BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Third-seeded New York Institute of Technology broke open a close game midway through the fourth quarter en route to a 65-44 victory over second-seeded Daemen College here today in semifinal round action of the 2019 East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
With the win, NYIT (22-8) advances to face fourth-seeded Long Island University Post (19-11) in tomorrow's championship game. NYIT will be making its second-straight appearance in the tournament championship game and will be looking to claim its first-ever ECC Tournament title. LIU Post upset top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College, 79-73, earlier today.
Tomorrow's winner claims the ECC's automatic bid to the upcoming National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Tournament. The entire NCAA Tournament field will be revealed Sunday night.
Daemen (18-10) made its first-ever appearance in the ECC Tournament last year and was looking for its first-ever ECC Tournament win since joining the league in 2013-14. The Wildcats, who won 14 of their final 15 regular-season games, have posted the most wins in a season since they went 26-7 in 2012-13.
Both teams entered the today's game ranked regionally in the final National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II East Region poll. Daemen came in at No. 9, while the Bears were 10th.
Redshirt sophomore Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) and junior Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) were the only Daemen players to reach double figures in points today. Filbert scored 10 points and added five rebounds. Heinold made two of Daemen's three three-pointers in the game and also finished with 10 points. Senior Erin Egan (Williamsville, N.Y.) played in her final game today and recorded four points and a team-high nine rebounds. Freshman Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.), who was named the ECC Rookie of the Year yesterday, finished with five points six rebounds and three blocks, while sophomore Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) chipped in seven points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench.
Sophomore Shalie Frierson (Troy, N.Y.) paced a balanced NYIT attack with 15 points and five rebounds.
The teams battled back and fourth for just over three quarters, before the Bears took control over the final six minutes. A layup by Daemen's Ranaveya Richards (Albany, N.Y.) with 7:51 left made the score 44-41 NYIT, and Daemen had two chances to get even closer—but a NYIT steal led to a conventional three-point play by junior Julia Braungart (Southampton, N.J.) with 6:08 to play. That gave the Bears a 47-41 lead and would be the first three points of an 18-0 run by the Bears. A three-pointer by freshman Zoe Amalbert (Nanuet, N.Y.) capped the burst and gave the Bears a 62-41 lead with just under a minute to play.
Both teams struggled to score early in the game, as the Bears held an 8-6 lead midway through the first quarter. The lead was still two points, 10-8, with just over minute left in the first quarter when the Bears closed out the frame with back-to-back buckets from sophomore Taylor Tripptree (East Setauket, N.Y.) and senior Tiara Place (Baldwin, N.Y.).
The NYIT lead was still six points, 15-9, when the Bears got back-to-back three-pointers from Frierson and Tripptree to take a 12-point lead, 21-9, with five minutes to play before intermission. Daemen, which connected on just four of its first 20 shots (0-for-7 from three-point land), got a much-needed three-pointer from White on its next possession and the Wildcats later cut the lead to four points, 23-19, following a layup by Filbert with just under two minutes left before the break. Two free throws by Filbert with seven seconds left made it a one possession game (25-22), but Tripptree banked home a shot at the halftime buzzer to give NYIT a 27-22 lead.
Daemen cut the lead to two points twice during the third, but the Wildcats could never get over the hump and NYIT took a 41-37 lead into the fourth quarter. The teams traded baskets early in the final quarter, before the Bears embarked on their game-clinching run.
Daemen shot a season-low 25-percent (14-of-56) from the field overall and made just 3-of-23 from three-point land. The Wildcats made 13-of-22 from the charity stripe. NYIT shot 41-percent (24-for-59) from the field overall and made an efficient 6-of-19 from downtown. The Bears converted 11-of-16 from the charity stripe.
NYIT finished with a 45-41 edge in total rebounds. Daemen had out-rebounded its last 10 opponents. The Bears also finished with a commanding edge in both bench points (20-9) and points in the paint (30-18).
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