Caldwell University
March 19, 2018
Women’s Basketball Earns At-Large Bid to NCAA Division II Championship For Second Straight Season
INDIANAPOLIS Ind.- The Caldwell University women’s basketball season continues as they earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Championship for a second consecutive season. The Cougars were selected as the #5 seed in the East Region and will face the #4 seed St. Thomas Aquinas College in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Championship on Friday. Stonehill College will serve as the host site for the East Region Championship.
Stonehill secured the top seed in the East Region and will host the Regional Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championship game. The Skyhawks will face the #8 seed in the region in Southern Connecticut St. University on Friday. The Caldwell-St. Thomas Aquinas winner will face the Stonehill-Southern Connecticut winner in the regional semifinals on Saturday.
The remainder of the East Region features the #2 seed Bentley University against #7 Jefferson. The University of the Sciences secures the #3 seed in the region and will take on #6 LIU Post on Friday.
The Cougars have continued their successful run as they posted their ninth consecutive winning season with a 24-6 mark. Caldwell, under the direction of first-year Head Coach Torey Northup-Jones, has guided the program to their ninth season with 20+ wins and their third in a row with 20 or more victories. The Cougars finished in second place in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference North Division with a 16-3 conference record.
Senior Kristen Drogsler (Middle Village, N.Y.), a CACC First Team All-Conference selection, leads the Cougars this season with 15.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game. She is second on the team with 59 three-pointers. Senior Sharell Sanders (Dorchester, Mass.) earned CACC Defensive Player of the Year honors and Second Team All-Conference recognition this season. She is averaging 11.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.9 steals per contest. Senior Karlie O’Driscoll (Sharon, Mass.) is chipping in 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while senior Maura Kelty (Barrington, R.I.) is posting 9.7 points per game and leads the team with 6.8 boards per contest.
The season continues as the Cougars will compete in their second NCAA Division II Championship on Friday, March 9. They will face #4 seed St. Thomas Aquinas on the campus of Stonehill at 7:30 pm.