| Brianna Fitzgerald was her usual fantastic self in SUNY-New Paltz’s win on Saturday afternoon. SUNY New Paltz athletics file photo by Laurore Duclair |
SUNY New Paltz and Saint Mary’s (Minn.) fared better in their rematches with the ranked teams at the top of their conference while No. 7 Bowdoin took another step toward a second straight sweep through the NESCAC in Saturday’s Division III women’s basketball action.
After losing at Cortland in double-overtime earlier this season, SUNY New Paltz beat the Red Dragons, 57-55, and grabbed a share of first place in the SUNYAC.
The Hawks looked like they might have a comfortable victory when Karly Wittenbauer’s jumper staked New Paltz to a 47-34 lead early in the fourth quarter. But the Red Dragons pulled within four on Sam Dembinsky’s layup with a minute to play and then started fouling to extend the game. SUNY New Paltz went 4 for 10 from the foul line, keeping Cortland’s hopes alive, until time ran out on the Red Dragons’ rally.
Briana Fitzgerald posted 17 points and 14 assists in 40 minutes for New Paltz (17-2, 11-1 SUNYAC). Joleen Lusk scored 12 points for Cortland (16-3, 11-1 SUNYAC), which made just one of seven three-point attempts.
After just missing an upset win over Bethel a couple weeks ago, Saint Mary’s left no doubt in the rematch with the 24th ranked Royals. The Cardinals nearly doubled up Bethel at the half on their way to a 62-47 home victory. Saint Mary’s seized control with torrid second-quarter shooting, going 8 for 11 from the floor and 6 for 6 from the foul line. Rylie Sternquist filled the stat sheet with 20 points, five steals, four rebounds and two assists, while teammate Kali Olson had a dozen rebounds and a dozen points.
Bethel’s loss allowed Concordia-Moorhead to regain first place in the MIAC. Olivia Hanson came off the Cobbers’ bench and scored 16 points in their 66-59 win at Gustavus Adolphus, their first on the Gusties’ court since 2013. Concordia-Moorhead is once again a game up on Bethel, Saint Mary’s and St. Scholastica.
No. 7 Bowdoin held Amherst to nine fourth-quarter points and rallied past the Mammoths, 57-52, for their 19th straight conference win. Down two to start the fourth quarter, the Polar Bears held Amherst to 4-for-14 shooting in that period. Meanwhile, Abbie Quinn scored 10 points with a perfect showing from the field and the foul line in that period. She finished with a game-high 21 points for Bowdoin (17-1, 6-0 NESCAC), which effectively has a two-game lead on Bates and at least a three-game lead on everyone else with four left in the conference’s 10-game regular season.
No. 12 John Carroll hit a flurry of late threes, and the Blue Streaks pulled away from DePauw in University Heights, 59-50. Trailing by one at the half, the Blue Streaks opened the third period on a 10-0 run. Graci Semptiphelter’s three gave John Carroll a 46-39 lead midway through the fourth quarter, and then she found Brooke Laub for another three that put the game out of reach. Semptiphelter scored 17 for John Carroll (17-2, 6-2 NCAC), which shot 47 percent from three.
After scoring just 35 points in the first three periods, Hardin-Simmons scored 25 in the fourth and shot past East Texas Baptist, 60-52. Savannah Bennett scored a career-high 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds on her Senior Day for Hardin-Simmons (16-3, 2-0 ASC).
Colorado College stayed perfect in the SCAC with an impressive 62-50 win at Texas Lutheran on Saturday evening. Kayla Mackel scored 14 of her game-high 29 points in the second quarter, which the Tigers won 24-6. Colorado College outscored the Bulldogs 21-3 from behind the arc, as Mackel hit four 3-pointers on her own for the Tigers (15-4, 10-0 SCAC).
In other key conference clashes…
- Jayna Holley’s buzzer-beating layup lifted Cal Lutheran past Redlands, 68-66, in a matchup between SCIAC title contenders. The Bulldogs led 66-61 in the closing minutes before Sydney Heyn hit a three, and Alline Ballard tied the game with two free throws for CLU. AJ Wick paced Redlands (14-4, 7-4 SCIAC) with 26 points and eight rebounds, while Holley led the Regals (16-3, 8-2 SCIAC) with 20 points and four assists.
- Arcadia started fast and never looked back, and the Knights blew away Stevens, 84-64. Arcadia shot 57 percent from the field in the first half and led 47-15 at the break. Delaney Bell tallied 19 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for the Knights (13-6, 6-2 MACF) who sit one game behind conference leader DeSales.
- Allison Jarvis scored 21 points on just 13 shots, and Benedictine knocked off NACC leader St. Norbert, 77-65. The Eagles scored 30 points in the fourth quarter on 8-for-11 shooting with 11 free throws. The loss drops St. Norbert (12-6, 6-1 NACC) into a tie for first with Wisconsin Lutheran. The Warriors roughed up Illinois Tech, 70-29.
- Clark stayed hot with a 63-56 win at home over Coast Guard that keeps the Cougars perfect in NEWMAC play. Cyriah Coleman scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds for Clark (14-5, 5-0 NEWMAC), which remains tied for first with No. 6 Smith. The Bears downed Springfield, 66-47, thanks to 20 points, nine boards and six steals from Virginia Johnson.
- John Jay started its game at Hunter on a 16-0 run and went on to upset the Hawks, 89-70. The Bloodhounds, who lost to Hunter by 31 on January 7, were paced by Bryan Bascones (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Michaela Lattimore (17 points, 13 rebounds). John Jay (7-13, 5-4 CUNYAC) won its third straight while Hunter (14-6, 7-2) is now two games behind conference leader Brooklyn.