BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - Senior guard Ariel Wilson (Chesapeake, Va.) narrowly missed her first career triple-double as she drove Bloomfield College to a 79-60 victory over the visiting Warriors of Nyack College. Wilson scored 24 points, ten rebounds and tied a career-high with nine steals as she helped the Bears secure the overall top seed in the upcoming Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Tournament. Bloomfield celebrated senior night at their final regular season game and honored Wilson, Chyna Golden (Neptune, N.J.), Iman Williams (Shreveport, La.) and Queen Jackson (Ewing, N.J.) before the contest.

The victory cemented the Bears' highest win total for a season since joining the NCAA Division II in 2003 as the home team improved to 22-6 overall and a record setting, 18-1 in league play. Nyack fell to 7-19 on the year and 5-14 in CACC action with the setback but secured the #4 seed in the North Division for the tournament. Bloomfield, the #1 seed in the North will host the #4 South seeded Griffins of Chestnut Hill Saturday at 2:00 pm while the Warriors will travel to face the top seed of the South in Philadelphia University at 2:00 pm on Saturday as well.

Wilson's game-high was produced on 7-for-17 shooting from the field and she dished out 3 assists while 7 of her boards came off the offensive glass. Junior Tianna Smith (Spring Valley, N.Y.) continued her Player of the Year bid with 19 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Smith added three boards and three steals to the Bears effort. Senior Chyna Golden (Neptune, N.J.) pulled down 13 boards for her third straight double-digit rebounding game. Senior Iman Williams (Shreveport, La.) had a solid night with seven points and six rebounds while freshman Deja McKenzie (Baltimore, M.D.) came off the bench to score eight points in 14 minutes of action.
 
Senior Tori Trador tallied 20 points, five steals, four rebounds and a block as she went a perfect 6-for-6 from long distance for Nyack. Senior night was also good for classmate, Raven Makins who snagged 12 boards for the Warriors in her final appearance at the Bloomfield College Gym.
 
Bloomfield scored the first basket of the game but it was a seesaw battle during the first quarter with neither team going up by more than four. The Bears edged out Nyack by the end of the opening stanza on a bucket in the paint from Williams to take 18-17 lead into the second quarter.
 
Smith fueled a 13-3 run over the first five minutes of the second period as she knocked in five points for a 31-20 advantage. Nyack responded with an 10-2 counter run – with five points from Japri Karim-Duvall, as well as three from Trador – to trim its deficit three at 33-30 with 2:59 remaining until the half. The Bears held strong, however, and took a 41-35 lead into the break after a Wilson layup concluded the scoring in the quarter.
 
Bloomfield never trailed in the final two periods and at the start of the third quarter, the teams traded buckets until McKenzie converted a layup to give the home squad a seven-point margin (47-40) with 5:30 on the clock. Three minutes later a Warrior jumper cut it back to three before the Bears surged ahead with an 8-1 spurt that pushed the lead to 57-47 to end the frame.
 
Sloppy play kicked off the final quarter as both teams were scoreless over the first 2:39 and committed six turnovers between them. A 13-4 run later in the period put the Bears in control for good after a Smith layup pushed the advantage to 70-51. The Warriors traded baskets with the North Division's top seep the rest of the way as the final minutes ticked off the clock.
 
Bloomfield outshot the Warriors 41.2 percent (28-68) to 32.7 percent (17-52) but the visitors were lethal from long distance, converting 62.5 percent (10-16) while holding the Bears to just 35.3 percent (6-17). Both teams shot identical attempts from the stripe, but the home team made 17 of 22, while the visitors hit 16 of 22. Bloomfield also crushed Nyack on the glass, 49-32, and held a 38-10 advantage in the paint. Both teams were awful in the turnover department as each post their second highest turnover totals of the season with the Bears' 28 and the Warriors' 32.
 
The overall top-seeded Bears return to action Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2:00 p.m. when they host fourth-seeded (S) Chestnut Hill in the 2016 CACC Championship Quarterfinal matchup. Admission for the tournament will be: $6 adults, $3 students with ID, seniors and children. Children under 3 will be admitted for free. The gymnasium will be cleared prior to the start of the men's quarterfinal game scheduled to start at 4:30 pm.


Playoff seedings:

North Division

Team (Conf. Record)

1. Bloomfield (18-1)*

2. Caldwell (15-4)

3. Dominican (10-9)

4. Nyack (5-14)
 

South Division

1. Philadelphia (18-1)

2. Holy Family (16-3)

3. USciences (11-8)

4. Chestnut Hill (10-9)

*-Bloomfield is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament

The tournament schedule:

Quarterfinals (Saturday, Feb. 27)

#4S Chestnut Hill at #1N Bloomfield (2 p.m.)

#3N Dominican at #2S Holy Family (2 p.m.)

#4N Nyack at #1S Philadelphia (2 p.m.)

#3S USciences at #2N Caldwell (2 p.m.)

Semifinals (Friday, March 4)

Bloom/CHC Winner vs. HFU/DC Winner (12 or 2 p.m.)

PhilaU/Nyack Winner vs. USci/Cald Winner (12 or 2 p.m.)

*The highest remaining seed will play the first semifinal game on Friday

Championship Final (Saturday, March 5)

Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner (4 p.m.)

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