Lewiston’s Kristi Royer scores 16 in her final collegiate perfomance, but Eastern Connecticut pulls off a 58-47 upset.
By Sun Journal staff

Last winter, Eastern Connecticut State University women’s basketball standout Allison Coleman drove all night to Terre Haute, Ind., site of the NCAA Division III Final Four.

Her goal, apparently, was to watch the proceedings and appreciate what an awful feeling it was to sit on the sidelines while the best teams in the country showcased their stuff.

Saturday night at Scandlon Gym in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Coleman steered Eastern Connecticut to the Final Four in a dramatically different manner, ensuring that her teammates won’t have to experience that same pit in their stomach this March.

Coleman led all scorers with 21 points, including a 3-pointer and two free throws in the last three minutes, to direct the No. 20 Warriors to a 58-47 upset of the No. 5 Bowdoin Polar Bears in the Elite Eight.

Eastern Connecticut (27-4) clinched its second Final Four trip and denied Bowdoin (26-3) its first.

The Polar Bears, who did not lose to an NCAA opponent all season, fell in the national quarterfinals for the second straight year.

Lora Trenkle led Bowdoin with 18 points. Lewiston’s Kristi Royer added 16 in her final collegiate performance.

Bowdoin scored only nine points in the final nine minutes.

Three of the Warriors’ four defeats came at the hands of Southern Maine, the team Bowdoin dispatched with relative ease in Friday’s regional semifinal.

But ECSU, which pulled off its own upset of host King’s College to reach the final, showed little regard for Bowdoin’s ranking and postseason experience.

ECSU bolted to an early lead and held a 28-24 advantage at the half. The Warriors stayed on top for all but a few seconds of a tightly contested second half in which both teams battled foul trouble and wasted numerous chances to seize the upper hand.

Trenkle’s last field goal, a 3-pointer, gave Bowdoin a 36-33 lead with 12 minutes to go.

Coleman, who erupted for a triple-double against King’s, connected inside to bring the Warriors within one with 11:32 left.

Kate Kline nailed two free throws to retrieve the lead for good, and her put-back made it a 39-36 edge.

Vanessa Russell worked the ball down low for Justin Pouravelis for a quick bucket, but Bowdoin went nearly four minutes without a field goal after that.

Coleman’s lob pass found Deanne Prior for a deuce with 8:30 to go, and Meghan Phelps located Coleman for a reverse lay-up. Two Prior free throws made it a 45-38 lead.

Royer nailed a fadeaway jumper to bring the Polar Bears within four, 45-41. Later, she blocked a shot by Kathleen Burdelski and cashed in a pass from Trenkle at the other end to make it a two-point game.

Lindsay Bramwell dropped the second of two free throws for her only point of the night to slice the gap to 45-44.

Phelps calmly found Coleman along the right wing for a trifecta on the Warriors’ next possession.

Perry scored inside and Burdelski sank a free throw prior to Bowdoin’s final rallying cry, a 3-pointer by Courtney Trotta with 1:25 left.

Eastern Connecticut scored the final seven points, all from the line.

The Warriors exhibited textbook balance behind Coleman. Prior contributed 10 points. Perry added nine, and Burdelski and Kline chalked up eight apiece.