Seton Hill 73, Fayetteville State 64
(ERIE, PA)---Seton Hill (23-7) connected on a season-high 14 three-pointers to knock out Fayetteville State 73-64 in a first round NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional contest.
Jenna Petrini's three-pointer as the shot clock expired snapped the ninth and final tie of the night and gave Seton Hill a 56-53 lead with 7:14 to play. Three more trifecas, two by Jordan Burkes and another by Petrini, allowed the Griffins to pull away down the stretch.
Burkes led all scorers with 19 points. Katie Lintner added 16, while point guard Orit Farchi contributed 13 points and 8 assists for SHU.
Fayetteville State (20-10) used their size advantage to keep the game close. The Broncos held a 50-38 rebounding edge and outscored SHU 42-14 in the paint.
L'oreal Price tallied a team-high 16 points for FSU. Tiffany Haywood had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Deja Middleton had 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
The first half saw the teams exchange runs. Seton Hill broke out on top 12-2, but Fayetteville State responded with a 17-2 run to take a 19-14 lead.
Three-pointers by Anne Marie Olesky, Farchi, and Lintner sparked 13-3 Seton Hill burst that gave Seton Hill a 35-27 edge, but Faytteville State got longballs of their own by LaQuasha Jordan and Price to narrow the gap to 35-33 at intermission.
Joya Whittington pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for Seton Hill. The Griffins, who are making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament, now face unbeaten and top-ranked Gannon in Saturday's 7:00 p.m. semifinal.
Gannon 92, Fairmont State 65
(ERIE, PA)---Top-ranked Gannon (34-0) closed the opening half with a resounding 36-10 run to eliminate Fairmont State (22-10) 92-65 in an opening round NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional contest.
The defeat spoiled a fantastic effort by Falcon senior guard Ashley Vavrek during her final collegiate contest. The Bellaire, OH native poured in a game-high 39 points on 14 of 23 shooting. Vavrek also hit on 8-for-13 from long range, the second highest made three-pointer total in a Division II women's post-season game.
However, it was Gannon's balanced attack that carried the day. Carrie Nolan led the Golden Knights with 27 points, Brittany Tabron added 19, and Kim Vargas ended with 16.
Gannon also owned a massive 49-23 rebounding edge. Tabron ripped down a game-high 15 boards, including nine of the offensive variety. Kristina Freeman chipped in 13 rebounds to go with 9 points.
FSU, the WVIAC Tournament champion, was within 14-13 midway through the first half. Gannon then ripped off eight straight points to push the edge to 22-13.
The lead grew reached double digits at 26-16 at the 6:48 mark when a 14-1 spurt broke the contest open.
Fairmont State, which trailed 50-23 at intermission, closed to within 71-53 with 8:15 to play. However, that was as close as the Falcons could get.
Rachel Murray and Kaitlin Snyder added 7 points each for the Falcons. Murray also grabbed a team-best 8 rebounds for FSU.
Millersville 66, West Liberty 50
(CALIFORNIA, PA)---Millersville forced a season-worst 30 West Liberty turnovers en route to a 66-50 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional.
The Toppers entered the contest as Division II's third-highest scoring team, but they were limited to a season-low in points by the sticky Millersville defense. West Liberty only connected on 2 of 16 three-pointers and 6 of 15 free throws in the defeat.
Millersville received balanced scoring with 11 points by Mashira Newman and 10 points each from Jenna Craig and Emily Balogh. Newman also grabbed eight rebounds to help the Marauders own a 44-37 rebounding edge.
West Liberty's Andi Winney recorded a game-high 24 points. The senior center hit on 11 of 12 field goals and grabbed seven rebounds. Tori Hansen and Laura Malernee each added 8 points.
Millersville tallied the game's first points on a Newman bucket in the paint and the Marauders never trailed. The contest was tied on three occasions with MU taking the lead for good at 16-14 on a pair of Dominique Stroman free throws.
The lead grew to as many as 12 in the opening half before West Liberty ended the half on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 29-26 at the break.
The Marauders notched an 14-3 run early in the second half to push the lead back to 14. WL responded with one final burst to get within 48-42, but Millersville scored the next six to blunt the Topper rally.
NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Atlantic Regional
March 12-15
Friday, March 12 (first round)
G1: #1 Gannon 92, #8 Fairmont State 65
G2: #5 Seton Hill 73, #4 Fayetteville State 64
G3: #2 California (PA) 72, #7 Virginia State 60
G4: #6 Millersville 66, #3 West Liberty 50
Saturday, March 13 (semifinals)
G5: Seton Hill at Gannon 7:00 p.m.
G6: Millersville at California (PA) 7:00 p.m.
Monday, March 15
G7: Winner G5 vs. Winner G6 (@ highest remaining seed)