SAINTS FALL TO #4 MESSIAH IN SECOND ROUND, 64-49

Mar. 8:  Heading into Saturday’s NCAA Tournament second round game, the St. Lawrence women’s basketball team found themselves recalling a well-known tale that best characterized the way they felt as they prepared to face nationally-ranked Messiah College: David and Goliath.

And they weren’t afraid, either.  Not of the fourth-best team in the country.  Not of the possibility of getting beat.  They were excited, but more importantly, felt well-prepared to take on a team that had the depth and height you’d expect any top team in the country to have.

And while this time, the Saints did not defeat their Goliath, what they took out of their experiences throughout the season proved to be much more important.
 
A big second half from Messiah, the host of the first and second rounds, gave the Falcons a 64-49 victory over the Saints, who concluded a season that included a conference championship and their second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament with a 24-5 overall record.

Messiah, who is ranked fifth in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll and fourth in the D3Hoops.com rankings, improved to 27-2.

The first half witnessed two even teams battle defensively, with the Saints using full court pressure to try and halt the Falcons’ offense, which was led by Silalei Shani and Nikki Lobach.  Messiah was able to increase their lead by as many as seven at 13:35 before the Saints came back, thanks to senior guard and co-captain Jamie Wolff (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy), who tallied 18 points in the first 20 minutes of the contest. 

The guard’s first period impressed fans on both sides of the court, as she ended her half with a three from nearly 30 feet away to get St. Lawrence within one with only seconds left on the clock.  The teams headed to the locker room with a score of 30-29 in favor of Messiah.

Both Messiah and St. Lawrence were impressive from the floor, shooting 42 percent in the first period, but the differences were from three-point range, where Wolff’s four three-point shots gave the Saints an edge, shooting 57 percent, compared to the Falcons’ 22 percent.

Missed shots plagued the Scarlet and Brown throughout much of the final stanza, and Messiah used the time to their advantage as they vastly improved on their three-point percentage from the first period, shooting 68 percent.  The Saints took their second lead of the game after a lay-up from junior forward Jenna Krzemien (Springville, NY/Springville), but it only lasted for a brief moment as the Falcons put up a three to get back out ahead. A 16-0 Falcon run sealed the deal for Messiah, who kept the Saints scoreless for nearly six minutes, jumping out to a 52-35 lead at 11:37.

The Falcons enjoyed a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the period, while junior forward Katie Palmer (Bourne, MA/Falmouth Academy) posted 11 points in the second half in addition to her three from the first before fouling out at 1:23.  The efforts of the Saints was not enough to battle back from the deficit, as Messiah came away victorious with a score of 64-49 and with a ticket to the tournament’s Sweet Sixteen.

Wolff led the Saints with her 18 points and seven boards, while Palmer put up 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Messiah was led by Shani, who tallied a double-double with a game-high 24 points and 10 boards in only 26 minutes on the floor.

The Falcons will face the University of Rochester next weekend with the location of the game to be determined sometime on Sunday, March 9th.

And while the Saints do not advance, it can’t be disputed that they were one of the best Division III women's basketball teams in the country this year—one of the top 32 to be exact.

David would be proud.   

PALMER, SAINTS HANDLE WILLIAM PATERSON IN NCAA TOURNEY FIRST ROUND, 64-57

Mar. 7: The St. Lawrence women’s basketball team jumped out in front of their NCAA first round competitor William Paterson University Friday night and never looked back, as the Saints defeated the Pioneers 64-57 in the 2008 NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament at first and second round host Messiah College.

The contest marks the first time St. Lawrence, now 24-4 overall, has won an NCAA tournament game since the 2001-2002 season, when they made it all the way to the championships and lost 67-65 to Wisconsin-Stevens Point.  The win gave Saints’ head coach Jennifer Kroll her first NCAA tournament win while at the helm of the St. Lawrence program.

William Paterson, who ended their season with a 20-7 record following the loss, was the only at-large bid in the Messiah bracket, as the Pioneers lost to Kean University in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) semifinals, 73-45, on February 27.  Earlier in the season, the Pioneers faced a familiar face to the Saints in the Union Dutchwomen and lost, 66-62.

The Saints began the game with a 6-0 run, four of those points coming off steals from senior guard and co-captain Kim Sikule (Westerlo, NY/Berne-Knox Westerlo). St. Lawrence was able to keep the Pioneers scoreless for the first five and a half minutes of the game, as the team struggled to sink a shot in the opening moments and were unable to solve the St. Lawrence’s defense.

Junior forward Katie Palmer (Bourne, MA/Falmouth Academy) completed a three-point play at 13:19 to give the Saints an 11-2 advantage, but the Pioneers were able make it a one-possession game after a 6-0 run of their own.  William Paterson kept it close throughout much of the middle of the period, bringing it within two on two separate occasions before St. Lawrence went on a 12-4 run down the stretch.

The Saint run was capped off with a last-second lay-up from Palmer to give the Scarlet and Brown a comfortable 30-18 lead as both teams headed to the locker room at the end of the half.

In the first half, the Saints had eight steals helping to force 20 William Paterson turnovers, while Palmer shot 50 percent, tallying 13 points.  St. Lawrence was able to contain the Pioneers to shooting only 27 percent from the floor, while their defense in the paint was most encouraging, as William Paterson was only able to muster two shots from the low post throughout the entire half.  St. Lawrence shot 42 percent.

William Paterson came back on the court in the second and made it apparent they were unwilling to let the Saints continue to run the court as the Pioneers opened with an 8-0 run before Palmer made a lay up to get the Saints back on the board.  The Pioneers kept it a two-possession game throughout the first ten minutes of the half and brought it back within two after a three-point shot from Christina Longo with 9:48 remaining in the contest.

The Scarlet and Brown quickly responded with a shot from beyond the arc by Sikule, and a lay up from senior forward Amy Fortener (Peachtree City, GA/Our Lady of Mercy) to give them a 48-41 edge.

The two teams then went basket-for-basket as the Saints were able to maintain their seven point lead until 3:58 was left on the clock, as William Paterson went on a 5-0 run to bring the score within two, 54-52.

St. Lawrence was able to survive William Paterson’s full court pressure and clinched the win after the Pioneers tallied six fouls in the final 3:42, forcing the Saints to the foul line.  Between Palmer, Sikule, junior guard Lauren Sischo (Rodman, NY/South Jefferson), and senior guard and co-captain Jamie Wolff (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy), the Scarlet and Brown put up ten from the charity stripe to give them the 64-57 victory.

Palmer posted ten points in the second, giving her a game high 23, while Sikule tallied 12 and eight boards.  Sischo added 11 points.

William Paterson was successful in making sure Wolff couldn't find her way to the basket, as the guard, who averaged 16.5 points per game this season, only added seven Friday. That didn't stop Wolff from finding other ways to break down the Pioneers, as she posted six assists, five rebounds, and a game-high five steals.

The Saints will face the winner of the Messiah/Cabrini match-up on Saturday evening at 7:00pm in Brubaker Auditorium at Messiah College.