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Owls maintain winning style to gain women's title
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Southern Connecticut State women’s basketball coach Joe Frager thought it was important that his team remain true to the way it played all season and not try to make last-minute adjustments in the Elite Eight of the Division II women’s tournament.
The Owls showed the rest of the country that their brand of basketball is top notch after defeating previously unbeaten Florida Gulf Coast, 61-45, in the finals at Kearney, Nebraska, March 24.
With 9:36 remaining in the championship game, the score was tied at 42, but Southern Connecticut State assembled a 19-3 run to leave no doubt it could shut down a powerful opponent.
Florida Gulf Coast, 34-1, entered the game averaging 82.1 points, the highest among the eight teams that advanced to the national quarterfinals. But the Eagles were limited to their lowest output of the season by scoring only 24 points in the first half and 21 points over the last 20 minutes.
Frager wasn’t sure what to expect from his club, since he wasn’t too familiar with all of the teams in the field.
“There’s always that thought in the back of your head ... how are we going to stack up?” Frager said to the New Haven Register. “You try to find out as much as you can about these teams, but then when you see them live, and walk by them in the hotel lobby, you say, ‘OK, their point guard’s 5-10, 160. Ours is 5-4, 120.’ You start to do the matchups and think, ‘Well, we don’t match up there, and we don’t match up there.”
The Owls, 34-2, discovered they matched up pretty well.
LaShauna Jones scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Southern Connecticut State also received offensive contributions from Kate Lynch (14 points), Shamika Jackson (13) and Babette Noah (10).
“We kind of went out there with blinders,” said Lynch, who posted a double-double in the final by grabbing 10 rebounds. “You really don’t have any sense of what the other teams are like. I wondered … how big are these kids? How fast are they? Are they quicker than we are? Are they better rebounders?”
Lynch, who was named to the tourney’s most outstanding player, and the Owls are the standard other Division I women’s basketball programs will strive to reach now.
The all-tournament team included Jones, Jackson and Florida Gulf Coast’s Katie Schrader and Steffi Sorensen.
The Owls returned to their campus in New Haven, Connecticut, where they were greeted by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and around 300 fans.
“I don’t think any of this (winning the national championship) sank in for me until we got here,” said Southern Connecticut State point guard Michelle Martinik. “We were sitting in the back of the bus thinking that maybe there will be 15 parents and a couple of fans waiting for us. It was spring break and all that.”
It’s another memory they can store away with their accomplishment on the court.
Elite Eight
Clayton St. 60, Tex. A&M-Commerce 55; Fla. Gulf Coast 83, North Dakota 64; UC San Diego 71, Glenville St. 61; Southern Conn. St. 74, Drury 54.
Semifinals
Fla. Gulf Coast 61, Clayton St. 57
Fla. Gulf Coast: Steffi Sorensen 4-12, 2-2, 5, 14; Chelsea Dermyer 0-2, 0-1, 5, 0; Adrianne McNally 0-2, 0-2, 5, 0; Alex Nelson 1-8, 0-0, 3, 2; Katie Schrader 10-17, 5-6, 4, 25; Amanda Pierce 2-4, 1-2, 2, 7; Ashley Haegele 2-4, 0-0, 0, 6; Jen Conely 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Delia De La Torre 3-4, 1-2, 5, 7. Totals: 22-53, 9-15, 36, 61.
Clayton St.: Sharon Wiles 0-1, 0-2, 4, 0; Roberta Phillips 4-10, 3-3, 4, 13; Crystal Brown 2-6, 2-2, 2, 7; Shantel Ragin 1-11, 0-0, 5, 2; Alecia Humphrey 4-8, 0-0, 10, 8; Kim Lloyd 1-2, 0-0, 0, 3; Marie St. Fort 5-10, 5-5, 5, 16; Basia Bukowska 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Lynette Jackson 1-4, 0-0, 6, 2; Nikkisha Pritchett 3-7, 0-0, 0, 6. Totals: 21-62, 10-12, 41, 57.
Halftime: Fla. Gulf Coast 36, Clayton St. 22. Three-point field goals: Fla. Gulf Coast 8-21 (Sorensen 4-9, Haegele 2-3, Pierce 2-4, Nelson 0-5); Clayton St. 5-16 (Phillips 2-4, Brown 1-2, Lloyd 1-2, St. Fort 1-4, Pritchett 0-4). Officials: Leah Conyear, Kelly Hill, Karen Lasuik.
Southern Conn. St. 67, UC San Diego 53
Southern Conn. St.: Shamika Jackson 6-14, 3-6, 5, 16; Michelle Martinik 2-9, 1-2, 5, 7; LaShauna Jones 2-10, 5-9, 3, 10; Kate Lynch 5-10, 10-11, 12, 22; Babette oah 4-9, 2-2, 13, 10; Kaylie Schiavetta 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Heather Coombs 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Rochelle Johnson 1-3, 0-0, 4, 2. Totals: 20-55, 21-30, 43, 67.
UC San Diego: Michelle Osier 5-14, 0-0, 11, 12; Hillary Hansen 5-12, 2-2, 6, 12; Leora Juster 6-19, 0-0, 2, 12; Jillian Ricks 2-4, 0-0, 1, 2; Kacie Kostlan 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2; Meaghan Noud 3-7, 2-2, 1, 10; Erin Noonan 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Alexis Gaskin 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Totals: 22-58, 4-4, 33, 53.
Halftime: UC San Diego 28, Southern Conn. St. 26. Southern Conn. St. 6-18 (Lynch 2-2, Martinik 2-8, Jones 1-3, Jackson 1-5); UC San Diego 5-16 (Osier 2-5, Noud 2-5, Ricks 1-2, Kostlan 0-1, Juster 0-3).
Championship game
Southern Conn. St. 61, Fla. Gulf Coast 45
Southern Conn. St.: Shamika Jackson 6-15, 1-2, 7, 13; Michelle Martinik 1-1, 0-0, 2, 3; LaShauna Jones 8-10, 0-0, 2, 19; Kate Lynch 5-13, 4-4, 10, 14; Babette Noah 4-6, 2-3, 6, 10; Allyson Smith 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Stephanie Hiriak 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kaylie Schiavetta 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Heather Coombs 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Jacqueline Johannes 1-1, 0-0, 3, 0; Rochelle Johnson 0-3, 0-0, 3, 0; Melissa Harrigan 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 25-53, 7-9, 36, 61.
Fla. Gulf Coast: Steffi Sorensen 3-11, 0-0, 8, 7; Chelsea Dermyer 1-5, 0-0, 3, 3; Adrianne McNally 3-9, 1-1, 8, 7; Alex Nelson 4-12, 0-0, 3, 11; Katie Schrader 6-10, 2-4, 4, 14; Amanda Pierce 0-3, 0-0, 1, 0; Kim Balduzzi 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Ashley Haegele 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Angel Woods 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jen Conley 1-5, 0-0, 1, 3; Delia De La Torre 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 18-59, 3-5, 34, 45.
Halftime: Southern Conn. St. 31, Fla. Gulf Coast 24. Three-point field goals: Southern Conn. St. 4-10 (Jones 3-4, Martinik 1-1, Jackson 0-1, Lynch 0-1, Schiavetta 0-1, Coombs 0-2); Fla. Gulf Coast 6-26 (Nelson 3-7, Dermyer 1-2, Conley 1-5, Sorensen 1-7, Haegele 0-2, Pierce 0-3). Officials: Kelly Hill, Lee Gonyeau, Kari Lasuik.
The Owls showed the rest of the country that their brand of basketball is top notch after defeating previously unbeaten Florida Gulf Coast, 61-45, in the finals at Kearney, Nebraska, March 24.
With 9:36 remaining in the championship game, the score was tied at 42, but Southern Connecticut State assembled a 19-3 run to leave no doubt it could shut down a powerful opponent.
Florida Gulf Coast, 34-1, entered the game averaging 82.1 points, the highest among the eight teams that advanced to the national quarterfinals. But the Eagles were limited to their lowest output of the season by scoring only 24 points in the first half and 21 points over the last 20 minutes.
Frager wasn’t sure what to expect from his club, since he wasn’t too familiar with all of the teams in the field.
“There’s always that thought in the back of your head ... how are we going to stack up?” Frager said to the New Haven Register. “You try to find out as much as you can about these teams, but then when you see them live, and walk by them in the hotel lobby, you say, ‘OK, their point guard’s 5-10, 160. Ours is 5-4, 120.’ You start to do the matchups and think, ‘Well, we don’t match up there, and we don’t match up there.”
The Owls, 34-2, discovered they matched up pretty well.
LaShauna Jones scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Southern Connecticut State also received offensive contributions from Kate Lynch (14 points), Shamika Jackson (13) and Babette Noah (10).
“We kind of went out there with blinders,” said Lynch, who posted a double-double in the final by grabbing 10 rebounds. “You really don’t have any sense of what the other teams are like. I wondered … how big are these kids? How fast are they? Are they quicker than we are? Are they better rebounders?”
Lynch, who was named to the tourney’s most outstanding player, and the Owls are the standard other Division I women’s basketball programs will strive to reach now.
The all-tournament team included Jones, Jackson and Florida Gulf Coast’s Katie Schrader and Steffi Sorensen.
The Owls returned to their campus in New Haven, Connecticut, where they were greeted by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and around 300 fans.
“I don’t think any of this (winning the national championship) sank in for me until we got here,” said Southern Connecticut State point guard Michelle Martinik. “We were sitting in the back of the bus thinking that maybe there will be 15 parents and a couple of fans waiting for us. It was spring break and all that.”
It’s another memory they can store away with their accomplishment on the court.
Elite Eight
Clayton St. 60, Tex. A&M-Commerce 55; Fla. Gulf Coast 83, North Dakota 64; UC San Diego 71, Glenville St. 61; Southern Conn. St. 74, Drury 54.
Semifinals
Fla. Gulf Coast 61, Clayton St. 57
Fla. Gulf Coast: Steffi Sorensen 4-12, 2-2, 5, 14; Chelsea Dermyer 0-2, 0-1, 5, 0; Adrianne McNally 0-2, 0-2, 5, 0; Alex Nelson 1-8, 0-0, 3, 2; Katie Schrader 10-17, 5-6, 4, 25; Amanda Pierce 2-4, 1-2, 2, 7; Ashley Haegele 2-4, 0-0, 0, 6; Jen Conely 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Delia De La Torre 3-4, 1-2, 5, 7. Totals: 22-53, 9-15, 36, 61.
Clayton St.: Sharon Wiles 0-1, 0-2, 4, 0; Roberta Phillips 4-10, 3-3, 4, 13; Crystal Brown 2-6, 2-2, 2, 7; Shantel Ragin 1-11, 0-0, 5, 2; Alecia Humphrey 4-8, 0-0, 10, 8; Kim Lloyd 1-2, 0-0, 0, 3; Marie St. Fort 5-10, 5-5, 5, 16; Basia Bukowska 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Lynette Jackson 1-4, 0-0, 6, 2; Nikkisha Pritchett 3-7, 0-0, 0, 6. Totals: 21-62, 10-12, 41, 57.
Halftime: Fla. Gulf Coast 36, Clayton St. 22. Three-point field goals: Fla. Gulf Coast 8-21 (Sorensen 4-9, Haegele 2-3, Pierce 2-4, Nelson 0-5); Clayton St. 5-16 (Phillips 2-4, Brown 1-2, Lloyd 1-2, St. Fort 1-4, Pritchett 0-4). Officials: Leah Conyear, Kelly Hill, Karen Lasuik.
Southern Conn. St. 67, UC San Diego 53
Southern Conn. St.: Shamika Jackson 6-14, 3-6, 5, 16; Michelle Martinik 2-9, 1-2, 5, 7; LaShauna Jones 2-10, 5-9, 3, 10; Kate Lynch 5-10, 10-11, 12, 22; Babette oah 4-9, 2-2, 13, 10; Kaylie Schiavetta 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Heather Coombs 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Rochelle Johnson 1-3, 0-0, 4, 2. Totals: 20-55, 21-30, 43, 67.
UC San Diego: Michelle Osier 5-14, 0-0, 11, 12; Hillary Hansen 5-12, 2-2, 6, 12; Leora Juster 6-19, 0-0, 2, 12; Jillian Ricks 2-4, 0-0, 1, 2; Kacie Kostlan 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2; Meaghan Noud 3-7, 2-2, 1, 10; Erin Noonan 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Alexis Gaskin 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Totals: 22-58, 4-4, 33, 53.
Halftime: UC San Diego 28, Southern Conn. St. 26. Southern Conn. St. 6-18 (Lynch 2-2, Martinik 2-8, Jones 1-3, Jackson 1-5); UC San Diego 5-16 (Osier 2-5, Noud 2-5, Ricks 1-2, Kostlan 0-1, Juster 0-3).
Championship game
Southern Conn. St. 61, Fla. Gulf Coast 45
Southern Conn. St.: Shamika Jackson 6-15, 1-2, 7, 13; Michelle Martinik 1-1, 0-0, 2, 3; LaShauna Jones 8-10, 0-0, 2, 19; Kate Lynch 5-13, 4-4, 10, 14; Babette Noah 4-6, 2-3, 6, 10; Allyson Smith 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Stephanie Hiriak 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kaylie Schiavetta 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Heather Coombs 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Jacqueline Johannes 1-1, 0-0, 3, 0; Rochelle Johnson 0-3, 0-0, 3, 0; Melissa Harrigan 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 25-53, 7-9, 36, 61.
Fla. Gulf Coast: Steffi Sorensen 3-11, 0-0, 8, 7; Chelsea Dermyer 1-5, 0-0, 3, 3; Adrianne McNally 3-9, 1-1, 8, 7; Alex Nelson 4-12, 0-0, 3, 11; Katie Schrader 6-10, 2-4, 4, 14; Amanda Pierce 0-3, 0-0, 1, 0; Kim Balduzzi 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Ashley Haegele 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Angel Woods 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jen Conley 1-5, 0-0, 1, 3; Delia De La Torre 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 18-59, 3-5, 34, 45.
Halftime: Southern Conn. St. 31, Fla. Gulf Coast 24. Three-point field goals: Southern Conn. St. 4-10 (Jones 3-4, Martinik 1-1, Jackson 0-1, Lynch 0-1, Schiavetta 0-1, Coombs 0-2); Fla. Gulf Coast 6-26 (Nelson 3-7, Dermyer 1-2, Conley 1-5, Sorensen 1-7, Haegele 0-2, Pierce 0-3). Officials: Kelly Hill, Lee Gonyeau, Kari Lasuik.
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