2015 CACC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTO GALLERY

2015 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 7, 2015) – Erin Fenningham threw in a game-high 36 points on the way to earning most valuable player honors, and Holy Family University erased a late 10-point deficit to win the 2015 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women’s Basketball Championship with a 79-75 triumph over Philadelphia University on Saturday afternoon at the Gallagher Center.

The South No. 3 seed Tigers reached the 20-win plateau to improve to 20-10 overall, while the South No. 2 seed Rams dipped to 22-8. Holy Family earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament East Regional, which will be held next week at a site to be determined. Philadelphia U. will await word if it received an at-large bid to the regionals, as the NCAA will make the official announcement of tournament competitors on Sunday night at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com(.)

Jill Conroy chipped in 18 points, including five straight during Holy Family’s 13-0 surge to take a 77-74 lead with :12 remaining. Conroy’s three-point play on a layup and foul shot with 1:07 left knotted the score at 74-all, while Abigail Iannotti put the Tigers in front by one with a free throw, and Kylie Giedemann followed moments later to cap the run with back-to-back foul shots.

The 13-0 rally was part of Holy Family’s 15-1 run to complete the comeback and seal the championship.

Philadelphia U. led by as many as 12 on two occasions in the second half, including at 69-57 with 5:39 to go on a deep three-pointer from Najah Jacobs, who tied with Mary Newell for team-high honors with 18 points apiece. Both players were part of a collection of five Rams who logged double-figures in the game, including 13 points each from Bria Young, Monica Schacker and Alex Heck.

Despite the balanced scoring attack, PhilaU could not overcome four athletes fouling out from the game.

Both teams shot well from the floor, including Philadelphia going at a 48-percent clip and HFU converting at a 47-percent pace. PhilaU assisted on 19 of its 25 shots made.

The first half went back and forth with neither side gaining a distinct advantage, as the opening 20 minutes featured two ties and seven lead changes. Newell’s layup with 2:14 to go until halftime staked the Rams to a 36-30 lead, but Holy Family answered with six of the period’s final eight points – including four points from Fenningham – to pull within two at halftime, 38-36.

Fenningham had a monster first half with 20 points, including a thunderous 4-of-5 effort from downtown. Her offensive play, combined with nine points from Conroy, enabled the Tigers to stay close despite All-CACC performer Kasey Woetzel being covered by multiple Ram defenders in the half aimed at taking her away from the flow of the game.

The game remained close over the opening stages of the second half, but PhilaU finally seemed to get some separation by opening a nine-point lead (60-51) with 8:35 left when Newell hit a layup down low. Schacker bomed in a three ball 75 seconds later extend it to 64-52.

From there, Holy Family closed out the game by outscoring Philadelphia, 27-11, to earn the right to cut down the nets.

Conroy and Woetzel joined Fenningham on the 2015 CACC All-Tournament Team, while Schacker and Jacobs landed on the unit from Philadelphia. Joining those five were University of the Sciences’ Brianne Traub, Goldey-Beacom College’s Lexi Bruno and Caldwell University’s Emily Caswell. 

The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician College, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Philadelphia University, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.

2015 CACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Erin Fenningham (Holy Family)
Jill Conroy (Holy Family)
Kasey Woetzel (Holy Family)
Monica Schacker (Philadelphia U.)
Najah Jacobs (Philadelphia U.)
Brianne Traub (USciences)
Emily Caswell (Caldwell)
Lexi Bruno (Goldey-Beacom)

MVP – Erin Fenningham (Holy Family)