Boxscore
PHILADELPHIA – With the shot clock winding down in the waning moments of regulation, redshirt-junior guard Jacinda Jones' three-point field goal solidified a 62-57 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference semifinal upset win over the North No. 1 seed Bloomfield College and the Goldey-Beacom College women's basketball program's first berth in the conference final. The Lightning (17-11), who are the No. 3 seed out of the South, have earned two consecutive tournament wins over regionally ranked opponents to advance to the final vs. the South No. 1 seed and tournament host, Holy Family University at 4 p.m.
Sophomore forward Devonne Richardson had 13 points in the second half to lead all scorers with 15 while also pitching in 10 rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Janae Weldon knocked down three three-point field goals to finish with 11 points and also recorded four rebounds, two assists and three steals. Jones finished with nine, including the big three with 23 seconds left. On the interior, sophomore forward Akilah Sewell and senior forward Arielle Alford commanded the paint. Sewell finished with nine points, nine rebounds, five blocks and one steal, and Alford grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds while scoring four and collecting one block, steal and assist. Bloomfield (19-9), which came in ranked No. 10 in the region, held a 35-percent to 32-percent shooting advantage from the field. But GBC doubled up the Deacons in three-pointers (8-of-19 to 4-of-13), feasted at the line (16-of-24 to 5-of-8) and also won the battle on the glass, 50-42. The Lightning turned the ball over more (16-13) but combined for 13 assists as a team compared to just nine by the Deacons. Redshirt-sophomore guard Ashley Rosario (six points, six rebounds) dished out a game-high five assists for the victors. GBC held all five Bloomfield starters in single-digits as the Deacons stayed in the game with great bench play, including 14 points by Dre'Shonda Williams and 13 points and three assists by Ivettlis Castro. Tiffany McDaniel had a team—high 10 rebounds to go with seven points and two blocks.
Weldon, Rosario and Jones each knocked down three-pointers to help the Lightning get out to an early 17-11 lead almost 10 minutes into the first half. Bloomfield answered with a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 18-17, but the Lightning closed out the final 6:29 on a 12-5 run to take a 29-23 lead into the intermission.
Bloomfield opened the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 33-31 lead at the 17:20 mark, but the Lightning took the game over when they responded with a 12-0 surge over the next 6:16 to go up 43-33. GBC led by as many as 11 (50-39) after a pair of free-throws by Sewell with 9:35 left to play.
The Deacons scored 16 of the game's next 24 points to pull within three, 58-55 with just 48 seconds left in regulation. That is when GBC worked the ball around to melt the clock, and with just nine seconds left on the shot clock and 23 seconds showing on the game clock, Jones buried her third three-point field goal of the afternoon to put the game virtually out of reach, 61-57.
Castro made a layup at the other end with 17 seconds to go, but Richardson made one-of-two at the line to seal the victory.
The Lightning, led by fourth-year head coach Jen Carleton, will now look to earn the school's first-ever CACC basketball championship and NCAA Tournament berth as they take on the Tigers of Holy Family at 4 p.m. tomorrow. GBC is the only team in the conference to defeat HFU during the regular season. The Lightning ended the Tigers' 110-game regular season conference winning streak and 71-game home winning streak at the Campus Center back on Jan. 13.
HFU comes in ranked No. 15 in the country and No. 1 in the East Region. GBC has defeated two regionally-ranked teams already to get here: USciences (No. 7) and Bloomfield (No. 10).
