After falling to Le Moyne 62-54 in
the NE-10 championship quarterfinals game, the Assumption College women’s
basketball team earned an at-large bid in the East Region of Division II Women’s
Basketball Championship tournament. The Greyhounds received the seventh seed in
the region. They will take on second seed Queens (N.Y.) on Friday March 10 at
2:30 p.m.
The Greyhounds received a favorable matchup
in this tournament. The East Region is most susceptible to upset and most wide
open out of all four regions. The number one seed Adelphi lost their season
finale against American International 54-51. Assumption defeated Adelphi 63-58
during the regular season in and overtime thriller on January 28. The
Greyhounds also beat Queens (N.Y.) during the regular season 67-59 back in
November. They led that game 38-28 at half. Queens (N.Y.) also had their 16-game
winning streak snapped during their conference tournament.
Bentley University, the three seed,
lost to Adelphi in the NE-10 Championship game, snapping a 14-game winning
streak. Bentley defeated Assumption twice during the regular season. Fourth
seed Caldwell lost to the University of the Sciences—the sixth seed in the
tournament—in their conference tournament as well. Molloy is currently on a four-game
winning streak. They lost to one and won one to Queens (N.Y.) during the
regular season while also defeating Bentley University and Caldwell. However,
they lost to Adelphi 66-61 on November 30.
The moral of the story is that any
one of these teams can win on any given day. There is no one dominant team in the
East Region, such as Ashland (31-0) in the Midwest Region or Alaska Anchorage
(29-1) in the Great Northwest Region. Many of these teams have faced off during
the regular season and not one team has dominated play, illustrated by recent
snapped winning streaks and upset regular season wins. The Greyhounds also have
a favorable matchup in Queens (N.Y.). Out of all of the teams in the East
Region, Assumption has a favorable matchup defensively against this team. The
team runs its offense through the Rowland sisters, Madison and MacKenzie
Rowland. Contain them, and the Greyhounds have a real shot at the upset.
The two Rowland sisters combine for
a 50% shooting percentage, a statistical anomaly over a 28-game season,
especially as they combine for 882 attempts. Without the Rowland sisters,
Queens (N.Y.) is shooting 322-906, or 35%. To compete, it is critical to take
the ball out of the Rowland sisters’ hands. Force other players to shoot. Also,
the Greyhounds should force them to shoot beyond the three-point line. Last
time the two teams met, Queens (N.Y.) shot only 20% from beyond the arc. They’ve
shot 31% from beyond the arc throughout the entire season.
If the Greyhounds continue to play
through seniors Jo Impellizeri and Allison Stoddard, the Greyhounds have a real
shot at making this a game and completing the upset. They need Stoddard to
command the game on the offensive side while Impellizeri commands the game on
the defensive side. Look for a thriller in the Garden City on Friday and
throughout the East Region. This is the most open region in the tournament and
the Greyhounds received a favorable matchup.
Adam Lewis
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@Adam_Lewis5
