Yahoo Movies Transylvania vs. Christopher Newport: Previewing the Division III national championship
If you went chalk in your women’s Division III national tournament bracket, you’re probably feeling quite pleased with yourself.
Transylvania University (32-0) and Christopher Newport University (31-0), two of the best teams in Division III women’s college basketball all season long, will each play for their programs’ first-ever national championship. Here’s how the two undefeated programs stack up ahead of Saturday’s battle in Dallas:
Regular-season performances
Only three women’s teams at the D-III level finished their regular seasons undefeated — Christopher Newport (26-0), Transy (27-0) and Scranton (27-0). Both the CNU Captains and the Transy Pioneers took up real estate in the top five of the D3hoops.com Top 25 rankings during all 13 weeks of the poll. The Captains comfortably checked in between Nos. 5 and 3 below the Pioneers until Week 10, when they jumped Transylvania for the first-place ranking.
During the year, CNU recorded wins over tournament teams Greensboro College (N.C.), Rowan University (N.J.), University of Mary Washington (Va.) and Marymount University (Va.). Transylvania defeated tournament team Berea College (Ky.) during its regular season.
Christopher Newport capped its perfect regular season with its fourth straight Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference championship. Transylvania finished its undefeated campaign with a fifth straight Heartland College Athletic Conference title.
“When you get into the tournament everyone is 0-0,” Christopher Newport guard Gabbi San Diego said. “Your record doesn’t really matter anymore. It’s a win-or-go-home kind of mentality, and I think we both — we’re undefeated, but I don’t think that’s what’s coming across our minds. I think we’re focused on the next game, which is what we try to keep our focus on. We’re proud of the season that we have, but the job is not finished and we’re looking forward to competing against a really, really good team on Saturday.”
Coaching comparison
This season, D3hoops.com named national co-coaches of the year. Of course, they’ll face off against each other Saturday. Each coach has only one loss in the past two seasons; both of those losses knocked these teams out of last season’s tournament, with CNU losing in the Sweet 16 and Transy dropping in the Elite Eight.
In his 10th season at the helm of Christopher Newport, Broderick has his team playing with precision. The Captains are known for their three presses, capitalizing on any less-than-perfect passes and overwhelming teams who don’t have the patience and/or skill to consistently break them. Get caught one too many times and you’re looking at a double-digit deficit. The Captains pride themselves on staying locked in.
“Just really keeping ourselves focused,” Broderick said. “Not listening too much to the media or the hype, and also realizing when you’re as successful as we are, everybody is going to be coming after you. You always have an X on your back. When you’re undefeated and No. 1 in the country in the polls, nobody wants to hear about injuries and all those other things. They’re just coming for you. That’s OK; we wouldn’t want it any other way.”
This is also CNU’s third Final Four appearance — and second since 2017. Not to mention seven straight Sweet 16s. Broderick is a coach leading a program that’s been here before. The Pioneers, who have assembled an historic run this year, only reached their first semifinal this season.
Statistics and heart, that’s what Fulks preaches to her players. In nine seasons, Fulks and the Pioneers have collected 210 wins. Her unique approach to basketball has proven successful time and time again, now bringing the program deeper into the postseason than it’s ever gone before. Every single thing this team does has a mathematical reasoning behind it, allowing the Pioneers to focus on efficiency without the threat of ego getting in the way.
Part of that is aiming to pick up the highest amount of points possible per play. The Pioneers live beyond the arc. This is a team that launches about 30 attempts per game, hitting, on average, 8.5 a night. 10 separate Pioneers attempt at least one three-pointer per game.
But even when things aren’t going as planned, Transy always has another strategy on deck.
“I think one of the strengths of this team that they talk about all the time is we know we’re not going to be great every day,” Fulks said. “And they’re going to just — how can we win tonight, and whatever plan that gets to. Sometimes it’s Plan A. Sometimes it feels like we’re at Plan Z. But I think being able to compete every year builds that experience, and so for this group, they’ve just now wrapped up their fifth championship in the conference, and I think that just gave them a lot of confidence.”
The best of the best
Like its coaches, each team has players who have achieved the highest honors in NCAA Division III this season.
▪ Transylvania Sr. G Maddie Kellione.
Kellione not only leads this Transylvania team, but she may be one of the best players the team has ever had. With 15.3 points per game on 46.2% shooting and 37.3% from beyond the arc, as well as dishing 4.5 assists and grabbing 3.5 rebounds a game while a team-high 78.8% from the free-throw line, the Pioneers’ leading scorer is calm at all times. The Elite 90 Award winner for D-III women’s basketball is Transylvania’s X-factor, and her ability to get creative, as well as weave through the tallest of traffic and finish at the rim makes her a difficult player to scout.
▪ Christopher Newport Sr. F Anaya Simmons.
Simmons was injured in the Captains’ first-round tournament victory over Brooklyn. This season she averaged 13.7 points on 68.5% shooting and 7.8 rebounds per game while averaging 21.8 minutes. Following her injury, Broderick described her as a future hall of famer.
OTHER NAMES OF NOTE:
▪ Transylvania Sr. G Kennedi Stacy.
Fulks says if there’s one person she could take with her to a back-alley fight, it’s Stacy. Stacy’s bold style of play and defensive fierceness could pose an issue for the Captains. She averages 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while leading the Pioneers in three-point field goals with 1.8 made on 6.3 attempts per game.
▪ Transylvania Sr. F Dasia Thornton.
Dasia Thornton takes care of business. The Pioneers’ leading rebounder, Thornton grabs 9.8 boards per game. That’s more than twice the number of any active player on Christopher Newport’s roster. She also contributes 12.2 points per game.
▪ Christopher Newport Gr. G Sondra Fan.
Team captain Fan is a force to be reckoned with, particularly on offense. Her ability to push the ball forward with speed often presents a mismatch. She leads her team in scoring with 14.4 points per game. She also averages 38.4% from three and grabs 3.0 rebounds per game.
▪ Christopher Newport Jr. G Gabbi San Diego.
San Diego stands just 5-foot-1, but she plays with tremendous heart and hustle. San Diego also leads her team in assists with 3.9 per game. She averages 8.1 points and 22.3 minutes per game.
Height and depth
Transylvania has its go-to players, and they do all the heavy lifting. Eight Pioneers average at least 10 minutes per game, while CNU brings 11 to the table. In terms of the mean height of players averaging the most minutes per game, these teams are pretty close.
Prior to Simmons’ injury, Christopher Newport and Transy each had six players who averaged at least 16.0 minutes per game. The height difference isn’t substantial, with the Pioneers’ six top players combining for an average height just short of 5-foot-10, while the Captains’ six top players average a hair over 5-foot-8. Though the Captains do boast a taller roster overall, the majority of their minutes come from players who shouldn’t be much of a size mismatch for Transy.
The tournament so far
Transylvania has defeated each of its five opponents on the path to Dallas by double-digits, with the closest margin coming in the Final Four when the Pioneers beat No. 4 Smith College (Mass.) by 11. Transy has outscored its tournament opponents 351-275.
After Christopher Newport handily defeated Brooklyn College by a whopping 37 points in the first round, things got more competitive. The Captains won by single digits in both the Sweet 16 matchup versus No. 21 Tufts (nine) and the Final Four against Rhode Island College (five). CNU has outscored its tournament opponents 342-265.
Saturday
Transylvania vs. Christopher Newport
What: NCAA Division III national championship game
When: Noon EDT
Where: American Airlines Center in Dallas
Records: Transylvania 32-0; Christopher Newport 31-0
TV: CBS Sports Network
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