Familiar faces head to Sweet 16

More news about: Amherst | Trine | Tufts | UW-Oshkosh
Mar 04, 2022
Nikkie Arneson and UW-Oshkosh had to weather multiple storms to advance through the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.
File photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com
 

Nine teams that had their 2020 Tournament run cut short by COVID-19 returned to the Round of 16 with wins in the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Saturday night. That includes UW-Oshosh after its upset win at No. 4 Simpson, No. 5 Trine which rolled past No. 12 John Carroll, and a familiar pair of NESCAC pachyderms. 

After waiting through a tornado delay, UW-Oshkosh took the court and overcame the aptly named Simpson Storm, 64-56. The game was delayed by tornadoes in the Indianola, Iowa region but that didn't seem to bother UW-Oshkosh. The Titans hit eight 3-pointers and shot 48 percent from the field in the first half on their way to a 40-31 halftime lead. Simpson rallied to tie the game at 45 late in third quarter, but All-American Leah Porath hit a three in the closing minute of that period to put the Titans back in front, 48-45.

In the fourth period, Simpson got as close as three points but could not overtake the Titans. Nikki Arneson made layups twice in the final minute to give UW-Oshkosh a two-possession lead, and then Arneson added three free throws to keep the game out of reach.

Arneson finished with 20 points and Porath just missed a double-double for UW-Oshkosh (21-6) which are headed back to the Round of 16 for the third time in a row. Jenna Taylor scored 26 for Simpson (26-2) but the Titans held the Storm 30 points below their season scoring average.

UW-Oshkosh advances to face No. 10 Baldwin Wallace, which also won on the road thanks to its defense. The Yellow Jackets held No. 25 Gettysburg to 8-for-27 shooting in the first half and ousted the Bullets, 66-54. Lilly Edwards had another big night, notching 28 points, 14 rebounds and four assists for the Yellow Jackets (23-4). Makenzie Tinner led Gettysburg (25-4) with 13 points.

No. 12 UW-Whitewater will join the Titans at that sectional after the Warhawks overwhelmed Illinois Wesleyan, 72-54. UW-Whitewater had scored 18 points off 17 offensive rebounds. Johanna Taylor grabbed 12 boards and Aleah Grundahl posted 18 points and eight rebounds for the Warhawks (25-4). Kate Palmer followed up her game-winning shot against DePauw on Friday night with 17 points for Illinois Wesleyan (20-9).

No. 16 Smith will play UW-Whitewater at a site to be determined after the Pioneers put away Brooklyn, 76-58. Morgan Morrison (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Katelyn Pickunka (13 points, 10 rebounds) led Smith (25-2) which is headed to its second Sweet 16.

Elyce Knudsen scored 22 points, including the go-ahead shot midway through the fourth quarter, and Millikin (23-6) hung on to beat No. 24 UW-Eau Claire, 59-56. The lead changed hands five times in the fourth quarter, with the last time coming on Knudsen’s jumper with 4:24 to play. Neither team scored for nearly four minutes until Bailey Coffman hit two free throws to extend the Big Blue’s lead to three in the final minute. Courtney Crouch ended the Blugolds scoring drought and cut Millikin’s lead to 57-56 with 40 seconds left, but Coffman added two free throws and UW-Eau Claire missed its final three-point attempt.

Jade Ganski paced UW-Eau Claire (22-8) with 13 points. Millikin is the first CCIW team to reach the Round of 16 since Carthage did it in 2014.

The rest of that sectional will have No. 2 Hope, No. 7 New York University and No. 9 Scranton, all of which won by double digits on Saturday night.

Hope shook off a slow start and pulled away from Marietta, 85-66. Kate Majerus scored a career-high 20 points for the Flying Dutch (28-1). New York University had five players score double figures and blew away Bates, 76-54. Natalie Bruns scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Violets (24-1). Scranton took care of Babson, 65-53, behind 25 points from All-American guard Bridget Monaghan.

The NESCAC’s powerhouse pachyderms won at home and extended their streak of Sweet 16 trips.

No. 11 Tufts controlled the glass and held off DeSales, 58-47, to advance to its tenth consecutive sectional round. The Jumbos outrebounded the Bulldogs 47 to 30 and had 20 rebounds on the offensive side. Maggie Russell posted 20 points and 13 rebounds for Tufts (22-4) while Mikaela Reese scored 17 points on 8 for 16 shooting in 40 minutes for DeSales (22-4).

No. 8 Amherst pushed past No. 20 St. John Fisher, 56-48, to set up a rematch with NESCAC rival Tufts next weekend. St. John Fisher pulled with two at 44-42 midway through the fourth quarter but Amherst held the Cardinals without a field goal until there were just 17 seconds left. The Mammoths went 18 for 22 from the foul line with AnLing Vera sinking seven of her eight shots on the way to 12 points. Amherst (23-3) has made the Sweet 16 thirteen consecutive seasons.

They'll be joined, likely in New England, by top-ranked Christopher Newport and Trinity (Texas). 

No. 1 CNU took a 16-2 lead four minutes into its game against Mount St. Mary and the Captains crushed the Knights, 107-52. Christopher Newport (26-0) converted 35 turnovers into 42 points as Sondra Fan racked up 21 points and seven steals for the Captains. Skyline MVP Morina Bojka finished her career with a 16 point performance for Mount St. Mary (24-4).

No. 13 Trinity (Texas) cruised past No. 6 Whitman, 52-39, thanks to a double-double from Maggie Shipley (20 points, 11 rebounds) and dominant defense. The Tigers held the Blues to 17 field goals on 20 turnovers and Whitman took just four free throws. 

The final quadrant will have Division III's other undefeated team. No. 3 Transylvania got 24 points from Kennedi Stacy and 23 more from Laken Bell in 77-55 wire-to-wire win over Southern Virginia. The Pioneers (26-0) outrebounded the Knights 40-29 and outscored them 23-10 in the paint. Katie Garrish posted one final double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) for Southern Virginia (25-5).

No. 5 Trine rolled over No. 12 John Carroll, 63-42, in a game in which the Thunder starters played 25 minutes or less. Trine opened the game on a 15-0 run and went 10 for 19 in the first quarter. Makayla Ardis scored 11 points in 24 minutes for the Thunder (26-3) who beat all three of the OAC NCAA Tournament teams by double digit margins this season. OAC Player of the Year Olivia Nagy tallied 21 points and 14 rebounds for John Carroll (23-5). 

No. 21 Mary Hardin-Baylor won its rubber match with East Texas Baptist, 75-57, and eliminated its ASC rival from the NCAA Tournament. The Crusaders took control by outscoring the Tigers 23-7 in the third quarter. Mary Hardin-Baylor's backcourt of Bethany McLeod and Arieona Rosborough combined for 32 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. The Crusaders (24-4) and Tigers (21-6) split their two regular season matchups and then missed each other in the ASC tournament when both list in the semifinals. 

Springfield will be the fourth team at that quadrant and you can read about the Pride's dramatic win as our Game of the Night.