The first weekend of D2 women’s basketball in 2016 didn’t go well for the defending national champions, nor for two previously undefeated teams who suffered their first loss of the season. Let’s take a look at the top stories from the past weekend as we present our first D2 Women’s Basketball Wrap of the new year.
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REVIERE BEATS THE BUZZER, DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPS
Tyecia Reviere’s three-pointer as time expired gave BR-155 East Stroudsburg a 74-73 upset win over defending national champion BR-12 California (Pa.) in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover contest.
California (8-3, 6-2 PSAC West) opened the game with a 14-2 run, only to see East Stroudsburg (5-7, 3-5 PSAC East) battle back to cut the lead to 23-22 midway through the second quarter. The Vulcans would take a 35-32 halftime lead.
The Vulcans expanded their lead to 46-36 with 6:12 left in the third quarter after a Shatara Parsons layup. The Warriors, however, managed to cut the lead to 50-47 at the end of the third quarter after a Reviere layup.
California maintained the lead through most of the fourth quarter, but Imani Brown (game-high 28 points) hit a layup with 1:11 remaining to allow the Warriors to tie the game at 67-67.
Sierra Barrett hit a pair of foul shots to give Cal a 69-67 lead and were poised to pull away after a pair of Miki Glenn (25 points) foul shots with 28 seconds left. The Vulcans couldn’t seal the deal down the stretch after Glenn, who entered the game shooting 91.5 percent from the foul line, missed two of four foul shots in the closing 15 seconds of the game, including the back-end of a two-shot foul with 10 seconds left.
That miss opened the door for Reviere to play hero and beat the buzzer with her three-pointer.
East Stroudsburg travels to BR-225 Slippery Rock on Wednesday, while the Vulcans, who have lost two straight, hosts BR-46 West Chester.
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SAINTS CLAIM SOUTHEAST REGION SHOWDOWN
In a rematch of last season’s Southeast Region championship game, BR-15 Limestone knocked off BR-57 Anderson 63-49 in Anderson, S.C. Thursday night.
Limestone (9-0) jumped out to an 18-3 lead after one quarter, holding Anderson (8-1) to one field goal in the frame. The Saints held Anderson to 3-of-23 (13 percent) shooting in the first half as they took a 27-13 halftime lead.
It didn’t get any better for the Trojans in the second half, although they were able to cut the Limestone lead to 37-33 with 3:34 left in the third quarter. Maurissa Lester (18 points) hit an old-school three to spark a 7-0 run that would give the Saints a 46-35 lead after three quarters.
Nine straight points to open the fourth quarter, including an old-school three from Taylour Hunter and back-to-back threes by Lester and Victoria Marshall would put the game out of reach as the Saints took a 55-35 lead with 6:40 left and never looked back.
Anderson’s Jennifer Monroe led all scorers with 27 points while adding 16 rebounds.
Limestone, who won their 35th straight regular season contest, hosts BR-300 Lees-McRae on Tuesday to open a three-game homestand in Conference Carolinas play. Anderson will host BR-269 Brevard on Wednesday night as they resume South Atlantic Conference play.
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WINONA STATE BOUNCES BACK FROM FIRST LOSS
BR-2 Winona State suffered their first loss of the season Saturday, falling at home to BR-36 Northern State 60-55. The Warriors, however, bounced back on Sunday with a 52-49 win over BR-70 Minnesota State-Moorhead in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference interdivisional play.
Northern State (10-3, 6-2 NSIC North) clung to a 14-12 lead after the first quarter when Winona State (14-1, 7-1 NSIC South) scored the final four points of the frame. The defending NSIC champions led by as many as five points early in the second quarter before the Warriors battled back to take a 30-28 with 1:29 left before halftime after an Alexis Foley layup. The Wolves, however, scored the last four points of the half to take a 32-30 lead at the break.
Northern State opened the third quarter with a 12-6 run to take a 44-36 lead midway through the frame and never looked back.
The Warriors would take out their frustrations the next day on Minnesota State-Moorhead (8-3, 5-3 NSIC North), who led by as many as six points, 49-43, with 4:23 remaining in the game. A three pointer by Foley with 2:20 left, followed by a Foley jumper with 1:07 left and a Hannah McGlone layup off a turnover with 33 seconds left sparked a game-clinching 9-0 run to give Winona State the win.
Winona State travels to BR-21 Sioux Falls on Friday night, then to BR-252 Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday night. The Warriors defeated Sioux Falls 91-52 on Dec. 5 in what was the Cougars’ first loss of the season.
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UNDEFEATED WATCH
- BR-3 Ashland (12-0) easily dispatched BR-38 Northwood 83-68 on Saturday and BR-160 Lake Superior State 77-47 on Sunday. The Eagles return to action on Thursday when they host BR-71 Northern Michigan in the first of three straight home games.
- BR-7 Missouri Western (13-0) scored the first 12 points of the game and never looked back in an 88-49 win over BR-133 Northeastern State on Saturday. The Griffons host BR-50 Central Oklahoma on Monday.
- BR-10 West Texas A&M (12-0) followed up a 69-58 win over BR-192 Cameron on New Year’s Eve with a 101-46 blowout over NAIA University of the Southwest on Saturday. The Lady Buffs host BR-127 Midwestern State Wednesday night.
- BR-24 American International (13-0) trounced BR-195 LIU Post 82-48 on Sunday, just one day after handling BR-63 New Haven 71-56 in back-to-back home wins. The Yellowjackets travel to BR-55 Assumption Wednesday night.
- BR-1 Lubbock Christian (11-0) returns to action Thursday night when they host BR-224 Newman.
- BR-65 Bellarmine (8-0) will return to action Thursday night when they travel to BR-161 William Jewell.
