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| Reese Harden's career-high 31 points put the Falcons on the verge of another first-place finish in the MAC Commonwealth. Photo by Sophia Templeton |
No. 10 Baldwin Wallace secured first place in its conference with a win and some help while Messiah moved another step closer to doing the same in its conference. Elsewhere, Montclair State won a thriller and No. 17 UW-Stout stumbled at UW-River Falls in Wednesday night's Division III women’s basketball action.
- Wednesday scoreboard: Men | Women
- More men’s headlines
- More women’s headlines
John Carroll took an 11-point lead on Baldwin Wallace midway through the second quarter before the Yellow Jackets closed the period with a 14-1 run and led 28-26 at the break. The game remained tight into the fourth quarter, and John Carroll evened the score at 59-all on Carly Perusek’s layup with two minutes left. Bella Valliant put BW back on top with a three-point play and Emily Irwin extended the Yellow Jackets’ lead to five with two free throws. The Blue Streaks only managed two points the rest of the way.
Baldwin Wallace (21-1, 15-0 OAC) extended its winning streak to 21 games despite Ava Ryncarz netting 27 points and 11 rebounds for John Carroll (16-6, 10-5 OAC).
A little further west, Capital hit 10 three-pointers but only two four 2-point field goals, and the Comets fell to Marietta, 71-58. Adi Hill scored 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting for Marietta (14-8, 8-7 OAC).
Messiah all-but-secured the top spot in the MAC Commonwealth by defeating Widener, 76-56.
The Falcons led by 10 at the half and then blew the game wide open with a 24-6 run in the fourth quarter. Reese Harden scored a career-high 31 points and Liv Monturo posted a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds for Messiah (20-2, 11-0 MACC), which swept the Pride and has a three-game lead on York with three games to play.
Despite being picked third in the preseason conference poll, Messiah can clinch top spot in the playoffs by beating the Spartans on Saturday.
After beating No. 5 UW-Oshkosh earlier this season, UW-River Falls scored another upset victory at home, this time downing No. 17 UW-Stout, 66-58. The Falcons outscored the Devils 30-19 in the fourth quarter, as River Falls sank four of its seven 3-point attempts and 16 free throws in the period. Zoey Buchan led the Falcons (13-9, 5-6 WIAC).
Oshkosh extended its lead over Stout to two games with a 60-40 at Stevens Point. Kayce Vaile notched 19 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four blocks for the Titans (21-1, 10-1 WIAC).
Every other ranked team in action on Wednesday night also won, mostly by large margins. That included a 30-point win for No. 8 Gustavus Adolphus at St. Olaf, a 42-point win for No. 2 Scranton at Moravian, a 51-point win for No. 7 Smith at Mount Holyoke.
The best game of the night was played in NJAC where Montclair State outlasted New Jersey City 88-79 in the first triple-overtime game for both programs. New Jersey City forced overtime by outscoring the Red Hawks 19-4 in the fourth quarter, including Na’tori Postell’s game-tying layup at the buzzer. The game remained tied into the third extra period until Brianna Montajes ignited a 6-0 run that put Montclair ahead for good.
Alexis Strollo scored 22 points in 50 minutes while Montajes added 16 off the bench for the Red Hawks (20-3, 14-2 NJAC), who have won 12 straight. Montclair State remains tied for first in the conference with TCNJ since the Lions took care of Rowan, 69-53.
The Red Hawks will host the Lions in the regular season finale on Feb. 19.
Allegheny slowed Washington and Jefferson's roll to the top seed in the PAC playoffs, as the Gators hit a program-high 14 three-pointers in an 85-80 win over the Presidents. Sophia Genareo and Jess Bickart made five 3-pointers apiece for Allegheny (15-7, 14-3 PAC), which shot 64 percent (14 for 22) from behind the arc. W&J is now 1.5 games in front of Allegheny and one in front of Chatham with two games left in its conference season.
Sophia Jonas broke the MIAC's record for three-pointers in a career in St. Benedict's 69-59 win over Macalester. Jonas hit 5 threes in the game, giving her 256 in her career, surpassing St. Mary's alumna Brooklyn Paulson.