Courtney Crouch and UW-Eau Claire ran away from UW-Whitewater in the second half and won the WIAC tournament on Friday night. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com

Brooklyn is still top dog in the CUNYAC and UW-Eau Claire seized the WIAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in Friday night’s Division III women’s basketball playoff action. Elsewhere Wittenberg busted a bubble, Anja Smith saved Augsburg and the ASC tournament was full of late game heroics.

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After the teams split their two regular season games, UW-Eau Claire took the rubber match and the WIAC tournament, winning at No. 11 UW-Whitewater, 77-63. The Warhawks fell behind 7-0 to start the game, but responded with a 13-3 run and held a 38-30 halftime lead. Aleah Grundahl’s free throw pushed UW-Whitewater’s lead to 13 early in the second half, and then the Blugolds started their comeback.

The Blugolds scored 13 straight, capped by six consecutive points from Jessie Ruden on three made free throws and a three-point field goal. Ruden hit another three late in the third quarter to give UW-Eau Claire a two-point lead entering the final period, and the Blugolds rolled from there, outscoring the Warhawks 20-8 in the fourth.

Ruden finished with 31 points on 10-for-18 shooting plus nine free throws. Courtney Crouch added 20 more points with a 12-for-12 showing at the foul line for UW-Eau Claire (20-7). UW-Whitewater (23-4) is a lock to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The dog fight for the CUNYAC title went to Brooklyn, as the Bulldogs ran past the Bloodhounds of John Jay, 59-51. Brooklyn outrebounded John Jay 58-37 and had a 24-6 advantage in second-chance points. CUNYAC player of the year Chanel Jemmott took home tournament MVP award with 18 points and 20 rebounds.

Brooklyn (20-3) has won three of the last four CUNYAC titles and joins UW-Eau Claire and New York University as the first three teams in the 2022 NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament.

For more info on the night in Division III women's basketball conference tournaments, check out our 2021-22 Division III women's basketball conference tournament tracker.

Wittenberg turned the NCAC into a two-bid conference when the Tigers upset No. 10 DePauw in the tournament semifinals, 55-52. DePauw rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter and briefly took the lead, 51-50, on Mya Shannon’s three-pointer with 1:17 remaining. Wittenberg answered with a layup by Taryn Cash and then added two Kristie Kalis’ free throws after an empty DePauw possession. DePauw was unable to get off a game-tying shot and the Tigers from Springfield, Ohio celebrated the victory.

Wittenberg (18-7) advances to the NCAC title game, where it will play Ohio Wesleyan, while DePauw (23-3) drops into the pool of at-large candidates where it is a lock to receive a bid.

Anja Smith came up big twice in the final minute for Augsburg and the MIAC’s top seed survived a scare at home from Hamline, 75-72. The Pipers led by 13 in the second half and held a 71-69 lead in the final minute until Smith hit a step-back three from the top of the arc, putting the Augies up 72-71. Hamline got the score tied and had two chances to take the lead from the foul line but missed both shots. Augsburg grabbed the defensive rebound off the second miss and got the ball to Smith who converted a traditional three-point play to win the game.

Texas-Dallas kept its season going with a 66-53 overtime win over No. 16 Mary Hardin-Baylor in the ASC tournament semifinals. Mary Hardin-Baylor had the ball and a three-point lead with 14 seconds left in regulation but, before Texas-Dallas could commit a foul, the Crusaders turned the ball over by stepping out of bounds. That gave the Comets another chance and Alex Bowman splashed a game-tying three-pointer with nine seconds remaining. The Comets scored the first 13 points in overtime and put the game away at the foul line.

The Comets will play No. 25 Hardin-Simmons in the ASC title game after the Cowgirls edged No. 21 East Texas Baptist in a free throw fest, 56-55.

Hardin-Simmons' Parris Parmer hit a three with 5:40 to play in the fourth quarter, cutting East Texas Baptist's lead to 50-49. That was the last field goal for either team. The Tigers went ahead 55-52 on two free throws by Mallory Stephens with 32 seconds left. Parmer attempted a three on Hardin-Simmons' next possession and missed the shot, but was fouled in the process. She sunk the first two free throws and then, after a East Texas Baptist timeout, also made the third. The Tigers missed a layup on their next possession and then Hardin-Simmons' Hallie Edmondson was fouled with 10 seconds left. She split the free throws and East Texas Baptist missed its final shot.

Mary Hardin-Baylor (22-4) and East Texas Baptist (20-4) are both in good position to get at-large bids.

UC Santa Cruz burnished its Tournament resume with a 66-53 win over Salisbury in the Coast-to-Coast tournament. The Banana Slugs led wire-to-wire, and Kaylee Murphy and Ashley Kowacki combined for 32 points and 22 rebounds. UC Santa Cruz (16-3) will play No. 1 Christopher Newport for the conference’s title and automatic bid tomorrow. The Captains (23-0) cruised past Mary Washington, 76-54, in the other semifinal.

The championship games in the CCIW, MIAA and NACC tournaments will come down to matchups between teams that split their regular season series.

No. 2 Hope continued its dominance of archrival Calvin and beat the Knights, 68-42, in the MIAA semifinal. The Flying Dutch will play No. 3 Trine for the MIAA tournament title tomorrow since the Thunder topped Alma, 75-62.

Millikin defeated Wheaton (Ill.) 70-61 in the CCIW tournament semifinal, setting up a rematch between the teams that split the conference's regular season crown. Elyce Knudsen had another strong night for the Big Blue, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Millikin head coach Olivia Lett will face her alma mater Illinois Wesleyan for the title because the Titans took care of Carroll, 65-61. 

No. 20 Wisconsin Lutheran will get a chance to avenge its lone loss of the season when the Warriors face St. Norbert in the NACC championship game. Jenna Mace scored six of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter and Wisconsin Lutheran topped Edgewood, 59-48. St. Norbert, which beat Wisconsin Lutheran earlier this month, advanced past Benedictine, 54-51.

Fresh off being named the HCAC player of the year, Lexi Dellinger scored 23 points in 40 minutes and Anderson kept its Cinderella story going with a 68-63 win over Bluffton in the tournament semifinals. Anderson (12-14) advances to play undefeated and fourth-ranked Transylvania which rolled past Rose-Hulman, 72-50. Madison Kellione scored 28 points in 28 minutes for the Pioneers (23-0).