Top 10 Moments – #1 Welcome to the Big Dance

When athletic director Frank Carbone first proposed the idea of NCAA membership to St. Joseph’s College president S. Elizabeth Hill over seven years ago, never in his wildest dreams did he think that one of the teams would earn a berth for an NCAA Tournament within the first five (or even 10) years of membership.

So imagine his surprise on the morning of Monday, February 27th when D3Hoops.com predicted that St. Joseph’s College (Brooklyn), in its first year of full NCAA membership, would be one of the 64 teams selected to compete in the 2012 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship in the selection show later that afternoon.

After all, Carbone and the team celebrated the end of their season four days earlier with an emotional Senior Night, after finishing 13-13, their second .500 season in the last six years, but without a USCAA National Tournament invitation. 

Word spread among the team and students after the prediction was announced on the SJCBears twitter account and many gathered in the student lounge to watch the selection show.  The team didn’t have to wait long to find out their fate as they were in the first bracket listed, drawing Amherst College in the opening round.  View the teams’ reaction to the announcement here.

In a whirlwind week, the team prepared for a tall task against the undefeated, top-ranked team in the country and defending national champions. With nothing to lose, the Lady Bears travelled up to LeFrak Gymnasium trying to defeat a Lord Jeffs squad who hasn’t lost on their home court in three years.

As some would have imagined, the Lady Bears took some time shaking off the jitters and Amherst scored the first 12 points of the contest and never trailed.  The Lady Bears struggled to find open looks with the Lord Jeffs size advantage – all but four players equal or taller than the tallest Lady Bear – but drained 4-of-6 from behind the arc in the half and trailed 52-24.

The 24 first-half points were a small victory against the number three defensive team in the nation, who held opponents to less than 48 points per game.   The Lord Jeffs would clamp down however in the second stanza limiting the Lady Bears to only six points and two field goals and St. Joseph’s would fall 84-30.

Despite the lopsided loss, the spirited group of fans who made the trek to Massachusetts for the historic moment in SJC Athletics history cheered proudly until the final buzzer and the memories of competing in the NCAA tournament will last in the memories of the team forever.

A summer feature on www.SJCBears.com, we look back at the highlights from the 2011-2012 season in St. Joseph’s College Brooklyn Athletics. We will reveal a new moment on the list every Wednesday throughout the summer ending in August right before the start of the new season. 

#10 – Diamonds Sparkle on National Stage at Disney
#9 – 2011-12, One For The Record Books...
#8 – Multi-Purpose Facility Construction Commences
#7 – Louison's Outstanding Rookie Campaign Nets Rookie of the Year Honors
#6 – Softball Dominates HVWAC, Returns to USCAA Nationals
#5 – Piccirillo’s Perfect Campaign Leads Baseball to First Winning Season
#4 – Men's Soccer Makes Headlines in First Win
#3 – Perfection… Repeated
#2 – We Did It! Brooklyn Joins NCAA Ranks
#1 – Welcome to the Big Dance!