FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
#1N SAINT JOSEPH'S 91, #2S JWU 90 (2OT)
STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (23-4) edged Johnson & Wales University (19-8), 91-90 in double-overtime, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinal at the Harold Alfond Center on Thursday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
In a contest featuring 14 lead changes and a whopping 27 tie scores where neither squad held a lead greater than five points, it seemed likely that the game would be decided in the closing seconds. This is precisely what happened, but several times over by both teams, before Saint Joseph's managed to just barely pull through with three free throws in the final 21 seconds.
The largest lead of the contest occurred early in the fourth quarter, when sophomore guard Julia Champagne (Brunswick, Maine) hit a layup, after pulling down an offensive board, to lift her team to a 60-55 advantage with 7:14 left in regulation. Johnson & Wales roared back with seven-consecutive points – including five from senior forward Kimberly Viafara (Woodside, N.Y.) – to claim a 62-60 edge with 4:32 on the clock.
The conference counterparts essentially traded buckets over the following four minutes before junior guard Kristen Habbel (Phoenixville, Pa.) and Viafara combined to go 4-4 from the FT line to provide the visitors with a 69-66 cushion and 26 seconds to play.
Down by three and the season on the line, sophomore guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) connected on perhaps the biggest shot of her career thus far, as the second-year standout took a pass from Champagne on the baseline and hit a game-tying three-pointer, while falling to her right, with 22 seconds to go.
The back and forth play continued in the first overtime frame and the Wildcats appeared to be headed to the GNAC final after Habbel nailed a three-pointer to put the visitors ahead, 81-78, with 12 seconds on the game clock. But once again, the Monks came up with a huge play as Champagne launched a deep trifecta, right in front of the SJC bench, to knot the game and force a second extra frame.
Viafara kicked off the second OT by netting all six of the Wildcats' points, as JWU led by an 87-84 margin before junior forward Brianne Maloney (South Portland, Maine) and McNamara hit four straight freebies to lift the Royal Blue to an 88-87 lead with 27 seconds left.
After committing a turnover on their next possession down the floor, the Wildcats were forced to foul and sought out Benway – who entered the game shooting around 40% from the stripe – to tag and send to the line. The strategy failed however, as the second-year starter calmly sank both free throws, extending the SJC lead to 90-87 with 21 seconds on the clock.
With four seconds to play, Johnson & Wales fouled Champagne, who strode to the line and made one of two attempts to make it a four-point (91-87) game. The late freebie proved to be pivotal, as Wildcats junior guard Raquel Pederzani (Coventry, R.I.) drained a buzzer-beater from near midcourt to account for the 91-90 final.
WHAT'S NEXT?
With the win, Saint Joseph's advances to the GNAC Championship for the fourth time in the last six seasons and look to defend the 2016 crown Saturday at 1:00 PM when the Monks host Emmanuel College in a rematch of last season's title bout.
Emmanuel defeated Norwich University in other GNAC semifinal action tonight in Boston.
With the loss, the Wildcats' 2016-17 season comes to a close.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- McNamara led all players with 31 points and was 5-13 from downtown with four rebounds and seven assists
- Benway tallied 16 points and 11 boards with three blocks, two assists, and a pair of steals
- Champagne contributed 14 points, nine caroms, and four assists
- Maloney came off the bench to provide nine points and five boards and was 5-6 from the FT line
- Junior forward Regan McFerran (Albany, N.Y.) chipped in with seven points and four rebounds and netted a pair of three-pointers in the first half
LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:
- Viafara capped her collegiate career with an impressive performance, as the senior netted 26 points with 12 rebounds and was 9-14 from the field
- Junior forward Ashley Thompson (Bellingham, Mass.) poured in 22 points and pulled down seven boards
- Pederzani notched a double-double with 18 points and 12 assists and hauled in seven rebounds
- Sophomore forward Ally Mishol (Longmeadow, Mass.) came off the bench to score 10 points in 11 minutes of play
Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications.
#1S EMMANUEL 74, #2N NORWICH 67
BOSTON, Mass. – Senior forward Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.) scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting to power No. 1 (S) Emmanuel College past No. 2 (N) Norwich University, 74-67, Thursday evening in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament Semifinals. The win lifts the Saints to 20-7 on the year marking the 22nd 20-win season in program history while the loss drops the Cadets to 16-11.
EC now advances to the GNAC Championship game this Saturday afternoon and will take on No. 1 (N) Saint Joseph's College (ME) in a rematch of last year's title game. It will be the program's 16th GNAC championship and first since 2013. The title game is set to tip at 1:00 PM.
Emmanuel opened the game on a 5-0 run and extended the lead to 12-4 following a pair of free throws by senior guard Olivia Marks (Canterbury, Conn.). Norwich responded with a 9-0 flurry fueled by four points from senior forward Leanna Winans (Hudson, N.H.) to give the visitors a 13-12 lead with 2:49 to play in the quarter. A pair of free throws by Chalk with 18 seconds left on the clock gave the Saints a 17-16 lead after one. Emmanuel scored six points off of turnovers in the quarter compared to seven second-chance points from the Cadets.
In the second quarter NU senior forward Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine) hit a layup early in the period to put the Cadets ahead 24-21 but Emmanuel answered with four straight points to go back on top 25-24 following a jumper in traffic by junior guard Alisha Fox (National Park, N.J.). Norwich senior guard Kayla Mercer (New Britain, Conn.) put the visitors back on top with a deep triple to make it 27-25 before EC responded with six unanswered to regain the 31-27 advantage with less than three minutes remaining in the half. The Saints carried a 37-32 lead into the half despite getting outrebounded 26-16 in the opening stanza.
Chalk led all scorers at the break with 11 points while Winans and LeBlanc each netted 10 points for Norwich.
After trading baskets early in the third quarter, Marks drained a three in transition to put Emmanuel ahead 46-39. On the next offensive possession EC junior guard Ryan Maynard (Bowie, Md.) connected on another triple to extend the lead to double-digits at 49-39 and the three party continued at the 5:18 mark as Maynard drilled a third three to bump the advantage to 52-39. The Saints continued to build the lead as a steal and fastbreak layup from Fox made it a 56-39 game. A jumper by rookie guard Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.) capped a 17-0 Emmanuel run to give Emmanuel a 58-39 cushion. Minutes later, another Weaver jumper made it 61-43 before Norwich closed out the quarter outscoring the hosts 6-2 to account for a 63-49 score heading into the final frame.
Leading by 15 with just over six minutes to play, Maynard hit a runner in the lane giving the hosts a 71-54 cushion. Back to back layups by LeBlanc cut into the EC lead to 71-60 with 3:34 to play and a three by junior Arianna Harrison (Vernon, Vt.) pulled the visitors within single digits at 71-63. With under a minute remaining Winans buried two free throws to pull Norwich to within seven points at 72-65 but EC was able to hold on for the 67-73 victory.
LeBlanc finished the game with a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds. Winans ended the night with 14 points while Mercer chipped in with 10 points.
For Emmanuel, Chalk added a team-best five rebounds to go with her 18 points while Marks finished the game with 12 points. Maynard registered a season-high 10 points.
Courtesy of Emmanuel Athletics Communications.