Lady Deacons Head to Philly for CACC Semis

Bloomfield College women's basketball team took what they hope was the first step to the program's first NCAA tournament berth Monday night.

The Lady Deacons, the No. 1 seed in the Central Atlantic College Conference north division, led the entire way en route to a 56-42 victory over fourth-seeded Dominican College in the CACC quarterfinals at BC's gym.

Bloomfield dispelled the sports cliche that it's impossible to beat the same team three times during the season. The Deacons previously beat the Chargers 61-49 and 65-52 earlier this season, and a drive midway through the second half led by guards Robyn Burton and Ivettlis Castro Monday night helped hold off a Dominican comeback. The Deacons advance to the CACC semifinals in Philadelphia Friday, where they'll play South No. 3 seed Goldey Beacom at 2 p.m.

"I knew that they were going to come out and play," said Bloomfield head coach Jerry Wimberly about Dominican.

Wimberly hopes the battle for most of the game will only be a positive in Philadephia.

"Sometimes you win a game convincingly and the next game you come out complacent," said Wimberly.

Burton, who led the team with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists, is confident about winning the CACC in Philadelphia and grabbing an NCAA Division II tournament bid.

"We're going to go," said the senior. “Our defense is strong and that will win it for us.”

Burton and other Lady Deacons picked up the scoring slack after Bloomfield senior center Tiffany McDaniel, one of the Lady Deacons top scorers who averages 10.5 ppg, found herself in foul trouble for most of the game.

Even when McDaniel is on the court, Wimberly said the team is at its best offensively when players go to the basket, which then puts the ball in the hands of Burton.

“We try to attack the basket no matter if our lineup is either big or small,” said Wimberly.

Deacons sophomore guard Dre'Shonda Williams came off the bench and added 10 points. Bloomfield High School graduate Iliriana Lulgjuraj, a 5-foot-8-inch sophomore forward and one of the five Lady Deacons starters, chipped in four points.

Bloomfield College had seen a 12-point lead in the first half dwindle to just one in the second half after Chargers Lindsey Lopez hit a three-point bucket.

And it was Burton and Castro who sparked the Bloomfield offense as the Lady Deacons scored 14 unanswered points to take a commanding 52-37 lead with a little more than three minutes in the game. During that stretch, Castro hit back-to-back three-point shots while Burton scored a bucket and a pair of assists.

"She's a playmaker," said Burton about Castro. "When we need a bucket we go to her. There's a reason why she scored 1,900 points in high school.”