| Allison Long scored 36 and Thomas More rallied for a first round victory. |
All sixteen hosts advanced through the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Some hosts were pushed to the limit before they pulled out victory.
The best chance for a visiting team to upset a host came in Kentucky where No. 23 Thomas More rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat No. 25 Louisiana College 94-91. The Wildcats led 56-38 in the opening minutes of the second half and held a 13-point advantage with 11:32 to play. The Saints used two long rallies to eventually take a 90-89 lead with 1:20 left. Louisiana College's Melody Criswell responded with two free throws to put the Wildcats back in front by one. Coming out of a Louisiana College time out with 15 seconds left, the Saints found Lauren Hargett for a layup to reclaim the lead. Louisiana College turned the ball over and Thomas More iced the game at the free throw line.
Allison Long scored 36 points for the Saints who only used seven players. Roslyn Wilmer had 19 points for Louisiana College which used 14 players. Thomas More advances to play Illinois Wesleyan which doubled up Maryville 84-42.
Some hosts had it easier than others. Amherst rolled over St. Joseph's (Bklyn.) 84-30. Ithaca chopped down Elms 84-37. Juniata handled Castleton State 84-57. DePauw defeated Westminster (Mo.) 66-46. George Fox shut down Cal Lutheran 58-35, breaking the game open with a 10-0 run in the second half.
| No. 11 UW-Stevens Point
advanced, beating No. 12 Franklin on a neutral floor by
three. Calvin athletics photo by Paul Evans |
At the other end of the spectrum, Tufts hung on to beat visiting Misericordia 61-59. The Cougars had the ball and two shots to tie the game in the final 15 seconds but could not convert. Tiffany Kornegay had 15 points, including two free throws to ice the game for the Jumbos. They will play Johns Hopkins which edged the University of New England 53-51. The Nor'easters missed a layup down one with two seconds left.
In another great finish, Mount St. Mary nipped Gwynedd-Mercy 63-62 on a Kristina Nieves jumper with four seconds left. Jen Mocanu had 30 points on 25 shots for the Knights who play host Lebanon Valley tomorrow. The Flying Dutchmen shook off Vassar 73-68.
The showdown between No. 11 UW-Stevens
Point and No. 12 Franklin lived up to its rankings. The Pointers
held off the Grizzlies 61-58 as Franklin pulled to within a
possesion on several occasions but could not get over the hump.
Next up for Stevens Point: No.
4 Calvin, 59-47 winners over Wisconsin Lutheran.
Mary Washington scored less than 40 but that was enough to beat Keuka 39-32. The Storm had six points on 8 percent shooting (2-for-26) in the first half but rallied to within three with 1:37 left. Katie Wimmer scored four points down the stretch to seal the Eagles' victory.
| Maggie Prewitt shot just
5-for-17 from the floor but made up for it at the foul
line. Centre athletics photo by Chris Floyd. |
Mary Washington will host Messiah tomorrow. The Falcons, who lost to Kean by 20 in December, drubbed the Cougars 73-50. Dori Gyori scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Messiah. Bowdoin also avenged a regular season loss by knocking Southern Maine out of the tournament. The Polar Bears topped the Huskies 75-68.
Centre advanced to the second round, winning an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2001 in defeating Guilford 59-47. Maggie Prewitt recorded game-highs of 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists while going 10-of-11 from the free throw line. The Colonels will face No. 9 Washington U., which defeated Ferrum 79-64 behind a career-best 18 points from senior Brianne Monahan and freshman Melissa Gilkey's 16 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots.