2016 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - The Bloomfield College women's basketball team (#1N) advanced to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship Tournament Final for the second time in three years after a 55-52 victory over the Tigers of Holy Family University (#2S) Friday afternoon. The semifinal round win, played at the tournament host site, Dominican College, improved the Bears season record to 24-6 while the Tigers dropped to 22-8. Bloomfield saw CACC Co-Player of the Year, Tianna Smith (Spring Valley, N.Y.) net a team-high 17 points while senior Chyna Golden (Neptune, N.J.) posted her second double-double of the tournament with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
The Bears will move on to the Championship Game to be played Saturday, Mar. 5 at 4:00 pm with the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
The Bears, who are 10-0 on the road this year in conference match ups, won for the 11th time in 12 contests, including avenging their only league loss this season against Holy Family back on Feb 13. The 2016 CACC Championship Finals will feature the #1 teams from the North and South Divisions (Philadelphia University) with Bloomfield securing the top overall seed by way of their victory over the Rams on Jan 30 during ESPN3's College Basketball Game of the Week.
Smith, who scored 10 of her total points in the first two quarters, poured in 5-of-12 from the field including 2-for-6 from long range, snagged four steals, four boards and even dished out an assist. Golden ripped down 9 of her total boards in the final two periods and swatted away three Tigers shots. The senior center also went a perfect, 2-for-2 from the line and knocked down her first career three-pointer. Freshman Deja McKenzie (Baltimore, M.D.) went 5-for-9 from the floor for ten points and added four rebounds. Senior Ariel Wilson (Chesapeake, Va.) chipped in 9 points (2-7 FG, 2-3 3FG, 3-4 FT), three assists and a game ending block. Junior guard Morgan Taylor (Paterson, N.J.) dished out a game-high five assists.
Erin Fenningham led Holy Family with 19 points.
The game was tight throughout as it featured six ties and five lead changes. Holy Family held a 40-35 lead late in the third quarter after Erin Fenningham bombed in a deep three-pointer, but Bloomfield countered and bridged the final two quarters with an 11-0 run and would not trail the rest of the way. Golden kick-started the Bears surge with five-straight points on a layup and first career three, while Wilson added a shot from deep as well.
Holy Family did chip away at the deficit and got to within one late, but that was as close as the Tigers could get it. Wilson blocked a three-point attempt at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime if good propelling the top seed into the league final.
The stage is now set for the rematch of the season as Bloomfield and Philadelphia square off for the conference crown on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Hennessy Center on the campus Dominican College in Orangeburg, N.Y.
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