Bridgeport Women Advance To ECC Championship Finals With Hard-Fought, 48-45. Win Over Dowling
Senior Kelly Keil's Strong Second Half Helps Purple Knights To The Victory
Bridgeport, Conn.-The University of Bridgeport women's basketball team advanced to the finals of the 2011 East Coast Conference Championship Tournament with a hard-fought 48-45 win over the Dowling College Golden Lions on Saturday afternoon in game that played at UB's Hubbell Gym. Bridgeport entered the day as the number three seed in the tournament, and Dowling was the number seed. The Purple Knights will face the number four C.W. Post Pioneers in Sunday's ECC Final, as CWP topped number seed St. Thomas Aquinas, 78-67. Sunday's title game tips-off at 12 noon.
Bridgeport entered the second half trailing the Golden Lions, 19-16, but UB senior Kelly Keil (Sparta, N.J.) took over the contest in the second half scoring 16 of her game-high 18 points. Keil dominated the game on defense grabbing nine rebounds and blocking eight shots. She was joined in double-figure scoring by classmate Ivana Savic (Belgrade, Serbia) who netted 12 points for the winners.
Kelly Puwalski led Dowling with 17 points on the day.
Bridgeport heads into Sunday's Championship Final with a 17-13 overall record. Dowling wraps up its 2010-11 season at 17-12.
The winner of Sunday's East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Championship will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament that will begin on Friday, March 11th.