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The Eagles give a group cheer following the victory over Bowdoin. UMW will face DePauw University in Springfield, Mass., next Friday.
UMW's Katie Clarkin (15) launches a long jumper after avoiding Bowdoin's Katie Cummings during the Division III Women's Sectionals at the University of Scranton, Pa.
UMW coach Deena Applebury (left) leads the team's cheers as the final seconds tick down in Division III sectionals. |
BY TODD JACOBSON
SCRANTON, Pa.
-Mary Washington's 6-foot-3 center, Liz Hickey, was mired in foul trouble.The team's leading scorer, Debbie Bruen, was sick with the flu.
And with the university's first trip to the Division III women's basketball Final Four on the line, the Eagles trailed top-ranked Bowdoin College by nearly a dozen points.
Worried? Not Eagles coach Deena Applebury.
"We have a very deep team and a talented team and these kids believe," Applebury said. "That's why we were able to pull through this, because they continued to believe we could win this game and that even though we were down 11 we could still come back from that."
So after Mary Washington had put the finishing touches on its 64-59 win over Bowdoin yesterday, completing a stunning second-half comeback with a 15-3 run, Applebury wasn't surprised.
She did, however, need a moment to compose herself as she sat next to three of her players in a makeshift press room at the John Long Center. The balled up remnants of the net trimmed from the court's basket sat in front of her, and the importance of what her team had accomplished seemed to hit Applebury at once.
"I need some time," she said, exhaling.
It was that kind of game and that kind of emotional finish for Mary Washington, which continues to make history in Applebury's fourth season.
The Eagles won their 26th straight game and set a school record with their 30th win yesterday, and after reaching the tournament quarterfinals for the first time with a win over Scranton Friday, they one-upped themselves with a trip to the Final Four.
Hickey led the Eagles with 16 points and James Monroe graduate Lisa Tracy added 11, including two game-sealing free throws with 7.3 seconds remaining. Bruen scored eight points in 19 minutes.
Eileen Flaherty scored 15 points for Bowdoin (29-2) and Jill Anelauskas had 18 before fouling out with 1:09 remaining in the game.
Mary Washington (30-2) will play DePauw University (29-3) Friday in Springfield, Mass.
"I don't even know what's going on," point guard Amanda Bates said. "I'm still in shock."
She wasn't alone. The Eagles leaped onto the court at Scranton's John Long Center, celebrating the win with a mixture of smiles and tears, surprise and elation. There was little order to the party as parents hugged players and the handful of students who made the trip to Scranton mingled with coaches.
It was all new.
"I didn't even know you cut down the nets," Hickey said. "I was pretty excited."
The feeling was very different as Hickey sat on the bench at the start of the second half with three fouls. Bowdoin had bounced Mary Washington from the tournament in the Sweet 16 last year, and Hickey hadn't been shy about saying she wanted revenge.
She could only watch, however, as her teammates tried in vain to dig into Bowdoin's 31-22 halftime lead.
"Sitting on the bench I just realized we really could do this," she said.
She entered the game five minutes into the second half and the Eagles trailing by 10 points, and less than two minutes later, she picked up her fourth foul.
But instead of shying away from the 6-foot-3 center, Mary Washington began to lean on her, running its offense through the post and driving to the basket.
"It was kind of scary at first," Hickey said. "I'm not going to lie. I just realized I had to play smarter than I had. Play smart defense, play intense, but only go straight up."
On defense, the Eagles also began to closely mark Bowdoin's dangerous three-point shooters and held the Polar Bears to 3-of-13 shooting from three-point range in the second half, and the defensive intensity turned into offensive opportunities.
After making just 9-of-24 shots in the first half, the Eagles shot 60 percent after halftime. Mary Washington also enjoyed a large edge at the free-throw line, making 16-of-22 freebies in the second half. Bowdoin was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in the second half.
"They were really aggressive and I think that's a credit to them," Bowdoin coach Stefanie Pemper said. "I think the game was officiated well. They're athletic, they're deep and they're big. I think it was just two different halves."
Though Hickey played the second half in foul trouble, it didn't show much. She scored nine points in the last 11 minutes, helping spark Mary Washington's slow and methodical comeback.
Her free throw with 8:12 remaining kicked off a 6-0 run, and when Katy Larson made two foul shots with 4:03, the Polar Bears lead had dwindled to 58-57.
Hickey tied the game on a jumper with 2:40 left and Kampman gave the Eagles a 60-59 lead they never relinquished with one foul shot at the 1:09 mark.
"We were battling the whole way and they kept having answers," Kampman said. "I knew once we got over that hurdle there was no stopping us. Once we got that we dug deep, we showed heart and we came back."
Todd Jacobson: 540/735-1974
Email: tjacobson@freelancestar.com
| UMW 64 BOWDOIN 59 |
