(Guru’s note: We’ll be heading down to Washington for Temple’s showdown with George Washington that could give the Owls a No. 2 seed in the A-10 tournament with a win besides enhancing their chances to make the NCAA tournament as an at-large team.
We’ll also be tracking Drexel’s game in Philadelphia against George Mason in which the Dragons can clinch the No. 1 seed in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament and minimally a berth in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament if they don’t make the NCAA field.

But in the interim, three Division III conference titles were claimed by area teams Saturday and here are their stories, mainly contributed from their respective SIDs.) -- Mel Greenberg

                                    Day of Pride for Widener

Widener’s men and women captured their respective Middle Atlantic/Commonwealth titles the same day, the first time the Pride pulled that double since 1982, the same year the NCAA began women’s events. The women won as a No. 4 seed in the tournament.

The feature here is former Cardinal Dougherty star Barbara Fleming, who had a game-high 24 points.

Fleming, the leader in scoring, assists, and steals, sent the championship game into overtime by hitting a 30 foot 3 pointer with 16 seconds left as the shot clock went off. She is just 15 points short of her 1000 point.

Formerly an MVP of Division II Wilmington, Fleming transferred to Widener in January of her sophomore year and planned to redshirt.

But an injury to another player caused her to give up the redshirt to help the squad.

Fleming was instrumental this season in taking Widener from two seasons with a losing record to becoming conference champs.

Here is Widener’s game story:

Annville, PA (Feb. 28, 2009) – Beth Dessart Mager (Newtown Square, PA/Cardinal O’Hara) heroically played all 50 minutes in being named tournament MVP and fellow senior Barbara Fleming (Philadelphia, PA/Wilmington Coll.) poured in 24 points for Widener in a thrilling 75-72 double-overtime victory at Lebanon Valley for its second Commonwealth Conference title in six years.

Widener (18-9) captured its fourth Middle Atlantic/Commonwealth crown in school history and is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the third time (1982, 2004). The squad also was the fourth seed in 2004, also beating Messiah in the semifinals and winning at the No. 2 seed in the final.

If that was not ironic enough, the Pride’s victory in 2004 also came on February 28 and moved their record to 18-9. For the record, the next Saturday, February 28 is in 2015.

In a second half which neither team led by more than five points, Eryn Schultz hit a 3-pointer to give Lebanon Valley a 59-56 lead. Fleming on the next possession missed a 3-pointer and sophomore Alex Held (Westminster, MD/Westminster) got the rebound. Following a timeout, Fleming banked in a triple with 16 seconds left and Widener had to survive Schultz missing a jumper in the closing seconds.

The Dutchmen (17-9) grabbed a 67-64 cushion in the first overtime on a 3-pointer from Megan Bish. But sophomore reserve Katie Gallagher (Defiance, OH/Defiance) hit one of the biggest shots of her young career, draining a 3-pointer with 1:06 left for a 67-67 tie.

Lori Lidlow hit 1-of-2 free throws for Lebanon Valley with 48 seconds to play and Gallagher followed suit 15 seconds later for a 68-68 tie. Lidlow missed a layup with nine seconds to go and Dessart Mager could not convert a jumper at the buzzer.

Gallagher in the second overtime made a crucial layup with 3:43 left to bring Widener to a 70-70 tie. Fleming hit a jumper and Dessart Mager made one of two from the stripe with 1:52 remaining and a 73-70 Widener lead.

Lidlow made a layup with 1:37 to go for a 73-72 game, followed by Pride junior Lindsey Isler (New Hope, PA/New Hope-Solebury) drilling 1-of-2 from the foul line with 31 seconds left for a two-point contest.

After Isler missed two free throws, Dessart Mager stole the ball from Suzie Noyes with four seconds left. Dessart Mager hit 1-of-2 free throws for a 75-72 game and Widener survived Lidlow’s missed runner from halfcourt at the buzzer.

Dessart Mager truly gave it all, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. She competed at least 37 minutes for the 10th time this season and at least 40 minutes for the fourth time in six contests. Dessart Mager ended the tournament with 34 points and 15 rebounds, scoring in double figures for the sixth time in eight games.

Isler scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds over 45 minutes with Fleming totaling 40 minutes for Widener, which shot 39 percent (25-of-64) overall.

It was Widener’s longest game since a 78-70 double-overtime loss to Muhlenberg on January 9, 1995.

Noyes had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Lidlow scored 17 and Schultz netted 10 for the Dutchmen, who shot 36 percent (21-of-59) overall.

                             New Coach Same Story

Former Holy Family assistant Bernadette Laukaitis is now head coach of Cabrini, which won its second straight conference crown – taking the Colonial States Athletic Conference, formerly named the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference, by beating league rival Gwynedd-Mercy, a perennial power.

Here is the story filed by from Cabrini

RADNOR, Pa. – For the second consecutive month of March, the Cabrini women’s basketball team is lacing up its dancing shoes and heading to “The Big Dance” after a 78-67 win against league rival Gwynedd-Mercy College in the championship game of the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Tournament.

Senior forward Kayleen Smith (Williamstown, N.J./Saint Joseph) earned most valuable player recognition, totaling a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Smith shot 9-for-16 from the field overall.

Senior forward Brittany McLeod (Fairless Hills, Pa./Conwell-Egan) also recorded a double-double, notching 15 points and 12 boards. McLeod swiped a game-high four steals and came up with two critical blocked shots mid-way through the second half.

Junior shooting guard Kate Walck (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) collected 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Kate Ryan (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) and junior point guard Deana DiAmico (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy) each registered 10 points.

Cabrini owned a 37-31 advantage at halftime after shooting better than 44 percent from the field in the opening period. The Cavaliers led by as much as 10 points, 36-26 in the first half following a jumper from Walck at the 2:09 mark.

Gwynedd-Mercy trimmed its deficit to four points, 45-41, in the opening minutes of the second stanza. However, Cabrini responded with an 8-3 run, securing a 50-44 lead with 12:20 remaining.

The Cavaliers’ cushion ballooned to 12 points, 58-46, after a fast-break lay-in from Walck just 90 seconds following.

Just as Gwynedd-Mercy began to chip away at the Cabrini lead, the Cavaliers answered to keep the visitors at arms length. Twice in the final six minutes it was Smith in the post providing the Blue & White with a clutch basket.

Leading by seven points, 63-56, Smith caught a lob feed from DiAmico and deposited a lay-in at the 6:08 mark. Minutes later, Smith knocked down a mid-ranger jumper along the baseline to push to the Cabrini edge back to double digits, 68-56.

The Cavaliers tightly held a 10-point, 75-65, lead in the final minute. After avoiding Gwynedd-Mercy’s desperate foul attempts, DiAmico weaved through the pressure and found Ryan alone for three-ball in the corner, sealing the championship victory.

Junior forward Jackie Dooley paced the Griffins’ attack with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Kate Wisniewski tallied 14 points and four rebounds. Senior guard Bridget Morrin posted nine points, three rebounds and three steals.

Under first-year head coach Bernadette Laukaitis, Cabrini wins its fifth CSAC title. The Blue & White has reached the 23-win plateau for the first time since the 1994-95 campaign.

The Cavaliers will be making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance all-time. Cabrini last advanced to consecutive national tournaments in 1996 and 1997. The Cavaliers made three straight trip to the tournament from 1995-97.

Cabrini (23-4) will learn its NCAA Tournament fate Monday, March 2. The NCAA Women’s Basketball Committee will announce the 2009 field at 11 a.m. via a webcast on ncaa.com.

College of New Jersey Back on Top in NJAC

The Lions’ story the last several years has been Hillary Klimowicz, who transferred from St. Joseph’s after her freshman season in which she was both the Big Five and Atlantic Ten top newcomer.

Here is the report from suburban Trenton, not far from the site of one of four NCAA Division I women’s regionals, which will be held later this month at the Sovereign Bank Arena.

Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey women’s basketball team hosted the Cougars of Kean University on Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the 2008-2009 New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs. TCNJ would tally a 69-57 victory to capture the program’s fourth NJAC Championship and is now 23-4 on the year. Kean, the two-time defending league champions, drops to 21-7 on the year. A year ago, Kean defeated TCNJ 70-61 to win the league’s championship in Packer Hall, marking TCNJ’s last home setback. TCNJ’s last NJAC Championship in 2006.

TCNJ received an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Division III Playoffs. The NCAA tournament field will be announced on March 2 and opening round action of the tournament commences on Wednesday, March 4. TCNJ remains perfect at home this year as the Lions are 13-0 and have now won 20 of their last 21 games.

A year ago, Kean defeated TCNJ 70-61 to win the league’s championship in Packer Hall, marking TCNJ’s last home setback. TCNJ’s last NJAC Championship in 2006.

TCNJ was led once again by senior center Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) as she finished with a team-high 19 points with seven blocked shots and nine rebounds. Named the NJAC’s Women’s Basketball Player of the Year earlier this week, she now has 1,552 points and 997 rebounds.

For the Cougars, junior Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna, PA/Pocono Mountain West) led all players with 25 points as she was 8-19 from the floor with six three-point baskets.

TCNJ would take a 30-17 lead into the locker room after holding Kean scoreless until the 13:39 mark of the game. TCNJ led 4-2 and would hold the Cougars to just 32.0% shooting (8-25), including a 16.7% effort from three point range (1-6). TCNJ held an 18-17 edge on the boards while forcing 17 Kean turnovers. For the Lions, Klimowicz led the way with 13 first half point as she was 6-7 from the floor.

TCNJ would get 12 points each from junior guard Nicole Diaz (Egg Harbor Township, NJ/Egg Harbor Township), senior Alyssa Michella (Washington Township, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy), and junior Alexandra Gregorek (Mahwah, NJ/Academy of the Holy Angels). The 12 points ties the career-high by Diaz, while Michella was the Lions’ high rebounder with 10 boards.

Kean would pull within seven points in the second half as TCNJ held a 32-25 lead with 14:53 left to play. The Lions would break open the game and go on a run to own a 55-34 lead over the next six minutes. TCNJ would force 20 Kean turnovers and hold the Cougars to a 30.4% shooting performance from the floor (21-69).

Kean’s junior Alysha Taylor (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) would finish with 10 points, while junior guard Danielle Brown (North Brunswick, NJ/St. Peter’s) added a game-high 12 rebounds.

-- Mel