The Guru NCAAW Conference Tourney Report: Fairfield and Quinnipiac Head for MAAC Showdown; Drexel Advances to CAA Semis; Penn and Princeton Lose Ivy Semis

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

ATLANTIC  CITY, N.J. – In a building known for decades as the place where Miss America was crowned annually, Fairfield coach Carly Thibault-Dudonis, who’s top-seeded Stags (27-4) eked out a 49-48 win over upstart Mount St. Mary’s (15-16), began her post game statement Friday at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament semifinals with a smile and proclaiming “we’re not pretty.

“I’m really proud of the grittiness and resilience that our team showed to pull out that win. This time of the year it doesn’t have to be pretty, but we had just incredible toughness down the stretch.”

Still, with a team that ripped through the conference unmolested a year ago and kept the string going until No. 2 Quinnipiac landed a defeat last Saturday at home in Hamden, Conn., to the Stags fanbase no matter how the finish appeared, it was a thing of beauty.

The way it has gone for No. 1 seeds at mid-majors this week, eight of them had failed to claim trophies two days before the tournament committee meeting in Indianapolis unveils the 68-team filed and draw Sunday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN, and it could have easily been 10, Montana State winning the Big Sky on a putback at the buzzer.

 Fairfield seemed ripe to join the victim’s list losing a late lead after the Mountaineers rang off nine straight points leading to Anna LeMaster’s second-chance 3-pointer to move ahead 45-44 with 29 seconds left.

But on the next possession, the Stags reclaimed the advantage on Kaety L’Amoreaux’s reverse driving layup in the paint with 13 seconds left in regulation.

The Stags defense with a theft by L’Amoreaux then did its job.

Yet it was not exactly over, she missed the second of a two-shot foul, but Meghan Andersen, the MAAC freshman of the year last season, grabbed the rebound,  the Mountaineers were forced to foul, and she made both from the lane.

The three-point lead was enough to grab the slight differential that remained after the shot from the opposition before time expired.

“There really wasn’t anything going through my head,” L’Amoreaux said of the winning play. “Just if my teammates are open I’m going to hit them, but they gave me the lane and I took it.”

Thibault-Dudonis laud the growth in her player’s game if the situation had happened earlier in the season.

 In the second game after a mixed start with MAAC newbie Merrimack, the new kid on the block in conference freshman and player of the year Gal Raviv continued to make Quinnipiac look like the return  of the old kid on the block and the Bob Cats went on to a 65-51 victory as the Israeli guard sensation poured 23 points, with five boards, three helpers, and three steals.

So round three is set for all the marbles at 1:30 p.m. Saturday here at Jim  Whelan Boadwalk Hall (ESPNU) after each nipped the other on their home courts during the season.

“Gal has made such a difference in our progam,” said Quinnipiac coach Trish Sacca Fabbri, a native of Delran, N.J., in suburban Philadelphia. “She’s elevated us back to those other great team.

“We knew what we were getting when we were recruiting her and then we went overseas to watch her play. Better than advertised.”

This MAAC championship on Saturday is one anticipated all season.

“This Fairfield team has been so good this year,” Fabbri said.  “But I think if you go back and look how under-rated if you look at the history of women’s basketball in the MAAC.

“We’ve received an (automatic qualifier and also at-large bid.). We’ve had Marist get to a Sweet 16, Quinnipiac, the great run by Fairfield,” she continued.

“This is exactly what you want. I know it’s called mid-major, these are two heavyweights, under rated where their talk is. I know we’re not going to get an at-large, you got to win in March when you are mid-major but these are two programs.

“Tomorrow, I don’t think anyone wanted anything else. They want to see Fairfield and Quinnipiac, the two best teams who have been leading the charge, set the standard in the conference, playing  for a title.”

In the Friday opener, Fairfield’s Raiana Brown scored 13 points, the only Stag in double figures, while Andersen scored nine and L’Amoreaux grabbed nine rebounds.

Mount St. Mary’s, the fourth seed, which beat the Bob Cats during the season and nearly won here Saturday against the other top dog, got 14 points from Giana Hoddinott, while Jo Raflo scored 10.

This is the Mountaineers’ third year in the league, whose recent shuffles are given less attention than the the musical chairs undergone by the Power 4.

CAA: Drexel Advances; Delaware Era Ends; Top Seed  N. Carolina A&T Upset

Might four-seed Drexel make it two straight conference  titles in a row?

After using a double bye in the Coastal Athletic Association, Drexel had some help from nine-seed William & Mary (13-18) which took out No. 1 North Carolina A&T (19-11) by dancing their way to a 74-66 overtime triumph in the quarterfinals at the WNBA Washington Mystics’ CareFirst Arena in the nation’s capital.

The Tribe  are the first nine seed to get to the semifinals since 2019 and they did it by having Monet Dance tie a CAA tourney record 7-for-9 from deep leading to a career-high 27 points, while Cassidy Geddes tied a personal best with 26 points and added seven boards and five helpers.

That was enough to overcome an Aggies attack in which Paris Locke scored 16 points, and Jordyn Dorsey and Chaniya Clark each scored 13 points.

Next up were the Dragons (17-12), which a year ago strung a  four-day run as a seventh seed using several close victories including a payback  to relatively new member Monmouth.

The winners in the opener seemed to show overtime and career highs might be the ticket and used the combo to take out the fifth-seed Hawks (6-15) again, this time 70-67 as graduate transfer Cara McCormack from the Patriot League champion Holy Cross squad scored a personal best 26 points.

Amaris Baker, who had been the leading scorer in the league, was down in production but still added 10 points and nine boards while Deja Evans had 10 points, seven boards, and four blocked shots.

Damariz Rodriguez scored 17 points and Belle Kranbuhl had 13 points and nine rebounds.

“Any time the first day of your tournament you win in overtime, I’m so proud of our group,” said Drexel coach Amy Mallon, whose team upset long-time rival Delaware in the championship game of the 2021 tourney. “Collectively, we make each other better.

“Monmouth is a tough team but we had Cara step up and do what leaders do, she was saying, ‘I’m not going to finish this way.’”

“I always credit my teammates, getting me open, setting screens for me,” McCormack said. “Amaris always attracts so much defensive attention, which gets me open, so credit t them.

“That’s been the story of our season this year, playing close games and executing down the stretch.”

Drexel will meet William & Mary Saturday at 2 p.m. on FloSports.

On the other side of the bracket, Delaware, which once owned the league with a high-scoring star Elena DelleDonne who was Caitlin Clark before Caitlin Clark, had the history books  close on the seventh-seeded Blue Hens (13-16), whose second half of the season was better, by second-seeded Charleston 87-49.

This summer Delaware is switching membership to Conference-USA, though Drexel and the Hens are discussing keeping the relationship open in non-conference play.

Charleston (24-6) defensed coach Sarah Jenkins’ team into 27 turnovers and outscored the Hens 38-2 in transition.

Taryn Barbot scored 24 points with seven boards and four assists, while Taylor Barbot scored 12.

Delaware’s Tara Cousins scored 16 points with a pair of steals and assists and Rebecca Demeke scored 12 points.

“We were terrible. That’s all  I got. But very proud of our kids.”

Charlotte will be in the 4:30 p.m. semifinals playing third-seeded Campbell (20-11), which exploded with 27 points in the third-quarter on the way to a 73-54 win over 11th-seeded Towson (12-20).

Amy Fuller scored 14 for the Camels, who stayed over the hump with 11 points from Courtney  Courtney Dahlquist and 10 from reserve Clara Alexander.

The title game is one of four early Sunday finishing up several hours before the NCAA tournament is trotted out at 8 p.m. The semifinal winners will meet at 2 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network.

Penn and Princeton Lose Close in Ivy Semifinals

Like a year ago when Penn almost upset its nearest rival top-seeded Princeton in the Ivy Madness tournament, this time the Quakers threatened top seeded Columbia at Brown’s Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

After being handled by the three teams above  them in the two-games each in the Ancient Eight, this time the Quakers (15-13) threatened the quest of getting three Ivy teams in the NCAA tourney for the first time losing 60-54.

As it is, the goal may be in jeopardy anyway because Princeton after two wins over Harvard, one at the buzzer at Jadwin Gym, lost to the Crimson 70-67.

Harvard (23-4) and Columbia (23-5), who split their two games, will meet for the Ivy Madness crown and automatic NCAA bid on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

It’s the third time in four seasons Columbia is playing for the title, but this is the first time the Lions finished first outright either before or since the Ivy playoffs launched in 2017 at The Palestra.

Senior Stina Almqvist had 17 points for Penn with three boards an assist and three steals.

The native of Sweden finished her Quakers career with 1,110 points and 500 rebounds,  while sophomore Mataya Gayle scored 12 points and freshman Katie Collins had 10 points, five boards and a block.

“The effort was there, I couldn’t be prouder, we hung in there and gave ourselves an opportunity to win,” said Penn coach Mike McLaughlin.

Maybe it isn’t all over yet. Should Three Ivies be taken into the NCAAs with the automaticc bid, perhaps Penn might get an invite to the 32-team WNIT.

Susie Raifiu equaled her career best 16 points for Columbia, while getting 10 rebounds.

Cecelia Collins and Kitty Henderson each scored 10 points.

“I thought Penn played great tonight,” said Columbia coach Meghan Griffith, a native of King of Prussia, who has turned her alma mater into a force in the league. “They clearly wanted to speed us up and be physical with us. And this is March, right?

“This is why you play.  And for them to get into the tournament, it was a big deal. I don’t think we played our best, but it doesn’t discredit who we are or what we’ve done this season. If you can win an ugly game,  that’s a good sign.”

Meanwhile one would have to go back into over a decade to find when Princeton (21-7) did not play in a game in which whether or not that outcome would decide the Ivy crown.

And the Tigers came close to continuing the string until Harvard closed it out in the final minute to extend ownerships of the only upsets in tourney history in the semifinals to two.

The Crimson’s Harmoni Turner, Ivy player of the year, scored 44 points, shooting 14-27 from the field. She also had seven boards, two assists, a block, and a steal.

Turner broke the program and arena scoring records as well as the Ivy Madness game and three-point records.