Association of NCAA Division III Independents

Northeast Women’s Basketball Championships

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Rob Knox, Assistant Athletics Director

     for Sports Information Management

(484) 365-7384

MVP McMillan sparks Lincoln to AD3I Championship

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, PA. (February 24, 2007) – The second-seeded Lincoln University women’s basketball team won the Association of Division III Independents Northeast Region championship for the first time in school history by defeating top-seeded Mitchell College, 87-72, Saturday afternoon at Manuel Rivero Hall.

Lincoln (19-8 overall) placed three players in double figures highlighted by freshman guard Shanice Nesmith’s second career double double of 26 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Sharell McMillan set a career-high for the second straight game by scoring 21 points. Senior center Mary Rotimi collected her 38th career double double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman point guard Chanelle Harris tied her career-high with 10 assists to help Lincoln extend its winning streak to seven games.

“This win means a lot to us and to the program because this was our second straight year in the AD3I tournament and we definitely used what we learned last year to help us be successful this season,” McMillan said. “I was playing hard, but I don’t win this MVP without my teammates. They definitely deserve a lot of credit for helping me win this award.”

After opening the season with a 4-6 record, Lincoln won 15 of its last 17 games to establish a school record for victories in a season. The previous mark was 14 set by the 2000 team.

Mitchell (16-11) saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end despite a brilliant 29-point performance from senior guard Alva Jeffreys and 21 points from sophomore Ashley Hansen. Sophomore guard Shakeya Evans also handed out 10 assists for Mitchell. It was the second straight season, Mitchell lost in the AD3I championship. The Pequots fell to Meredith, 66-46, in last year’s final.

McMillan was named tournament MVP after making 9-of-11 baskets from the field and 2-of-3 from 3-point distance. McMillan averaged 21.5 points in leading Lincoln to the AD3I championship. Joining McMillan on the all-tournament team was Nesmith, Jeffreys, Julie Westcott of Maine-Presque Isle and Megan Farrell of St. Joseph’s (Maine).

Lincoln ended a two-game losing streak to Mitchell and avenged an earlier, 76-66 loss to the Pequots back on January 28 in New London. The biggest difference in the game was the performance of Lincoln. The Lions made a season-high 55.7 percent of their shots (39-for-70) and scored a season-high in points. Unlike its previous two defeats to Mitchell, Lincoln did not fall behind by double digits in the second half. This time, Lincoln had Mitchell doing the chasing.

In its defeat to Mitchell earlier this year, Lincoln only received scoring from four players. In the most recent contest, nine players reached the scoring column. Lincoln also won the rebounding battle, 48-26.

Lincoln was able to survive a first-half scoring barrage from Jeffreys, who scored 22 of Mitchell’s 33 first half points. Jeffreys, who also had four steals, finished the game making 10-of-21 baskets from the field, 7-of-14 from 3-point distance and 2-for-2 from the foul line. Jeffreys only finished with seven points in the second half thanks to a little defensive adjustment.

“We put more ball pressure at the top our of 1-3-1 rover defense,” McMillan said. “It seemed like our weakness on that was in the corner on the short side and it seemed like they had to rely on (Hansen) to score and that’s what we wanted. It feels great to finally beat Mitchell because they stopped our eight-game winning streak and that hurt the most. Today was more of a team game and everybody played together.”

Mitchell and Lincoln went at each other like heavyweight fighters in the first 15 minutes of the game. The teams combined for six ties and six lead changes in an electric beginning. Mitchell’s largest lead of the game was 11-7 four minutes into the game. However, Lincoln closed the half with a 13-4 burst to break free from a 29-29 tie. McMillan answered a Jeffreys 3-pointer with a deep jumper from the baseline to give Lincoln the lead for good, 31-29, with 5:17 remaining.

Barnes scored Mitchell’s first basket of the second half to pull the Pequots within, 42-35, 26 seconds after intermission. That would be as close as Mitchell would get. McMillan made a 3-pointer on Lincoln’s next possession to push the Lions’ advantage to 45-35 with 19:22 remaining. Lincoln’s lead never dropped below double digits. McMillian’s 3-pointer fueled a 15-3 Lincoln surge that helped it open its largest lead of the game, 57-38, with 15:27 remaining. During the run, Lincoln made five consecutive baskets.

Mitchell made several runs, but it could only pull to 11 points at 62-51 with 11:43 remaining. Still the loss does not overshadow the remarkable turnaround by Mitchell this season. After enduring an eight-game losing streak early in the season and sinking to a 4-10 record, the Pequots reeled off a memorable 12-game winning streak that yielded the top seed in the Independents’ tournament.

“Winning the championship of this tournament is a good ending to my career at Lincoln,” Rotimi said. “We didn’t expect to shoot the ball as well as did tonight. Our goal coming into the game was to win because we just kept losing to Mitchell and we wanted to come back and beat them.”

--LU--