SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Trinity University duo of Maggie Shipley and Josie Napoli combined for 34 points and 11 rebounds in guiding fifth-ranked Trinity to a 64-54 victory over Colorado College in the championship game of the SCAC Women's Basketball Tournament Sunday afternoon at Calgaard Gym. The tournament title is the third straight for the TU Tigers program. Official Tournament Website | Photo Gallery | Postgame Interview | Women's Tournament Stats
Playing in their 11th-consecutive SCAC women’s tournament final, the TU Tigers (26-1) earned the program's ninth conference tournament title and ninth overall championship in the sport - the most in league history. With the team's sixth-straight win, Trinity receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship and will await word of its first-round opponent when brackets are announced on Monday.
- After a back and forth first quarter that saw Trinity hold a narrow 14-13 lead at the end of the quarter, the TU tigers went on a 17-4 run during the second quarter to take a 31-17 halftime lead and never looked back in securing the conference title.
- Trinity saw its largest lead of the game swell to 25 at 51-26 with under a minute to play in the third quarter.
- Colorado College fought back however, as the CC Tigers were able to cut the lead to just 12, at 53-41, midway through the fourth quarter after a Rosie Braley layup.
- A Tedy Reed 3-pointer cut the Trinity lead to 62-54 with 1:23 remaining in regulation but that was as close as Colorado College would come.
- The CC Tigers outshot the Trinity Tigers by a 43.3 percent to a 40. percent clip.
- Colorado College held a sizeable 40-25 rebounding margin as well as a 28-17 advantage in bench points.
- Trinity, however, forced 29 Colorado College turnovers and translated them into 26 points.
- The TU Tigers never trailed in the contest.
- Maggie Shipley: 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, one block
- Josie Napoli: 17 points, five rebounds, two assistsm one block
- Ashlyn Milton: 12 points, three rebounds, two steals
- Talia Cloud: 10 points, three rebounds, two assists
- Andie Will: 8 points, six rebounds, three assists
- Anna Fanelli: 6 points, seven rebounds
- Trinity's Ashlyn Milton was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Joining Milton on the All-Tournament Team was Trinity's Maggie Shipley and Josie Napoli, Colorado College's Talia Cloud and Zoe Tomlinson, and Texas Lutheran's Tanyse Moehrig.
- Trinity now has nine SCAC women's basketball titles; the most of any program in league history.
- The championship is the sixth in the last eight years for Trinity, who made its 11th straight appearance in the tournament final. The TU Tigers are now 7-4 over that stretch of title game appearances.
- This was the third consecutive year the Trinity and Colorado College women have met for the conference tournament title. Last year, Trinity recorded a 50-45 victory in the championship game. The last time the same two teams have played for the SCAC tournament title three or more years was from 2003 to 2006 when Trinity and DePauw met for conference supremacy for four straight years.
- Trinity's 26 wins are already tied for the seventh-most in a single season by a conference women's basketball team. The 2006-07 DePauw University squad won 31 games en route to the NCAA Division III national championship.
- Colorado College falls to 19-8 with the loss and will await word of a possible at-large bid to the NCAA tournament when the bracket is announced tomorrow.
