Trailing by two points with less than a minute remaining, the University of Connecticut Avery Point women’s basketball team scored seven straight points on its way to a thrilling 84-82 win over No. 2 nationally ranked Massasoit CC in the Region XXI Tournament final on March 3.Back-to-Back! Late Run Sends Pointers To Region XXI Title, National Tournament Bid
With the win, the Pointers advance to the NJCAA Division III National Tournament for the second straight year.
UConn Avery Point is the No. 6 seed in the tournament and will play No. 3 seeded Owens Community College (Md.) on Thursday, March 14 in Bethlehem, Pa. The team is also guaranteed to play games on March 15-16, with times and opponents to be determined based on results at the Championship.
Last year, the Pointers finished third at the National Championships. This is the program’s third-ever Nationals appearance, having also qualified in 2009.
Sophomore Mia Brennan (Waterford, Conn.), named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player, scored a game-high 42 points, along with five assists, five steals and four rebounds against Massasoit. She averaged 39.0 points, 6.5 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 steals per game in the tournament.
Rebekah Sanders (Quaker Hill, Conn.) was also named to the All-Tournament Team. She notched her 20th double-double of the year with 17 points and 21 rebounds against Massasoit. She averaged 11 points and 23.5 rebounds per game in the tournament.
Julitza Delgado (Southbridge, Mass.) was the final Pointer to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team. She scored 10 points in Sunday’s win and averaged 13.5 points per game on the weekend.
Ashley Burke (Putnam, Conn.) also reached double digits in the final, as she scored 11 points.
