the MAC Commonwealth playoffs.

No. 19 Wartburg earned itself a bye into the A-R-C semifinals with a 95-86 double-overtime win over Loras that clinched the second seed for the Knights. Sara Faber and Maggie Wilkins came off the Wartburg bench and combined for 48 points and 7-for-12 shooting from three. The teams combined for 28 made three-pointers. Loras will be the third seed and play Coe in the A-R-C's first round.

A few conference tournaments began or continued play on Saturday afternoon.

St. Benedict, Carleton and Concordia-Moorhead advanced through the fiirst round of the MIAC tournament with comfortable wins at home. St. Olaf scored a mild upset over St. Mary's (Minn.), 62-57, in the 8-versus-9 game. K'Lynn Lewis scored 24 points in 37 minutes for the Oles who will play top-seed Ausburg on Tuesday.

Bates went on the road and defeated Middlebury, 87-75, in the first of four NESCAC tournament quarterfinal games to be played this weekend. The Bobcats (15-7) jumped out to a 32-7 lead after one period and led the rest of the way. Maria Roy scored 35 points and Brianna Gadaleta had a double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds) for Bates. The other three NESCAC quarterfinal games will be played on Sunday.

The NAC has already played down to the final two teams in its tournament. Husson dropped Maine Maritime, 66-55, in a matchup of two teams appearing in this week's Region 1 Rankings. Husson's Bailey Donovan outscored Maine Maritime in the fourth quarter on her own, and the Eagles got 24 points and 19 rebounds from Donovan for the game. Husson will play SUNY Poly in next Saturday's NAC title game. The Wildcats rolled over SUNY Canton, 84-44.