HOLY FAMILY CAPTURES CACC TOURNAMENT CROWN
HOLY FAMILY CAPTURES CACC TOURNAMENT CROWN
March 5, 2005
Courtesy of Matt McLagan Caldwell Sports Information
Photos provided by Jim O'Connor NJ Sports Pics
CALDWELL, N.J. – Guard Kelly Killion (Pennsauken, NJ) registered 14 points and five assists as Holy Family held off the University of Sciences, 65-59 in the title game of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament Saturday night at Caldwell College’s Newman Center. The Lady Tigers (25-5), who also won the CACC regular-season crown, will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. This is the first season that the CACC Tournament champion automatically qualifies for the national tournament.
The Lady Tigers broke open a close game with a 16-5 run in the final 8:31 of the first half to take a 34-24 lead into halftime. Killion notched 11 points in the half for the Lady Tigers, while USP was led by guard Shelby Rance (Bloomsburg, PA), who poured in 16 points in the game’s first 20 minutes.
The Holy Family lead would grow to 12 early in the second half before the Devils staged a comeback. Six points from forward Leah Shumoski (Broomall, PA) and five from guard Rashanna Edwards (Plainsboro, NJ) sparked an 11-2 run that pulled USP to within 40-37 with 15:46 remaining. A lay-up and two free throws by forward Lindsay Sock (Hatfield, PA) pushed the Lady Tiger advantage back to seven, but again USP battled back to make the score 50-47 with 9:14 on the clock. That’s as close as the Devils would get, however, as CACC Player of the Year Jamie Battinieri (Eddystone, PA) scored six points in an 11-5 Holy Family spree that gave them a 61-52 lead with just over a minute to play. A late push by USP came up short, as the Lady Tigers avenged a loss to the Devils in last year’s CACC Tournament final.
Killion was named the CACC Tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 14.0 points and 6.3 assists through three tourney games. Battinieri finished with a team-high 15 points and forward Ashley Dunek (Mt. Laurel, NJ) had 11 points and 10 rebounds to each earn a spot on the AdPro Team Sports All-Tournament Team. Both Rance, who tallied a game-high 23 points, and Shumoski, who finished with 16 points and 11 boards, received All-Tournament honors for the Devils (21-9).
The NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Tournament begins on Thursday, Mar. 10.
2005 AdPro Team Sports CACC All-Tournament Team
Kelly Killion, Holy Family (MVP)
Ashley Dunek, Holy Family
Jamie Battinieri, Holy Family
Shelby Rance, USP
Leah Shumoski, USP
Kelly Crowe, N.J.I.T.
Keir Dargon, Bloomfield
Danielle Norman, Felician