March 25, 2024
Postseason WNIT | 3/25/2024 8:09:29 PM
WISCONSIN 67, SOUTHERN INDIANA 62
EVANSVILLE, IN – Trailing by 19 points at halftime, Wisconsin stormed back with an impressive final 20 minutes to top Southern Indiana and earn a spot in the 2024 Postseason WNIT Super 16.
The Badgers (14-16) will host Illinois State in the next round; tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 28.
Wisconsin outscored Southern Indiana in the fourth quarter, 25-7, overall holding USI to 34 percent shooting from the field while forcing 19 turnovers and going 22-for-27 from the free-throw line.
With 1:49 left in the game, Ali Saunders made two free throws for USI to cut the Wisconsin lead to 63-60. Serah Williams hit a free throw to make it 64-60, and Chloe Gannon’s layup made it 64-62 with 1:06 on the clock. Natalie Leuzinger made a free throw for Wisconsin at :34, and Southern Indiana’s last try ended with a turnover with 10 seconds to go. Ronnie Porter closed the deal with two more Badger free throws.
Williams had 24 points and 11 rebounds along with seven blocked shots; Porter had 19 points and Sania Copeland scored 12 points.
The Screaming Eagles (25-7) got 18 points from Saunders. Meredith Raley scored 13 points and Chloe Gannon tallied 11 points.
TROY 92, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 62
TROY, AL - The Troy Trojans were thoroughly dominant on Monday night to secure a spot in the 2024 Postseason WNIT Super 16 with a 92-62 victory over Florida International.
Ja'Mia Hollings led the Trojans with an incredible 30-point, 10-rebound performance, while Nia Daniel added 15 points and six rebounds. Altogether, Troy had four players reach double figures in scoring and shot 52.7 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from 3-point range.
Defensively, Troy held Florida International to just 38.3 percent shooting from the field and 21.1 percent from distance.
After taking a nine-point lead into the halftime break, the Trojans dominated the third quarter, 27-7, to take control of the game. Troy will take on North Carolina A&T in the Super 16.
COLGATE 54, PROVIDENCE 41
PROVIDENCE, RI - The saying is defense travels. Never was that more evident than in Colgate's impressive 54-41 victory over Providence to advance to the Super 16 of the 2024 Postseason WNIT.
The Raiders held Providence to just 28.6 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent from distance. Colgate also forced Providence into 20 turnovers for the night, providing little offensive rhtyhm for the Friars all night.
Offensively, Colgate was led by Taylor Golembiewski, who had 17 points. Alexa Brodie joined her in double figures with 13 points and six rebounds, while Sophia Diehl came close to posting a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
Colgate will take on Vermont in the Super 16.
DUQUESNE 69, MONMOUTH 65 (OT)
PITTSBURGH, PA – A 9-1 run late in the fourth quarter pulled Duquesne even against Monmouth to force overtime Monday, and the Dukes pulled out the victory thanks to an offensive rebound putback from Amaya Hamilton and two clinching free throws from Lauren Wasylson.
Duquesne (21-12) will play at Purdue in the Super 16, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 28.
Jania Hall hit a jumper for Monmouth with 42 seconds left in overtime, tying the game at 65-all. With 21 seconds left, Hamilton rebounded her own miss and converted the shot to make it 67-65, and Wasylson closed it with two free throws with one second left.
Wasylson made three free throws to cut the Hawks lead to 59-57 with 38 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Hall hit one free throw for Monmouth at the :32 mark to make it 60-57, and Wasylson was again fouled on a 3-point attempt – she converted all the free throws to tie the game at 60-all with 29 seconds to go. Monmouth’s last possession in regulation was stifled by the Duquesne defense.
Megan McConnell scored 16 points to go with 10 rebounds for the Dukes. Precious Johnson tied her season high with 15 points, and Jerni Kiaku scored 12 points. Wasylson scored 11 points.
Duquesne averaged more than eight made 3-pointers per game but was just 3-for-16 on Monday.
The Hawks (22-10) saw their 13-game winning streak on the road come to an end. Ariana Vanderhoop scored 18 points and Hall added 16 points. Belle Kranbuhl closed with 10 rebounds.
PURDUE 62, BUTLER 51
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Purdue closed the second quarter with a 9-0 run, outscored Butler by a 20-11 margin in the third, and held on at the end for the victory and a berth in the Postseason WNIT Super 16.
The Boilermakers (14-18) will host Duquesne in the Super 16; tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 28.
Purdue led in bench scoring, 33-16, and held Butler to 4-for-22 shooting from 3-point range. Mila Reynolds had 15 points for the Boilermakers, Jayla Smith scored 11 points and had Abbey Ellis scored 10 points. Jeanae Terry brought down 12 rebounds.
Riley Makalusky scored 14 points for the Bulldogs (15-17), and Sydney Janes scored 10 points.
VERMONT 69, NIAGARA 63
BURLINGTON, VT - The Vermont Catamounts (23-11) advanced to the Super 16 of the 2024 Postseason WNIT with a 69-63 victory over Niagara (21-14) on Monday night.
Andejla Matic powered the Catamounts with 19 points, connecting on 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and pulled down eight rebounds, while Emma Utterback added 17 points. As a team, Vermont was incredibly efficient, shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. On the night, six different players tallied at least six points for the Catamounts.
It was a back-and-forth contest for much of the night, with Niagara tying the game up at 52 apiece with 5:34 left in the game. From there, Vermont responded with a 6-0 run to gain some breathing room. Niagara pulled back within two points with 12 seconds left, but Matic came up clutch at the line, sinking all four of her free throws down the stretch to seal the victory for Vermont.
The Catamounts will take Colgate in the Super 16.
LOUISIANA MONROE 102, GRAMBLING STATE 76
MONROE, LA – Louisiana Monroe made plenty of noise in its first postseason game in 30 years, easing past Grambling State and into the Super 16 round of the Postseason WNIT.
The Warhawks (20-13) will host Southern Miss in the next round; tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 27.
Jakayla Johnson scored 30 points and added eight rebounds for Louisiana Monroe, and Brianna Harris scored 17 points. Katlyn Manuel added 13 points, Sania Wells closed with 12 points and Daisha Bradford had 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Tigers (23-9) were held to 33 percent shooting from the field. Jazmyne Jackson scored 23 points, Kahia Warmsley scored 14 points and Douthsine Prien added 11 points.
Grambling had won the previous six games against Louisiana Monroe.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE 72, MONTANA 63
FARGO, ND – Abbie Draper scored 18 points and Elle Evans added 17 points as North Dakota State topped Montana to earn a spot in the Postseason WNIT Super 16.
Abbie Schulte added 12 points for the Bison (22-11), who will play Minnesota or Pacific in the next round. NDSU was 17-for-18 from the free-throw line and had a 46-25 lead in rebounds.
The Grizzlies (23-10) got 24 points from Gina Marxen; Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw scored 16 points and Mack Konig had 11 points. Dani Bartsch had 13 rebounds.