San Antonio, Texas - The No. 10 Dowling College women's basketball (29-3) team earned their program's first trip to the NCAA Final Four with a 60-44 win over the No.4 Colorado Mesa University Mavericks (31-2). Dowling also becomes the first East Coast Conference member to ever advance to the Final Four.
Connie Simmons and Danielle Wilson finished with team high of 14 points apiece. Wilson grabbed nine rebounds and totaled seven blocks. Seja Gamble added 13 points and Christine Verrelle stayed on the court for the duration totaling eight points with a game high 10 rebounds and six assists.
The Golden Lions took the largest lead of the half, 25-20, using an 10-0 run in the closing minutes of the first frame. After a slow offensive start, Dowling went to their strength using their defense to cause 11 CMU turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play. The Golden Lions trailed early, but at the 13:45 mark, a bucket from Simmons gave DC their first lead of the half, 7-6. Both sides kept it close and with four tied score and seven lead changes a three from Caggiano capped ten unanswered as Dowling headed into the break up by five.
Simmons led the half with eight points. Seja Gamble and Caggiano each added six. Julia Koppl and Danielle Wilson combined for five blocks.
Simmons opened the scoring in the second half and the Golden Lions brought the lead to double figures after Koppl hit from long range at the 13 minute mark, 39-27. The Mavericks never cut the deficit to single digits through the remainder of the game as the Golden Lions drove home the 60-44 win.
Dowling's top ranked defense provided 20 points off turnovers. The Golden Lions finished the second half shooting 76.9% (10-13) from the field, 43.5% for the game, punching their ticket to the NCAA Division II National Semifinal Game.
The Golden Lions will face Augustana College (SD) in the semifinal game Wednesday, March 27th at 6:00 PM central time, 7:00 PM eastern time.
The game will be aired nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Check your local listings for more information. A web stream of the game can also be seen on www.ncaa.com.
Provided by the Dowling Sports Information Department.
