ST. DAVIDS, Pa.--For the first time in the program's NCAA history, Eastern University Women's Basketball has advanced to an conference championship game. The No. 22 Eastern Eagles got the monkey off their back on Wednesday night, holding off the DeSales University Bulldogs 72-63 in the Freedom Conference Semifinals.
Eastern earns a rematch on Saturday afternoon with No. 4 FDU-Florham in the Freedom Conference Championship game. The Eagles are the only squad to beat the FDU-Florham Devils this season. The Devils defeated Delaware Valley College 79-49 on Wednesday to advance to the title game and will host Saturday's championship.
Eastern held a lead against DeSales from the first basket to the final buzzer and had a chance to put the game completely out of reach with 10 minutes left in the game. The Eagles took a 22-point lead with after a layup from senior forward Meghan Nowak with 9:56 remaining. The Bulldogs, fitting to the nature of their mascot, didn't let the game go and clawed back with a 9-0 run that turned into a 25-7 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes. DeSales' Megan Baird knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:32 remaining to pull DeSales within four points, 63-59.
Both of Eastern's bigs, Nowak and Emily Lavin, re-entered the game with four fouls after that bucket and managed to avoid committing another foul the rest of the way. Senior guard Gina DiDomenico helped right the Eagles' listing ship with a baseline drive and layup with 3:14 left to make it a two-possession game. In the final three minutes of the game, even with Lavin and Nowak in foul trouble, the Eagles' defense stayed aggressive. They recorded three blocks and three steals in that final stretch.
DiDomenico's layup proved to be the final field goal for the Eagles. They finished the job at the free-throw line, going 9-for-11 from the charity stripe in the last three minutes. Freshman guard Taylor Price had five of those made free throws and went 8-of-10 from the line in the game.
Nowak led the Eagles with 21 points on 9-of-15 (60 percent) shooting, including going 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Nowak brought down six rebounds and stole the ball five times. DiDomenico also swiped five steals and added 16 points. Kaitlyn Dougherty added 13 points and four assists, and Price added 10 points and three assists.
Lavin led all players with 14 rebounds, including four offensive boards. She also had eight points, five blocks and four steals. The Eagles recorded 20 steals and forced DeSales to commit 29 turnovers. Eastern, however, showed some sloppiness in their passing decisions and ended up committing 26 turnovers. Their season high in turnovers in a game is 28.
DeSales sophomore center Morgan McCollian posted a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds (six offensive). Megan Baird was the only other Bulldog to reach double-figures. She added 13 points.
The Eagles went a perfect 10-0 at home this season and enter the Freedom Championship on a 12-game winning streak. Their last loss was at FDU-Florham on Jan. 14. Saturday's championship game at FDU-Florham will start at 1 p.m.
Eastern has made the conference semifinals in each of the senior class's four seasons. Before that, the Eagles went six years without making the conference tournament and had seven tournament appearances in the 13 seasons prior to that dating back to the school's first year in the NCAA.
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