Lady Hawks Lose In First Ever NCAA Tournament Bid

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Amherst College women’s basketball team had little trouble with Becker College as the Lord Jeffs advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament with a convincing 78-32 victory this evening from the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

With the win, Amherst improves to 26-2 as they move on to the second round to take on either Bowdoin College of host Bridgewater State College tomorrow at 5 PM. Becker, the North Atlantic Conference champions, wraps up the 2007-2008 campaign with a record of 18-11.

Amherst led 43-18 at the half and their biggest lead of the game was the final score of 78-32. The Lord Jeffs had just one player on the floor for more than 20 minutes and no starters played more than 18. Amherst dominated play throughout as they limited Becker to just 15% shooting (7-for-46) and out-rebounded Hawks by a margin of 47-25. The Lord Jeffs on the other hand connected on 49% (30-for-61) of their field goal attempts including 7 of 18 from beyond the arc.

Senior guard Shaina Pollack (Great Neck, NY) paced three Amherst players in double-figures as she scored 11 points. Senior forward Anne-Claire Roesch (Westport, CT) also finished with 10 points for the Lord Jeffs, while freshman forward Jaclyn Daigneault (Guilford, CT) added 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting to go along with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Senior guard Kristin Karat (Enfield, CT) and junior center Beth Pion (Enfield, CT) led the way for Becker with 11 points apiece. Karat finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. In fact 16 of the Hawks’ 32 points came from the charity stripe.

Courtesy:Michael Holbrook (SID Bridgewater State)

Becker Women's Hoop Qualifies for NCAA Division III Championship

Lady Hawks to face Amherst College in First Round

Click here for complete 2008 NCAA Division III Championship bracket

LEICESTER, Mass. - The Becker Women’s Basketball team will continue its 2008 season on Friday as the Hawks were selected to face Amherst College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship. The game will be played at Bridgewater State College, at 6:00pm.

Becker (18-10) captured the North Atlantic Conference Championship on Saturday March 1st defeating the number two seed Maine Maritime Academy 60-41 at Castleton State College. With the win the Hawks gained an automatic qualification to their first ever NCAA appearance. The Hawks 18 wins are a school record since joining the NCAA in 1998.

Amherst College women's basketball team earned a 59-53 victory over Tufts University to claim the program's first-ever NESCAC Championship title. Amherst moves to 25-2 on the season.

 The Hawks, guided by third year head coach Dean Godin, are led offensively by senior guard Kristin Karat (14.7 points per game, 3.8 assists per game, 4.7 rebounds per game) and NAC Tournament MVP Beth Pion (13.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.7 blocks per game).

Amherst is under the tutelage of first year head coach G.P. Gromacki. They are led by a pair of seniors, forward Stefanie Reiff leads the team in points per game (12.6) and averages 4.4 rebounds per game and guard Shaina Pollock averages 11.2 points per game.

The winner of the match will advance to the second round on Saturday, March 8th and face the winner of the Bowdoin (18-8) vs. Bridgewater (22-4) game.