Wayne State 67 Bentley 72
#5 Bentley (Mass.) rallied from a 19-point deficit in the second half to shock #1 Wayne State 72-67 Tuesday afternoon in the opening game at the NCAA Division II Elite Eight played at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas. The Wildcats end the best season in school history with a record of 32-3 while the Falcons advance to Wednesday’s semi-finals with a 31-3 mark.
The Wildcats got off to a good start, taking a 6-2 lead at the 16:34 mark as Eva Benson scored on the ‘Cats first possession 11 seconds into the game followed by baskets from Ellen Hansen and Ashley Arlen. Bentley then held WSC scoreless for the following 4:47 as the Falcons took an 8-6 lead on a drive to the basket by Jacqui Brugliera. WSC regained the lead on an Ali Schwartzwald three pointer at 9-8 with 11:47 to play in the first half that started a 16-3 run for the Wildcats over the next 5:51. Arlen’s three pointer with 6:14 remaining in the first half put WSC in front by 11 at 22-11.
Bentley then responded by scoring the next seven points, including back-to-back jumpers by All-American forward Lauren Battista, trimming the WSC lead to 22-18 with 4:31 to play before halftime. But Wildcat backup senior guard Alisha hit a jumper and three pointer to put WSC up nine at 27-18. The ‘Cats closed the half strong as backup freshman center Jennifer Kalbfell scored back-to-back buckets to highlight an 8-4 run to end the half giving WSC a 35-24 lead at halftime.
WSC shot 50 percent in the first half, making 14 of 28 shots from the field while holding Bentley to just 30 percent shooting on 10 of 33 including 1 of 9 behind the three point line. The Wildcat bench was productive in the first half scoring 18 of the team’s 35 points thanks to 11 by Alisha Brown and five more from Jennifer Kalbfell.
After Bentley pulled within nine at 37-28 on a three pointer and free throw from Katherine Goodwin to open the second half, WSC scored the next seven points on a Schwartzwald lay in, Duwelius three pointer and Arlen basket to take a 44-28 lead with 17:11 to play in the game. The Falcons trimmed the WSC lead to 46-35, but Wayne State scored eight straight points capped by a pair of Ellen Hansen free throws with 13:38 remaining to take their biggest lead at 54-35.
The Falcons started to heat up from the three point line and put on a full court press against the Wildcats, going on a 17-3 run over the next four minutes to pull within four points at 57-53 with 8:28 to play. Bentley tied the score at 59-59 on a free throw by Katherine Goodwin with 7:15 remaining, but a basket inside by Arlen put WSC back in front 61-59 at the 6:01 mark and two free throws from Hansen and a basket by Benson pushed the WSC lead to six at 65-59 with 4:26 to go.
Bentley scored the next five points to pull within one at 65-64, but an Arlen basket inside gave WSC a 67-64 lead with 3:37 to play. Caleigh Crowell hit a jumper and three pointer to give the Falcons a 69-67 lead with 1:03 to play. In the final minute, WSC had a missed three pointer and two turnovers and had to foul Bentley as the Falcons made three of four free throws to seal the 72-67 comeback win over the Wildcats.
“There were a couple of things that we struggled with,” remarked WSC head coach Chris Kielsmeier in the post-game press conference. “For whatever reason we couldn’t handle their pressure. Their pressure was intense and it got them back in the game. I’m very proud of this team…you can’t take away what this group accomplished.”
WSC senior forward Ashley Arlen ended an All-American season and career with a team-high 17 points and 13 rebounds for her 15th double-double of the season. Senior backup guard Alisha Brown also reached double figures with 11 points, all coming in the first half.
The Wildcats shot 27 of 56 from the field for 48 percent, making 6 of 18 from the three point line, and 7 of 10 free throws. WSC had nine blocked shots in the game with four by 6-6 freshman center Whitney Epp and three by Eva Benson. The Wildcats had 22 turnovers in the contest with 17 coming in the second half.
For Bentley, sophomore forward Lauren Battista led the Falcons with 18 points followed by 16 off the bench from Caleigh Crowell. Kelsey Roberson and Christiana Bakolas added 12 and 10 points respectively. Bentley finished the game making 25 of 68 shots for 36.8 percent, hitting 8 of 22 three pointers and 14 of 22 free throws.
Both teams finished with 38 rebounds as Arlen grabbed a game-high 13 caroms for Wayne State while Courtney Finn hauled in 10 boards for Bentley. Bentley finished the game scoring 31 points off WSC turnovers and had a 32-21 advantage in bench scoring after the WSC bench held a 18-9 edge at halftime.
The game marks the final contest for five Wildcat seniors as Ashley Arlen, Eva Benson, Alisha Brown, Clare Duwelius and Ali Schwartzwald close out their Wayne State careers