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| Alison Stephens and DePauw
got past Carthage 73-54 and continued their title defense. Photo by Eric Kelley, d3photography.com More photos from this game. |
Ithaca denied Amherst a chance at a sixth straight Final Four appearance while home teams dominated their opponents on Friday night.
Amherst, which beat Ithaca 66-44 early this season, appeared to be on its way to another win when the Lord Jeffs led the Bombers 41-32 at the half. But Ithaca scored the first eight points of the second half to get back in the game and set up a see-saw battle the rest of the way.
Ithaca's Geena Brady hit a jumper in the final minute to send the game to overtime. Marley Giddens' bucket gave Amherst a 71-70 advantage with 28 seconds in the extra period, but Samantha Klie answered with a layup to put Ithaca back in front. After Amherst missed a layup on its next possession, Klie was fouled and made her free throws to ice the Bombers' win, 74-71.
Ithaca is the first Empire 8 team in at least 11 years to advance to the Elite 8. The Bombers will play host Tufts, which ended Castleton's Cinderella run. The Jumbos held the Spartans to 15 points in the second half and coasted to victory, 55-35.
DePauw used an extended run and hot second-half shooting to defeat Carthage, 73-54. With the game tied at 24, the Tigers outscored the Lady Reds 24-9 to build a double-digit lead they held the rest of the game. DePauw shot 49 percent in the second half and hit four three-pointers. Savannah Trees had 20 points for the Tigers and Alex Gasaway added 18 more.
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| Kyra Dayon and FDU-Florham
topped Baldwin-Wallace in front of a energized crowd in Madison,
N.J. Photo by Jeff Levy, d3photography.com More photos from this game. |
DePauw takes on UW-Whitewater tomorrow night in a rematch of last year's national championship game. The Warhawks ousted conference foe UW-Oshkosh 69-57 behind Mary Merg's 23 points. Merg scored 16 of Whitewater's 24 points in the first half, including the final eight. The Warhawks shot just 33 percent from the floor but forced 20 Titan turnovers. Photo gallery.
FDU-Florham used its trademark press to turn a three-point second half deficit into a 24-point win over Baldwin Wallace, 66-42. The Devils trailed the Yellow Jackets 33-31 until Leigh-Ann Lively scored 10 points in a 15-0 run that swung the game. Lively finished with 13 points, all in the second half, and Kyra Dayon notched a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds).
FDU-Florham puts its undefeated record on the line tomorrow night against fellow North Jersey school Montclair State. The Red Hawks maintained a double-digit lead over Scranton for much of the second half and withstood the Lady Royals' late rally, 82-77. Melissa Tobie dazzled with 27 points, 13 rebounds and several coast-to-coast drives.
Thomas More also remained perfect, though it Texas-Tyler kept it relative close before the Saints won, 73-61. The 12-point margin of victory is the second smallest of the year to an 85-76 opening night win over Wittenberg. The Saints advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
Thomas More, which is currently ranked No. 1, will battle Whitman, which had the top-ranking before the Saints. The Missionaries took care of Christopher Newport 87-70 and advanced to the Elite 8 for the second consecutive year. Heather Johns and Whitman shredded the 20th-ranked Captains' full-court press and half-court trap in a dominant first half, then put them away in the second half. Johns finished with 30 points.
When Stevens Point hosts the Final Four next weekend, they are guaranteed to have three newcomers. Of the eight remaining teams, only DePauw and Whitewater have been to the national semifinals and they play each other Saturday.