Mar 07, 2015
MADISON, N.J. -- Sophomore guard Alyssa McDonough tallied 19 of her team-high 28 points in the 2nd half and No. 4 Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham surged out of a three-point halftime lead on the way to a 91-75 victory over the University of New England in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship on Saturday evening (Mar. 7) at the Ferguson Recreation Center.
The Devils (28-1) -- last season's national champion -- move into the Sweet 16 where they will take on either SUNY Geneseo or Muhlenberg College next Friday.
The Nor'easters finish the year with a 24-6 mark and a third straight appearance in the NCAA Round of 32. Each of the last two times, the team advancing past UNE has reached the Final Four.
McDonough nearly recorded a triple-double for the hosts, collecting 10 rebounds and dishing out eight assists to go with her point total, which included an 11-of-11 effort at the free throw line. Senior guards Kara Dayon, Kyra Dayon, and Leigh-Ann Lively notched 16 points, 11 points and 11 boards, and 10 points, respectively. Junior guard Alicia Cox had 12 points in support.
Junior forward Shalette Brown (8 points) had 10 of her 16 rebounds on the offensive end, accounting for half of her team's total (20) and helping the Devils to a 54-35 advantage on the glass. FDU, which shot 37 percent in the contest, posted a 23-0 cushion in second-chance points.
For Big Blue, senior Kelly Coleman dropped in a season-best 28 points and secured nine caroms. Junior Meghan Gribbinhad 18 points and five assists, and classmate Sadie DiPierro tossed in five treys to conclude with 17 points and six rebounds. Junior Lauren Hayden corralled a team-high 11 boards.
The Nor'easters connected on 45 percent of their field goal tries in the match.
UNE did not trail during the opening 14 minutes of the game, and used a 12-4 run around the middle of the frame to build a 23-13 edge.
The Devils rallied in short order, though, with 13 points in 87 seconds to take a 28-27 lead. Lively was responsible for the last seven in the stretch, with back-to-back three-pointers and a plus-one on the second hoop. After trading a few baskets, FDU-Florham scored 10 of the ensuing 12 to go up 40-33, but settled for just a 42-39 cushion at the break.
UNE head coach Anthony Ewing was pleased with his team's performance in the stanza. "We took great care of the basketball (just 4 TO's) and did some things defensively that made it tough on them. We were aggressive on offense which led to some baskets down low, as well as on the perimeter."
FDU, however, started the 2nd session with a 12-2 run in 2:45 to extend to a 54-41 advantage. Cox and McDonough split the first 10 of the span.
The difference peaked at 19 (66-47) with 11:33 left, and was still 15 when Coleman, DiPierro, and a three-point play from Gribbin pulled the Nor'easters to within eight (75-67) with 2:09 remaining. It was as close as the visitors would get, as the Devils made 16-of-18 at the charity stripe the rest of the way.
Ewing cited the beginning of the period as one of the deciding factors. "FDU-Florham was able to get off to a great start in the first few minutes after halftime. They forced some turnovers, which led to some easy baskets and really got their crowd into the game. From there, it snowballed a bit and they were able to get it to double digits fairly quickly."
Still, the Big Blue coach could reflect positively on the year as a whole. "It goes without saying that I am so pleased with this group. As the preseason favorite in the Commonwealth Coast Conference, we knew everyone would be gunning for us each and every time out. To win our third straight conference championship and a third consecutive first-round game at the NCAA Championship is something for us to be very proud of."
Coleman capped her 118-game career with the outing, finishing 5th on the program's all-time scoring list (1,508), 8th in rebounds (762), 7th in field goals (548), and 5th in free throws (364), and afterwards, Ewing also spoke to her years in Biddeford. "Kelly had one of the finest careers of any player to ever wear a UNE uniform. Obviously, her stats and accomplishments speak to her abilities, but the fact that she was an integral part of four teams that advanced to the NCAA Championship ultimately defines her contributions. Kelly is a winner, plain and simple."
The senior class of Coleman and Kendra Dawless saw the program amass a 98-20 record in their time, including 67-5 in CCC games and 59-4 at home.
The Devils (28-1) -- last season's national champion -- move into the Sweet 16 where they will take on either SUNY Geneseo or Muhlenberg College next Friday.
The Nor'easters finish the year with a 24-6 mark and a third straight appearance in the NCAA Round of 32. Each of the last two times, the team advancing past UNE has reached the Final Four.
McDonough nearly recorded a triple-double for the hosts, collecting 10 rebounds and dishing out eight assists to go with her point total, which included an 11-of-11 effort at the free throw line. Senior guards Kara Dayon, Kyra Dayon, and Leigh-Ann Lively notched 16 points, 11 points and 11 boards, and 10 points, respectively. Junior guard Alicia Cox had 12 points in support.
Junior forward Shalette Brown (8 points) had 10 of her 16 rebounds on the offensive end, accounting for half of her team's total (20) and helping the Devils to a 54-35 advantage on the glass. FDU, which shot 37 percent in the contest, posted a 23-0 cushion in second-chance points.
For Big Blue, senior Kelly Coleman dropped in a season-best 28 points and secured nine caroms. Junior Meghan Gribbinhad 18 points and five assists, and classmate Sadie DiPierro tossed in five treys to conclude with 17 points and six rebounds. Junior Lauren Hayden corralled a team-high 11 boards.
The Nor'easters connected on 45 percent of their field goal tries in the match.
UNE did not trail during the opening 14 minutes of the game, and used a 12-4 run around the middle of the frame to build a 23-13 edge.
The Devils rallied in short order, though, with 13 points in 87 seconds to take a 28-27 lead. Lively was responsible for the last seven in the stretch, with back-to-back three-pointers and a plus-one on the second hoop. After trading a few baskets, FDU-Florham scored 10 of the ensuing 12 to go up 40-33, but settled for just a 42-39 cushion at the break.
UNE head coach Anthony Ewing was pleased with his team's performance in the stanza. "We took great care of the basketball (just 4 TO's) and did some things defensively that made it tough on them. We were aggressive on offense which led to some baskets down low, as well as on the perimeter."
FDU, however, started the 2nd session with a 12-2 run in 2:45 to extend to a 54-41 advantage. Cox and McDonough split the first 10 of the span.
The difference peaked at 19 (66-47) with 11:33 left, and was still 15 when Coleman, DiPierro, and a three-point play from Gribbin pulled the Nor'easters to within eight (75-67) with 2:09 remaining. It was as close as the visitors would get, as the Devils made 16-of-18 at the charity stripe the rest of the way.
Ewing cited the beginning of the period as one of the deciding factors. "FDU-Florham was able to get off to a great start in the first few minutes after halftime. They forced some turnovers, which led to some easy baskets and really got their crowd into the game. From there, it snowballed a bit and they were able to get it to double digits fairly quickly."
Still, the Big Blue coach could reflect positively on the year as a whole. "It goes without saying that I am so pleased with this group. As the preseason favorite in the Commonwealth Coast Conference, we knew everyone would be gunning for us each and every time out. To win our third straight conference championship and a third consecutive first-round game at the NCAA Championship is something for us to be very proud of."
Coleman capped her 118-game career with the outing, finishing 5th on the program's all-time scoring list (1,508), 8th in rebounds (762), 7th in field goals (548), and 5th in free throws (364), and afterwards, Ewing also spoke to her years in Biddeford. "Kelly had one of the finest careers of any player to ever wear a UNE uniform. Obviously, her stats and accomplishments speak to her abilities, but the fact that she was an integral part of four teams that advanced to the NCAA Championship ultimately defines her contributions. Kelly is a winner, plain and simple."
The senior class of Coleman and Kendra Dawless saw the program amass a 98-20 record in their time, including 67-5 in CCC games and 59-4 at home.