NCAA Tournament First Round: Cabrini University Cavaliers (25-2, 16-0 CSAC) vs. Brooklyn College Bulldogs (24-3, 14-2 CUNYAC)
Friday, March 2, 5pm
John Long Center, Scranton, PA
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Ticket Information
Tickets will be available at the gate for both of Friday's games and Saturday's second round game. Pricing will range from $7 for adults to $4 for students and senior citizens over the age of 61. Day passes will not be available for purchase.
Whats at Stake
Friday's winners will advance to Saturday's second round. Second round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites March 9th and 10th. Winners of the four sectional sites will then advance to the National Semifinals and Finals, hosted by Saint Mary's University in Rochester, Minnesota, beginning March 16th.
This will mark the fifth time in the last six years the Cavs have made the NCAA Tournament, but will look for just their second win in that span. The Cavs last picked up a tournament victory in the 2013-14 season when they knocked off Moravian University 76-61 and nearly advanced to the Sweet 16 after taking No. 8 Montclair State to overtime.
How They Got Here: Cavs Set Program and Conference Record With 23 Game Win Streak
After bringing in eight freshmen, head coach
Kate Pearson and a young Cabrini women's basketball team kicked off their season against cross road rival Eastern University with a 66-53 win. Rookie
Lexi Edwards led the way against the Eagles with 18 points in her Blue and White debut.
Classmate
Kate Lannon picked up where Edwards left off in the Cav's next game against Wheaton College in the Kean Classic as she dropped 31 points and hauled in 13 boards in the Cavs 100-94 triple overtime victory. With the victory, Cabrini advanced to the Kean Classic Championship game to face Kean University where they fell by a 72-67 final.
A loss to No. 8 University of Scranton followed as the Cavs sat at 2-2 heading into their December 2nd CSAC opener against Immaculata University. A dominant 81-53 victory for the Cavs marked a turning point in the season as they would go on to set a program and CSAC record with 23 consecutive wins heading into the Friday's much anticipated matchup with the Bulldogs.
Highlights of the Cavs' 23 game win streak include a four and five point win over Susquehanna University and William Paterson University, respectively, as well as overtime victories over Elizabethtown College (78-77) and Widener University (89-83). Sophomore
Meghan Matthews powered the Cavs past the Blue Jays as she tallied 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Lannon's 24 points and five 3-pointers led the way in the win over the Pride.
The Blue and White capped their season and punched their ticket to the Tourney with a 71-64 triumph over rival Neumann University in the CSAC Championship game. The win marked the ninth CSAC title is program history, including the fifth in the last six years, as well as the 10th NCAA Tournament appearance.
How They Got Here: Bulldogs Capture First CUNYAC Title in 38 Years
For the first time since 1980, the Brooklyn College Women's Basketball team won The City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Championship, defeating the College of Staten Island, 59-50. The victory paves the way for the Bulldogs' first ever NCAA Tournament appearance via the conference's automatic bid.
Brooklyn is led by senior guard Karen Mak who boasts a well rounded game as she leads the team in scoring (13.3 ppg), assists (5.2 apg) and steals (3.7 spg). In fact, Mak ranks near the top in all of division III with 95 steals (t-14th), 3.52 steals per game (t-23rd), 143 assists (21st) and 5.3 assists per game (24th). The New York, NY native also stands as just one of 26 division III women's basketball players with a triple-double, completing the feat against Baruch College with 19 points, 11 assists and 10 steals.
Freshman guard Taylor George has also been a force for the Bulldogs as she ranks as the team's second leading scorer averaging 12.4 points per game. The 2018 CUNYAC Rookie of the Year also boasts a team best 37.6 percent shooting clip from beyond the arc.
Similar to Cabrini, Brooklyn's 13 game winning steak in the middle of the year helped propel them to the conference tournament where they were able to knock off the No. 4 seed Hunter College (64-57) in the semifinal round and follow it up with a 59-50 victory over No. 2 seeded College of Staten Island in the championship.
Cabrini Last Time Out: Cavs capture fifth CSAC title in six years with 71-64 victory over Neumann (2/24/18)
Senior
Sabrina Hackendorn was named game MVP thanks to her team high 17 points and six rebounds. Sophomore
Meghan Matthewsrecorded a double double in the win with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while freshman
Lexi Edwards and junior
Nomi Washington tallied 12 points each. Freshman
Kate Lannon added 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
After a hotly contested opening quarter that saw neither team hold more than a three point advantage, the Blue and White ripped off a 15-to-5 run to grab a commanding 26-14 lead. The Knights managed to close the half on a short 5-to-0 run to cut the Cavs lead back to just nine points.
Cabrini would briefly push their lead back to double digits in the third quarter until Neumann came roaring back. A jumper from Neumann junior and 2018 CSAC Player of the Year Nafisa Saunders sparked a 12-to-2 run for the Knights as they stole the lead as time expired in the third.
Down 53-49 early in the fourth, the Blue and White responded with an 8-to-0 run of their own to take the 57-53 lead, highlighted by a jumper from Washington and Edwards. Up 69-64 with 17 seconds left and Hackendorn at the line, Matthews came came down with a game clinching offensive rebound and trip to the charity stripe, where she would hit both, to seal the 71-64 victory.
Brooklyn Last Time Out: Bulldogs Take Down Dolphins and Secure First Trip to NCAA Tourney (2/23/18)
For the first time since 1980, the Brooklyn College Women's Basketball team won the CUNYAC Championship, defeating the College of Staten Island, 59-50, in the tournament final last Friday. With the win, Brooklyn received its' first ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Brooklyn freshman forward, Chanel Jemmott, had an answer for the Dolphins all evening long, garnering the game's MVP honors after finishing with a game-high 18 points, 14 rebounds (10 offensive), and two blocks.
The College of Staten Island opened the second half with a 14-1 run to take its first lead since early in the first quarter, 30-29, with 4:58 left in the third quarter. Jemmott stopped the bleeding, giving the Bulldogs back the lead, 31-30 with 4:22 left in the quarter. A 10-0 Brooklyn spurt highlighted by a Taylor George three-point make gave the Bulldogs the 43-33 advantage heading in to the final quarter - a lead they would not relinquish.
The Bulldogs grabbed their largest lead of the game (19) with 2:40 remaining in the contest and were able to coast to the eventual 59-50 final and first conference championship in 30 years.
5 Factors for Cabrini
- The Cavs' 23 game win streak is the longest in program and CSAC history, breaking their own 19 game win streak during the 2012-13 season.
- The last NCAA Tournament victory for the Blue and White came in the 2013-14 season when they knocked off Moravian University 76-61.
- Cabrini's scoring margin of 15.9 points ranks first in the CSAC and nearly six points better than the next closest team (Rosemont, 10.5 points).
- The Cav's 25 wins this season marks a new program high, as they topped the old mark of 24 wins last posted by the 2014-15 squad.
- Hackendorn's 93 offensive rebounds stand as the third most in the conference.
5 Factors for Brooklyn
- Brooklyn is making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history.
- The Bulldogs captured their first conference title since 1980 after defeating the College of Staten Island 59-50 in this year's CUNYAC Final.
- Senior Karen Mak ranks near the top in all of division III with 95 steals (t-14th), 3.52 steals per game (t-23rd), 143 assists (21st) and 5.3 assists per game (24th).
- She (Mak) is also just one of 26 division III women's basketball players with a triple-double, completing the feat against Baruch College with 19 points, 11 assists and 10 steals.
- As a team, the Bulldogs pull in nearly 50 (49.7) rebounds per game, the highest mark in the CUNYAC.
|
Tale of the Tape |
|
| Cabrini |
|
Brooklyn |
| 25-2 (16-0 CSAC) |
Record |
24-3 (14-2 CUNYAC) |
| 1st (CSAC) |
Conference Standings |
1st (CUNYAC) |
| 71.5 |
Points per Game |
71.0 |
| .397 |
FG Percentage |
.382 |
| .330 |
3-Point FG Percentage |
.302 |
| 42.4 |
Rebounds per Game |
49.7 |
| 15.7 |
Assists per Game |
16.3 |
| 3.9 |
Blocked Shots per game |
3.5 |
| 12.0 |
Steals per Game |
13.9 |
| 16.1 |
Turnovers per Game |
19.8 |
