The NCAA News - News and Features

March 31, 1997

Last-second heroics lift Violets to III women's title

Marsha Harris' layup with no time left on the clock completed a 15-point comeback as New York University defeated Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 72-70, to claim the Division III Women's Basketball Championship March 22 in New York City.

Harris scored 14 of her game-high 26 points in the second half to erase Wisconsin-Eau Claire's second-half lead. A three-pointer by Harris sliced the 15-point margin to single digits at 48-40 with just under 16 minutes left in the game. A jumper by Jennifer Krowlikowski tied the game at 70 with 24 seconds left, setting the stage for Harris' layup at the buzzer.

"I didn't know the time on the clock," Harris said. "I just tried to beat the other players down the court. Ali (Aloysia Jaques) and Jenny Schinella did a great job on defense. I thought it was a layup. I just wanted to get close and get a good shot."

The game was close throughout the first 11 minutes of the first half. New York University trailed by just three points at 20-17 when the Blugolds went on a 21-11 run to go in to the locker room with a 13-point lead. Allison Berg scored nine points during that stretch.

"They are a second-half team and we knew it," Wisconsin-Eau Claire coach Lisa Stone said. "Our game plan was right. We just didn't score. We hit a dry spell."

In addition to Harris' 26 points, three other players were in double figures for New York University -- Krolikowski with 15 and Jaques and Schinella with 11 each. The Violets defeated Scranton in the semifinals and ended the year at 29-1.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire got double-digit performances from Berg with 25 points and 12 rebounds, 10 points from Cerni, and 12 apiece from Erika Schmidt and Tanya Bauer. The Blugolds beat Capital in the semifinals and finished the year at 27-4.

The all-tournament team included Harris, Krowlikowski, Schmidt, Berg and Kristin Long of Capital.

SEMIFINALS

New York U. 84, Scranton 72

Scranton: Jennifer Nish 5-14, 4-4, 4, 14; Kate Dougherty 4-11, 2-2, 8, 10; Leanne Lefkowski 0-1, 2-6, 10, 2; Kelly Halpin 8-13, 3-4, 1, 21; Erin Hurleman 6-11, 2-2, 3, 15; Kathleen Kern 0-0, 1-2, 0, 1; Kristen Hines 2-8, 1-4, 3, 7; Colleen Shannon 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Karen Carpency 0-0, 2-2, 3, 2. TOTALS: 25-59, 17-25, 37 (5 team), 72.

New York U.: Jehan Clark 1-6, 1-2, 4, 3; Aloysia Jaques 2-5, 4-4, 3, 8; Samiyrah Muhammad 6-7, 1-2, 10, 13; Jen Krolikowski 12-20, 2-5, 11, 33; Marsha Harris 4-15, 5-6, 3, 15; Joelle DeJoseph 0-1, 2-4, 0, 2; Rosemary Lombard 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Christin Muller 1-2, 1-2, 3, 3; Jenny Schinella 2-3, 1-1, 1, 5; Andrea Desy 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2. TOTALS: 29-61, 17-26, 39 (3 team), 84.

Half time: Scranton 39, New York U. 33. Three-point field goals: Scranton 5-7 (Halpin 2-2, Hurleman 1-1, Hines 2-4); New York U. 9-22 (Clark 0-1, Krolikowski 7-12, Harris 2-7, DeJoseph 0-1, Muller 0-1). Disqualifications: Halpin. Officials: Dave Venderly, Donna Fielder. Attendance: 1,750.

Wis.-Eau Claire 77, Capital 63

Wis.-Eau Claire: Angela Cerni 6-12, 4-4, 5, 20; Allison Berg 5-7, 5-6, 3, 15; Erika Schmidt 10-16, 4-5, 6, 25; Tanya Bauer 2-7, 2-2, 7, 8; Nici Claymon 0-4, 2-2, 3, 2; Jacci Smieja 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Cindy Smith 2-3, 0-0, 2, 5; Morgan Green 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jaimie Burlingame 0-1, 2-2, 1, 2. TOTALS: 25-49, 19-21, 36 (9 team), 77.

Capital: Carrie Ferguson 3-14, 6-7, 9, 12; Kristin Long 7-12, 0-0, 5, 15; Kami Roeder 2-4, 0-1, 3, 4; Jill Walker 1-7, 0-0, 1, 2; Amy Strine 5-13, 1-2, 2, 16; Jen Hochstetler 2-4, 0-0, 1, 4; Joey Hayes 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Jessica Fulton 5-8, 0-0, 2, 10; Jennifer Snyder 0-0, 0-0, 2, 10. TOTALS: 25-63, 7-10, 28 (5 team), 63.

Half time: Wis.-Eau Claire 31, Capital 27. Three-point field goals: Wis.-Eau Claire 8-18 (Cerni 4-6, Schmidt 1-3, Bauer 2-3, Claymon 0-4, Smith 1-2); Capital 6-19 (Ferguson 0-3, 1-2, Strine 5-11, Hochstetler 0-1, Hayes 0-1, Fulton 0-1). Disqualifications: None. Officials: Phil Wingert, Mike Neff. Attendance: 1,750.

CHAMPIONSHIP

New York U. 72, Wis.-Eau Claire 70

Wis.-Eau Claire: Angela Cerni 4-8, 0-0, 4, 10; Allison Berg 9-19, 7-9, 12, 25; Erika Schmidt 4-12, 4-6, 3, 12; Tanya Bauer 4-7, 2-2, 7, 12; Nici Claymon 3-10, 0-1, 3, 8; Jacci Smieja 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Cindy Smith 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Jodi Pritzl 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jaimie Burlingame 0-1, 1-2, 0, 1; Kelly Felmlee 1-2, 0-2, 3, 2. TOTALS: 25-62, 14-22, 43 (10 team), 70.

New York U.: Jehan Clark 0-5, 0-0, 4, 0; Aloysia Jaques 5-9, 1-1, 7, 11; Samiyrah Muhammad 3-7, 3-8, 9, 9; Jennifer Krolikowski 7-15, 0-3, 2, 15; Marsha Harris 9-20, 4-4, 3, 26; Joelle DeJoseph 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Christin Muller 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Jenny Schinella 4-8, 3-4, 11, 11. TOTALS: 28-65, 11-20, 41 (3 team), 72.

Half time: Wis.-Eau Claire 41, New York U. 28. Three-point field goals: Wis.-Eau Claire 6-17 (Cerni 2-3, Bauer 2-3, Claymon 2-9, Smith 0-2); New York U. 5-18 (Clark 0-2, Krolikowski 1-4, Harris 4-11, Muller 0-1). Disqualifications: Cerni. Officials: Mike Neff, Dave Vanderly. Attendance: 1,750.