| Jaedon Murphy and the rest of Wartburg were on fire from outside the arc in Saturday night's second round Tournament game at Hope. Photo by Ben Woods, Wartburg athletics |
Wartburg guaranteed that Division III will have a new national champion by knocking Hope out of the Tournament, while Rhode Island College ended No. 3 Scranton’s perfect season in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament.
No. 24 Wartburg buried No. 7 Hope in a barrage of three pointers and eliminated the defending national champions from the Tournament, 81-67. The Knights hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter and then poured it on the second, knocking down six of eight shots from behind the arc. Sara Faber scored 11 points in that period alone and Wartburg took a 41-25 lead to the locker room.
The Flying Dutch got as close as six points on Savannah Feenstra’s layup in the closing minute of the third period. But Wartburg went 6-for-9 from the field and nine for 14 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, and kept Hope at bay the rest of the way.
Wartburg (23-6) shot 54 percent from the field and even better (58 percent) from three. Britney Young had 15 points on five 3-pointers while Faber finished with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, four blocks and four steals.
The number of undefeated teams in Division III basketball was cut from three to two as Rhode Island College rallied past No. 3 Scranton, 62-55.
Scranton started the game slow and trailed 18-10 after one period, but the Lady Royals came back to take the lead in the third quarter and held a 43-39 advantage entering the final period. The Anchorwomen opened that quarter on a 9-0 run capped by Madison Medbury’s jumper that put RIC in front, 48-43. Scranton briefly regained its footing and pulled within 48-46 on Bridget Monaghan’s three-point play midway through the quarter. But Rhode Island College scored the next eight points and eventually put the game away on Jada Bing’s layup with 28 seconds to play.
Madison Medbury posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Rhode Island College (25-3). Bridget Monaghan scored 34 points in 38 minutes for Scranton (28-1).
The other two undefeated teams fared better in their second-round games.
No. 1 Christopher Newport led almost from start to finish and took care of Elizabethtown, 65-55. The Captains Chaos defense allowed as many field goals as turnovers (19) and Sondra Fan led CNU’s typically balanced attack with 13 points. The Captains, who played without Preseason All-American Anaya Simmons, got 10 rebounds from Katy Rader. Christopher Newport (28-0) also had its men’s team advance to the Sweet 16 and the men have hosting priority for the second weekend of the tournament this season, so the sectional will be held at Tufts.
No. 2 Transylvania surged past No. 18 Millikin in the fourth quarter for a 71-59 home victory over the Big Blue. The Pioneers outscored Millikin 25-13 in the final period, shooting 62 percent (8 for 13) from the field. Madison Kellione led four Transy starters in double figures with 19 points and six assists. position to host one of next weekend’s sectionals. Elyce Knudsen scored 14 points for Millikin (24-4) on 7-for-21 shooting. Transylvania (28-0) is slated to host one of next weekend’s sectionals.
The bracket’s top seed was nearly eliminated before No. 4 Smith rallied to edge St. John Fisher, 65-64. The Cardinals took a 62-56 lead on Smith when Katie Moravec drained a jumper with 3:25 to play. Morgan Morrison answered with a layup, Jessie Ruffner made two free throws and Morrison scored again for the Pioneers, tying the game at 62 with two minutes remaining. After St. John Fisher scored, Morrison put Smith up 65-64 with a three-point play. The Cardinals called time out in the final minute and tried to set up a play, but Ally Yamada swiped the ball and sealed Smith’s win.
Morrison paced the Pioneers (28-1) with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Sidney Tomasso led four starters in double figures for St. John Fisher (26-3) with 18 points.
No. 5 Trinity (Texas) lived up to its name and defeated No. 12 Hardin-Simmons for the third time this season, this time eliminating the Cowgirls from the Tournament, 88-69. Maggie Shipley poured in 30 points on 13-for-18 shooting for the Tigers who outscored Hardin-Simmons 50-34 in the paint.
In the first Top 25 matchup of the night, No. 6 New York University used its speed and athleticism to run past No. 11 Messiah, 62-39. After Messiah scored the first four points of the game, the Violets scored the next 14 and were not threatened the rest of the way. Jenny Walker scored 24 points on 9 for 17 shooting and Belle Pellecchia added a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) for NYU (24-2).
The Violets will face No. 14 Trine next since the Thunder defeated No. 15 Loras, 60-54. After trailing 34-25 at the break, Trine clamped down on defense and held the Duhawks to 2-for-11 shooting in the third period, allowing the Thunder to tie the game at 43 entering the fourth quarter. The Thunder held Loras scoreless for the first 4:18 of that period and gradually built an eight-point lead. The Duhawks pulled within two with 16 seconds left on Cierra Bachmann's three-pointer but Wagner calmly sank four free throws in two possessions and finished off Trine's win.
Four Ohio Northern starters scored double figures, and the 16th ranked Polar Bears defeated UW-Oshkosh, 71-60. Brynn Serbin filled the stat sheet with 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Ohio Northern (25-4). The Polar Bears offense posted a stellar 19 assists against just turnovers.
Both NESCAC schools won their second round matchups in the first two finals of the night.
No. 20 Trinity (Conn.) held off Cortland, 64-59, to secure its first trip to the Sweet 16 in program history. The Bantams grabbed control with a 16-6 third quarter in which they held the Red Dragons to one field goal until the closing minutes of the period. Reilly Campbell paced Trinity (24-5) with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Emily capped a strong weekend with 19 points for Cortland (24-5).
No. 21 Tufts kept its run of Sweet 16 appearances going by beating Skidmore, 59-50. The Jumbos held Skidmore to 17 field goals against 21 turnovers and got another All-American performance from Maggie Russell, who led all players in points (23), rebounds (16) and steals (five).
Saturday night was rough all around for the Upstate New York teams. Kelly Walsh scored 24 points in 40 minutes and Samantha Smith added a double-double (18 points, 14 rebounds) as No. 13 Babson eliminated SUNY New Paltz, 76-66. Marietta rallied for the second night in a row, this time scoring an upset at No. 19 Ithaca, 44-42. The Pioneers won the game on Devin Heffner's free throws with three seconds remaining.
Mary Washington got a double-double from Jordan Carpenter (23 points, 14 rebounds) and a second-round Tournament win at No. 8 DeSales, 75-69. The Eagles shot 50 percent from the field and had a 30-8 bench scoring advantage. Mary Washington will face Smith at Smith.