Mar 04, 2011
The Saint Vincent women's basketball team saw its season come to an end with an 83-66 defeat to Greensboro College in the opening round of the 2011 NCAA Division-III National Tournament, hosted by Juniata College.
The Bearcats, who wrap up the season 24-5, were unable to counter a hot-shooting Greensboro squad, as the Pride shot 55 percent for the game – including a 10-for-17 showing (59 percent) from long range.
Brittany Sedlock led the way for Saint Vincent with 18 points, to go with seven rebounds, and was one of three double-figure scorers for the Bearcats, as Maria Baroffio scored 11 points in her final game in green and gold, and Emily Fenton 10.
Saint Vincent got off to a good start, opening up a 5-4 lead three minutes into play, and the teams would continue to share the lead until the Pride used an 8-2 run over a four-minute span to go in front 16-12 with 13:48 remaining in the half.
A Melissa Mansur basket brought the Bearcats back to within two, 16-14, with just under 13 minutes left, but Greensboro then looked to the outside, nailing three-pointers on three consecutive possessions, with two from Chevena Pickard; to open up a 24-16 advantage with 10:39 left.
Saint Vincent would then commit turnovers on four of its next five possessions, allowing the Pride to open up their first double-digit lead of the night, 31-20, with 5:49 remaining. A Mansur three, followed by a Baroffio lay up, would close the deficit to six, 31-25, with 4:02 left, but the Bearcats would go ice cold, as Greensboro would end the half on an 11-0 run to take a commanding 42-25 halftime lead.
In the first half, the Bearcats shot 11-for-22 from the field and 3-for-5 from long distance, but were hampered by turnovers, as they committed 17 miscues, three more than their season average for an entire game. Greensboro was just as deadly from the floor, going 16-for-28 overall and 5-for-9 from long range, and cashed in on the SVC mistakes, scoring 18 points off the Bearcat turnovers.
Greensboro would hit a three-pointer on its first possession of the second frame to go in front 45-25, but the Bearcats would counter in a big way.
A free throw and a fadeaway jumper from Devin McGrath, followed by a long three-pointer from Baroffio, would cut the deficit to 45-33 with 18 minutes left. Sedlock then took over, cashing in on a conventional three-point play, followed by bucketing a lay up off a spinning post move, to pull SVC back to within 10, 48-38, with 17:07 to go.
Momentum then swung the way of the Pride, with Greensboro scoring six straight points to increase its advantage to 54-38 with 14:17 left. The run was halted by a long Mansur three at the 14-minute mark, and then McGrath scored six points in a two-minute span to make the score 61-49 GC with 10:40 left.
Two free throws from Sedlock would pull SVC closer, 64-55, with 7:06 remaining, and then Baroffio's second three of the night, with 6:23 to go, would bring the Bearcats to within eight, 66-58.
The eight-point deficit was as close as the Bearcats would get, however, with the Pride cashing in from the free throw line down the stretch, making 10 freebies over the final four minutes to hold off the Bearcat comeback attempt and advance to the second round of the National Tournament.
Greensboro had four players score in double figures, led by the duo of Danielle Duncan and Adrienne Terrell, who each posted 20 points. Duncan was 4-for-6 from the floor and 12-for-14 from the foul line, while Terrell went 7-for-8 from the floor and was perfect in four three-point attempts. Chevena Pickard added 17 points and Nikki Wilborn 12 points and a team-high seven assists for the Pride.
Despite the huge first half turnover discrepancy, the Bearcats committed just one more than Greensboro for the game, 23-22. SVC also had 15 steals on the evening, led by five apiece from McGrath and Sedlock.
The 24 wins from the Bearcats are third most in a single season, trailing only teams from 1999-2000 (26) and 1994-95 (25).
Greensboro (27-2) will play Juniata, the winner of Friday's second opening round bout with Gallaudet, on Saturday at 5:30.
Greensboro (27-2) will play Juniata, the winner of Friday's second opening round bout with Gallaudet, on Saturday at 5:30.