On Saturday, I had the opportunity to cover the NCAA Division Three women’s basketball semifinals at Trinity College. Fans of Transylvania University, Christopher Newport University, Smith College, and Rhode Island College packed the Bantams gym and brought the energy. Both games saw sellout crowds and it was imminent of that as their cheers filled the gym and chants provided energy to all four squads.
Christopher Newport Takes Down Rhode Island College Late
In the first game of the semifinal double header, Christopher Newport University and Rhode Island College matched up. Coming into the contest, the Captains of CNU had a record of 30-0 and the Anchorwomen from RIC had a record of 28-3. These were two heavyweight teams with fire power from behind the arc and in the paint. In addition, the two teams played suffocating defense and was key for them advancing in the tournament.
In the first half, the Anchorwomen looked strong. They were up 28-20 and were led by forward Angelina Nardolillo who had 10 points and 5 rebounds. In addition, guard Antonio Corsinetti had 9 points and 4 rebounds. She capped off the second quarter by draining a three at the buzzer. For the Captains, they were led in the first half by guard Gabbi San Diego who had 7 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal while her counterpart guard Sondra Fan dropped 5 points and 3 rebounds.
When the second half rolled around, the Captains saw their 8 point deficit and turned up the heat. They erased their deficit by throwing on the full court press and half court trap. The Captains suffocating defense caused 9 turnovers. This defensive pressure cut the Anchorwomen lead to 5 going into the fourth at 43-38. Down the stretch, the Captains ramped up defense proved to work wonders. That in addition to light-out shooting from the line going gave them the well needed push to beat Rhode Island College, 56-51. The Christopher Newport Captains will be going to Dallas, Texas to play in the NCAA D3 Women’s Basketball championship.
The Captains Offense Runs Through Gabbi San Diego
My biggest takeaway from this game was the way in which Gabbi San Diego ran the Captains offense. She exhibited great composure when Christopher Newport was down and even when she didn’t show up on the stat sheet, she did a fantastic job settling the offense down off of an RIC run or when Christopher Newport grabbed an offensive board. She played the most minutes of any player on the team with 36 and in that time dropped 13 points, 2 steals, 4 rebounds, and went 6-6 at the free throw line.
A Matchup of Pioneers
In game two of the night, we saw a matchup between the Smith College Pioneers and the Transylvania University Pioneers. The winner had a date set in Dallas, Texas with Christopher Newport University.
Of the two games, this one definitely brought more energy. Transylvania traveled well, but Smith College traveled even better as Smith is only an hour north of Trinity College. Over three and a half of the sections in the building were flooded with Smith College fans and due to this raucous crowd, tempers flared between fan bases. In the first quarter, Smith was in clear control. They got to the free throw line early and often and got the ball in the hands of forward Morgan Morrison and forward Katelyn Pickunka. Pickunka lived at the free throw line converting jump shot after jump shot. She finished the game with a double-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 assists.
As the first half progressed, Transylvania’s half court trap intensified and they went into the half up 38-31. The third quarter was the most pivotal. After shooting 0-8 in the first half from beyond the arc, they shot 0-8 in the third quarter from three. Smith only scored 11 third quarter points while Transylvania went to work and extended their lead to 57-42. In the fourth quarter, Smith battled back, but couldn’t close the game out. They ended up losing 76-65 and Transylvania University punched their ticket to the championship.
The Battle of the Bigs
While this matchup between Smith and Transylvania was a blast, the most entertaining matchup was between Transylvania forward Dasia Thornton and Smith forward Morgan Morrison. Both teams offenses were facilitated through the teams star forwards with Smith using Morrison down on the block and Thornton being all over the court.
Thornton capped the game off with a double-double. She dropped 18 points, 11 rebounds, a block, and was 6-9 from the free throw line. Thornton did all of that in 35 minutes, but Morrison unfortunately had to play less due to early foul trouble. Even with her early foul trouble, Morrison finished the semifinal contest with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and was 2-3 from the free throw line.
A Champion Will Be Crowned On April 1
With Christopher Newport and Transylvania punching their ticket, they will be squaring off in the NCAA D3 Women’s Basketball final on April 1 in Dallas, Texas. This matchup will be wildly exciting as it clashes great guard play from Gabbi San Diego and Christopher Newport, and outstanding forward play from Dasia Thornton out of Transylvania.