| 'Tis the season for celebration. Photo by Matt Lewis, Carroll athletics |
Carroll entered the holiday break in conference play with a thrilling victory over No. 9 Millikin while No. 1 New York University surged past No. 16 Tufts, and No. 19 Hope continued its dominance over Calvin in NCAA Division III women’s basketball action.
- Saturday’s scoreboard: Men | Women
- Men’s recap: Tuft-ness and Pride
- More men’s headlines
- More women’s headlines
In a game that featured 14 lead changes and 12 ties, Millikin appeared to seize control with a 6-0 run that gave the Big Blue an 88-83 advantage with less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. After Carroll guard Emilie Wizner hit a three with 19 seconds left to cut Millikin’s lead to two, Millikin guard Elyce Knudsen split a pair of free throws and that allowed Carroll’s Natalie Gricus to hit a game-tying three-pointer and force overtime.
In overtime, Olivia Rangel scored eight of her team-high 30 points including jumpers on consecutive possessions that gave the Pioneers a 99-96 lead. Rangel’s free throws with 11 seconds left in overtime kept Carroll in front by three and then Millikin missed its potential game-tying three.
Along with 30 points, Rangel racked up seven assists in 43 minutes for Carroll (7-3, 3-1). Knudsen led four Big Blue starters in double figures with 32 points. Millikin drops to 8-1, 2-1 in the CCIW.
The other ranked CCIW team also went to overtime, albeit in a much low-scoring affair, as No. 24 Illinois Wesleyan held off North Central (Ill.), 68-61. The Cardinals erased an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime, but only managed one free throw in the extra period. Mallory Powers led Illinois Wesleyan (9-2) with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six steals.
No. 1 New York University passed its first big test, beating No. 16 Tufts 79-63 at home. Tufts hung tough with New York University and only trailed the Violets by two until they broke it open with a 14-2 run. New York University went 15 for 19 from the foul line as part of a 29-16 fourth quarter.
Belle Pellecchia paced NYU (8-0) with 13 points and 16 rebounds. Maggie Russell scored 22 points for Tufts (6-3).
The latest installment of the Rivalry had a familiar result with No. 19 Hope shutting down Calvin, 52-32. The Flying Dutch held Calvin to five points in the first quarter and six points in the fourth. Hope guard Karsen Karlblom was the only player to reach double figures (11 points), as the teams shot a combined 27 percent from the field (31 for 113), 24 percent from three (7 for 29), and 54 percent from the foul line (15 for 28). Hope has beaten its archrival in 17 straight games.
Outside the Top 25, Ithaca and Hamilton picked up quality road wins in Upstate New York.
Ithaca topped SUNY New Paltz 74-73 thanks to Hannah Polce’s go-ahead free throws with 39 seconds left. Polce paced the Bombers with 21 points and Ithaca had a 26-8 bench scoring advantage. Jenny Walton scored 20 points with five 3-pointers for the Hawks.
Hamilton got double-doubles from Kendall Harris (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Taylor Lambo (17 points, 13 rebounds) in a 64-63 victory at Rochester. Hamilton (10-0) only shot 35 percent from the field but made up for it by shooting 17 for 19 at the foul line.