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| Alyssa Craigwell scored 27 points in Montclair State's first-round upset victory over No. 9 Christopher Newport. Photo by Mike Atherton, d3photography.com |
Lower seeds Montclair State and SUNY Geneseo upset nationally ranked foes while Gustavus Adolphus and Trine prevailed in overtime, Wartburg won a nailbiter, and the NESCAC and WIAC each advanced four teams through the first round of the 2025 NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament.
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The regional round played at Catholic University produced two upsets, starting with Montclair State knocking off No. 9 Christopher Newport, 67-64, behind a big game from first-year forward Alyssa Craigwell.
Craigwell, who was named NJAC Rookie of the Year, scored 27 points including a jumper that staked the Red Hawks to a 64-56 lead with under two minutes to play. Christopher Newport pulled within three points on Mia Wilson’s three with nine seconds remaining, and the Captains created a chance to tie the game by forcing Montclair State into its 27th turnover of the night. But the Captains weren’t able score on their final possession, and the Red Hawks prevailed for their first NCAA Tournament win since 2018 and the NJAC’s first win since 2020. Photo gallery
SUNY Geneseo followed Montclair’s win with an impressive wire-to-wire 74-63 victory over host and 15th-ranked Catholic. The Knights led 17-5 after one period, and that set the tone for the rest of the game. SUNY Geneseo shot 51 percent from the field (27 for 53) and held the Cardinals to 23 percent shooting (21 for 93). Mackenzie Reigle, who leads Division III with 8 assists per game, dished out 10 and scored 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting while Kiley Snow added 17 more for the Knights.
Montclair State and SUNY Geneseo, which were seeded 12th and 13th respectively, will play each other in the second round on Saturday night.
One year after Trine and Gustavus Adolphus battled each other to double overtime in their first round NCAA Tournament matchup, both teams needed overtime to advance through this year's first round.
It looked like history might repeat itself for Gustavus Adolphus, which lost that game to Trine, when Wisconsin Lutheran took a 47-44 lead on the Gusties with 1:33 to play in the fourth quarter. But Emma Kniefel rescued Gustavus by hitting a game-tying three pointer with 19 seconds left in regulation, and the Gusties went on to win in overtime, 61-49. Gustavus held the Warriors without a field goal while shooting 80 percent (4 for 5) in the extra period.
All-American Sidney Wagner tallied 27 points and 15 rebounds to lead Trine past Transylvania, 81-74, at Illinois Wesleyan’s regional. Wagner’s jumper gave Trine a 62-60 lead late but Chloe McKnight responded with the game-tying score for Transylvania, pushing the game to overtime. The Thunder took control on Allison Capouch’s three pointer with 1:24 left in the extra period and then sealed the game by converting seven of eight free throw attempts in the final 26 seconds, the last four coming from Wagner. Trine will face host Illinois Wesleyan which crusied past Centre, 95-57.
Late free throws were the difference in Minnesota where No. 12 Wartburg tipped UW-Stevens Point, 57-56.
Wartburg trailed by three in the final minute when Lauren Golinghorst scored a layup that pulled the Knights within one. Wartburg fouled Stevens Point, and the Pointers missed both free throws on their final possession. Lauren Woeste grabbed the rebound for Wartburg off the second miss, and the Knights called timeout to advance the ball. Out of the break, Wartburg got the ball to Sara Faber who was fouled with one second remaining, and she sank both shots to complete the Knights’ comeback.
The NESCAC sent five teams to the NCAA Tournament, and four of them advanced through the first round. Sophie Spolter’s layup with 10 seconds left lifted Bates over Southern Virginia, 55-53, while Trinity (Conn.) edged Mass-Dartmouth in similar fashion, 59-56, on Samantha Slofkiss game-winning layup with three seconds remaining.
Amherst used its signature defense to stifle Vassar, 64-49, while No. 2 Bowdoin took care of Brooklyn, 66-42. Western New England denied the NESCAC a perfect night, as the Golden Bears eliminated Tufts, 61-52, behind Nora Young’s double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds).
The WIAC also went four for five on opening night, with Stevens Point being the only team eliminated in the first round.
Lauryn Milne scored 23 points and UW-La Crosse rolled past Colorado College, 79-52, to set up an All-WIAC second round matchup with Whitewater. The Warhawks took care of Principia, 75-53, as Whitewater nearly doubled up the Beavers in rebounds (55 to 28). Stout also won comfortably, beating MWC champions Ripon, 77-54.
No. 11 UW-Oshkosh faced a stiffer test from Calvin, but the Titans eventually prevailed, 61-52. Kayce Vaile and Alex Rondorf combined for 31 points and 13 rebounds for Oshkosh, which will host Bethel in the second round. The Royals defeated DePauw, 71-65, despite 46 combined points from Ava Hassel and Riley Mont for the Tigers.