Taylor McBride
  • Sports & Leisure Management
  • Class of 2015
  • Willimantic, CT

Eastern Connecticut State University's Taylor McBride Advances to NCAA Division III Sweet 16 With Women's Basketball

2015 Mar 10

Taylor McBride '15, of Willimantic majoring in Sport & Leisure Management, has made it to the NCAA Division III sweet 16 with Eastern Connecticut State University's women's basketball.

The only team remaining in the NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament which did not receive votes in the most recent national poll, Eastern Connecticut State University faces host Tufts University in the Sweet 16 Friday night at 7 p.m. at Cousens Gymnasium.

Involved in its 14th NCAA tournament - eighth under 21st-year head coach Denise Bierly (394-187) - Eastern (22-8) has a return engagement with No. 5 Tufts (28-1), which defeated the Warriors by a score of 63-51 Nov. 25 at Geissler Gym. The Warriors are facing the Jumbos for the first time at Cousens Gym after going 1-2 all-time against Tufts at Geissler Gym.

Defending national champion and No. 3-ranked FDU-Florham (28-1) faces SUNY Geneseo (25-4) in the first game at 5 p.m. FDU is 85-5 overall the last three years, ringing up a perfect 33-0 mark en route to its first national championship last year (beating Tufts, 42-39, in the national semifinals).

The sectional final is scheduled for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Tufts, with the winner advancing to the Final Four March 20-21 at Calvin College.

The top ten ranked teams and 13 of the Top 25 in the most recent WBCA/USA Today national poll remain alive in the tournament. Two additional teams (including Geneseo) which "also received votes" are also afloat. Eastern is the only team still playing which did not to receive national mention.

Eastern advanced beyond the second round of the tournament for the first time since reaching the national championship game in 2003 by snapping Baruch College's 21-game winning streak in a second-round victory this past Saturday. Eastern stunned No. 12-ranked and host University of Scranton, 50-48, in Friday night's opening round.

In next weekend's national semifinals at Grand Rapids, MI, this weekend's survivor at Tufts meets the winner of a sectional tournament being conducted this weekend in Crestview Hills, KY which includes No.1 ranked host Thomas More College and No. 2 University of St. Thomas (both 29-0), as well as No. 10 Washington University (25-2) and No. 13 Hope College (25-4).

A winner of seven straight and 16 of its last 19, Eastern is ranked tenth in the final NCAA Northeast Region poll. Tufts, a winner of 20 straight since its only loss (52-42 against Scranton in San Juan, P.R. Dec. 28) is first in the Northeast. FDU is second in the Atlantic and Geneseo first in the East. Tufts advanced through the regionals this past weekend with an 87-46 victory over Pine Manor and 72-67 overtime triumph over St. John Fischer College.

Eastern is the only one of the four sectional teams to win its regional last weekend while playing on the road.

In two regional games last weekend, Eastern out-rebounded its opponent by nearly 10 per game and shot 73.0 percent from the foul line.

The team is led by three seniors who won only eight games as freshmen four years ago: guards Kristina Forsman and Taylor McBride, and forward Shannon McCourt. That trio was joined in the lineup against Baruch by junior forward Jill Ritrosky and sophomore guard Julia DePoi.

McCourt and Ritrosky each averaged 16.5 points per game and shot a combined 54.0 percent from the floor in the two-game regional tournament. Ritrosky averaged 12.5 rebounds, DePoi 8.0 and McCourt 5.0. McBride led the team with six assists and three steals. Forsman and sophomore guard Jordyn Nappi - the MVP of the Little East Conference tournament after connecting on a program-tying seven three-point field goals in the two-point overtime championship win -- combined to sink all ten of their free throw attempts. With 33 tournament points, Ritrosky moved to within 28 of her 1,000th career point and with 25 rebounds moved to within four of No. 800.

The game figures to be a defensive battle between Eastern, ranked fifth in scoring defense (49.3) and Tufts, ranked first (47.1). Eastern is also ranked first nationally in three-point field goal defense (20.8) and fourth in rebounding margin (+12.0).

Led by Ritrosky, Eastern's top five players average between 7.4 and 12.7 points. Ritrosky is the top scorer (12.7) and rebounder (10.0), with McCourt second in both categories (10.4/6.7). Nappi (9.4) shoots 83.1 percent from the line and averages 1.4 three-point field goals, Forsman 9.2 points and just 1.7 turnovers per 40 minutes, DePoi 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds and McBride 4.2 assists.

Making its seventh NCAA appearance in the last eight years, Tufts is 83-7 in the last three years and is making its fourth straight appearance in the Round of 16. Three starters are the squad's top scorers and rebounders: 6-foot-2 inch sophomore Michela North (14.1/9.1), 6-foot-2 inch senior Hayley Kanner (13.1/5.9) and 5-foot-10 inch senior guard Hannah Foley (10.9/5.9). At 44.4 percent, Foley is the nation's sixth most-accurate three-point field goal shooter (55-for-124) and also sinks 89.5 percent of her free throws.

In the regular-season loss to Tufts, Eastern used a 16-2 run to pull to within a point five minutes into the second half. In that game, the Jumbos outscored Eastern nearly 2-to-1 in the paint and 11-2 off the bench. Nappi led Eastern with 13 points but missed 12 of 16 field goals. Forsman had 12 points and did not turn the ball over in 34 minutes and DePoi shared game-high rebounding honors with eight. Tufts' Kanner dominated with 20 points (7-for-11 from the floor) and grabbed eight rebounds.

With two wins thus far, Eastern moved over the .500 mark (8-7) in NCAA play under Bierly. Five of the team's victories came in 2003 when the Warriors won a program-record 28 games and reached the national championship game.

If further information or photographs are requested, please contact Sport Information Director, Bob Molta at, 860-465-5172, molta@easternct.edu.