3-2-1: DeSales advances, Upsets across the NEWMAC, Key tournament semifinal games tonight
The WIAC, OAC, and Landmark Conference tip off their semifinal games this evening, setting up a huge day of D3 WBB
Good morning and welcome to another edition of The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops! We’re progressing through this week of conference tournaments, slowly picking up speed until it’s an all-out sprint when we hit Saturday. The NCAA Tournament field will be determined in just a few days, and last night brought us closer to that point. While not much happened that affected the at-large bid picture, we saw a number of conference title games finalized, upsets in the northeast, and a few great storylines. I’ll cover that all below, as we look towards a huge slate of conference semifinals (and even a tournament final) this afternoon and evening.
3 things that stood out
DeSales’ streak of conference finals appearances now at double digits
For the 10th straight year, DeSales is in the MAC Freedom title game. Talk about consistency. But that’s not even the most impressive part of the Bulldogs’ 43-41 win over top-seeded Lebanon Valley last night. What’s most impressive is that they weren’t expected to be in position to play for the league title yet again, not after struggling through an 8-6 campaign in MACF play, losing twice to Lebanon Valley in the regular season (including a Jan. 18 loss in which they mustered just 24 pts) and to King’s for the first time since 2020. But something clicked on Wednesday night. True to their defensive form, DeSales rose the occasion in the must-win environment on the road, holding an offense averaging 62.0 PPG to just 41. Truthfully, it was the upset that almost wasn’t. They entered the 4th quarter up by 12, but LVC made it a game late, and took a 41-37 lead with 2:13 left. Yet in a quarter in which DeSales made just three shots, all three came from junior Mikaili Donmoyer, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 37 seconds left that took DeSales from a one-point deficit to a two-point lead. LVC had no response. Donmoyer finished with 18 points, the offensive star on a night where DeSales’ defense generated key stops time and time again, including down the final stretch. We now get DeSales vs Stevens for the MACF title on Saturday, a rare No. 4 seed vs No. 3 seed matchup in a conference final. Stevens pulled off a similarly-impressive upset over No. 2 seed Arcadia, winning 83-72. LVC is the first No. 1 seed in any of the 43 conference tournaments this year to be eliminated.
Brockport, Nazareth broke multiple Empire 8 Tournament records
If you wanted high-scoring basketball, Brockport and Nazareth more than delivered on Wednesday evening. In one of the more highly-anticipated matchups of the night, with a spot in the Empire 8 title game at stake, the scoring came early. The two combined for an E8 Tournament-record 26 3s (Brockport - 14, Nazareth - 12) and 36 offensive rebounds, resulting in the highest-scoring regulation contest in the league tournament’s 22-year history. They combined for 179 points as Brockport punched its ticket to the championship game in a 93-89 win. It sets up a unique situation in Saturday’s E8 Final, where both teams—Brockport and SUNY Geneseo—are in their first year of membership in the league, having moved over from the SUNYAC. And Brockport now finds itself on the doorstep of history, having last made the NCAA Tournament in 2009. At 24-3, the Golden Eagles are in the midst of their best season in program history, and need just one win to clinch the automatic qualifier to the national tournament. Even with a loss on Saturday, Brockport’s path to a bid via an at-large berth appears very probable after picking up the win over Nazareth.
Upsets galore in the NEWMAC
We had three true upsets, and nearly one more, as three of the top four seeds in the NEWMAC saw their seasons draw to an abrupt close in the quarterfinal round. No. 7 WPI had the biggest upset in terms of seeds, downing second-seeded Babson in a 60-54 win. WPI broke Babson’s streak of 15 consecutive NEWMAC semifinal appearances in the process, as the Engineers won their fifth straight. No. 6 MIT also came away with a narrow win, taking down Springfield in OT, 70-65. MIT is now 3-1 against Springfield in postseason action. And Salve Regina, the No. 5 seed, also got an upset over Emerson, winning 93-87 in a game highlighted by two players. Salve’s Amanda Folan put up 36 points, including five at the free throw line in the final minute, while Emerson’s Bri Frongillo ended her season with a 38-point outburst. And Smith, ranked No. 9 in the country, found itself in a tied game with Coast Guard at the 4:31 mark of the fourth quarter. But the Pioneers survived, going on a 9-2 run that essentially put the game away.
2 storylines to watch for tonight
This week’s first AQ to be awarded in the Big Apple: The CUNYAC final tips off tonight at 6 p.m. ET, officially giving us our second team in the 2025 NCAA Tournament (NYU already won the UAA’s automatic bid). No. 3 seed Brooklyn faces No. 1 Hunter, aiming to be the first team this season to upend Hunter on its home floor. The Hawks (20-5, 13-1 CUNYAC) are a flawless 11-0 on their home court this season, but get this…their lone loss of conference play came to Brooklyn. And it wasn’t close. Brooklyn won 68-47 back on Feb. 4, which adds a huge storyline to this conference final. The last time Hunter won the league came in 2019, and it’s the only instance in the last 20 years in which the Hawks have gone dancing in the NCAA Tournament.
Upset watch: Western New England on high alert: If I was picking an upset tonight, Western New England’s CNE semifinal against the University of New England would go to the top of my list. Yes, WNE will be hungry coming off a five-point loss to Endicott in the regular season finale, but UNE’s recent form has been notable, winning five of the last six (and that loss came in OT). But more importantly, UNE is one of just two teams to have beaten WNE this season, doing so back on Jan. 4. The second meeting went down to the wire as well, a 63-56 WNE win. There’s no reason to think tonight will be any different. And bubble teams, watch closely. A WNE loss would result in WNE stealing an at-large bid, pushing at least one team outside the at-large picture. In terms of games involving potential “bid thieves”, this one ranks high.
1 Stat
6 conference title games are now set, with 12 teams having clinched their spots in what will be enormously-important championships on Saturday. Those six conference finals determined last night were in the UMAC (#1 UW-Superior vs #2 Northwestern (MN)), the NJAC (#1 TCNJ vs #2 Montclair State), the MAC Freedom (#3 Stevens vs #4 DeSales), the MAC Commonwealth (#1 Messiah vs #2 Widener), the Atlantic East (#1 Immaculata vs #3 Neumann), and the Empire 8 (#1 Brockport vs #2 Geneseo).
Games to Watch (all rankings are per the D3hoops.com Top 25, times are ET)
Albertus Magnus at St. Joseph’s (ME) | GNAC semifinal | 5:30 p.m.
Capital at No. 7 Baldwin Wallace | OAC semifinal | 7 p.m.
No. 15 Catholic at No. 16 Elizabethtown | Landmark semifinal | 7 p.m.
University of New England at Western New England | CNE semifinal | 7:30 p.m.
UW-La Crosse at No. 10 UW-Oshkosh | WIAC semifinal | 8 p.m.
No. 25 UW-Whitewater at No. 22 UW-Stout | WIAC semifinal | 8 p.m.