City of Basketball Love

By Jeff Griffith
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For the next several days, the Gallagher Center will serve as the epicenter of mid-atlantic Division II basketball.

March 8-9, following opening round games on various campus sites, the esteemed venue on the campus of Jefferson University will play host to both the men’s and women’s edition of the 2025 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) championships, a pair of events that will send its champions to the Division II NCAA Tournament. 

And as an added bonus, the Rams’ men’s and women’s teams both enter their respective tournaments with top seeds, having each won the CACC South division.

"For the program, it’s great because we get to sleep in our own beds, eat our own food,” women’s head coach Thomas Shirley said. “For the university, it highlights the school to other teams and fans who may be visiting for the first time. It’s all about branding, advertising, and promoting.”

Shirley’s side of the Jefferson basketball program has been quite successful this season, currently sitting atop the overall conference standings with a league record of 14-2 (22-6 on the year. 

The Rams haven’t lost since January 16, a 13-game win streak that includes Shirley’s 900th career win, which came Feb. 19 in a win over Caldwell. With 903 wins and counting heading into postseason play, Shirley is now tied with Jim Foster — who coached at four schools, including St. Joseph’s from 1978-91 — for ninth on the list of winningest women’s college basketball coaches across all divisions. 

Generally speaking, the Rams’ women stacks up well against their conference foes, as their record and seeding suggest. Jefferson will match up with Felician in the first round, having won the only meeting between the two, 59-56, way back on January 11. Their only conference losses this season both came on the road, and both came against teams they wouldn’t face until the CACC championship game — Dominican and Holy Family. 

After a dominant 32-2 season a year ago that included a conference title and deep postseason run, Jefferson’s women’s side, according to Shirley, felt “written off” entering this season. Losing forward Sam Yencha early in the season — the senior, fresh off of a regionally- and nationally-decorated junior season, had averaged over 15 points and 11 rebounds in three games before sustaining an injury — didn’t help that narrative either, especially after a middling 7-7 start. 

"Initially, I think people dismissed us because we lost key players,” Shirley said. “And then when Sam got hurt, it was like, ‘Oh, well, they’re done.’”

Of course, it took time for Jefferson to adjust to life without its star senior; among many honors, Yencha was named CACC Player of the Year in 2023-24, and was also named an honorable mention on the WBCA All-American list. 

By the time she returned to the lineup in mid-February, though, Jefferson had, as Shirley put it, “figured things out.” The Rams developed an identity behind proven seniors like Cassie Murphy (15.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.3 apg) and Emma Kuczynski (13.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.5 apg), and set the table for Yencha’s late-season return.

"I think we went through a phase… when Sam first got hurt,” Shirley said. “It felt like the sky was falling. But then we figured out how to play without her, and by the time she came back, we were even stronger. That’s given us a lot of confidence going into the tournament."​

“This team responded in a positive way,” he added. “I think they want to keep proving people overlooked us too soon."​

There’s plenty of competition standing in the way of Jefferson’s title hopes; as mentioned, Dominican poses a major threat on the opposite side of the eight-team field, having gone 13-3 in conference play and headed the Rams one of their two losses.

A pair of local opponents, Holy Family and Chestnut Hill, will also have something to say about the CACC title; Holy Family finished just a game behind Jefferson in the CACC South division standings, and had a chance to take the division before falling at Jefferson in the season finale, 75-64. 

The Tigers will also be on the opposite side of the bracket from Jefferson, while Chestnut Hill (16-12, 12-4 CACC) — which, like Holy Family, is 7-3 in its last 10 — could face the Rams in the semifinals should Jefferson get past Felician and Chestnut Hill take down Caldwell (16-12, 10-6 CACC).

"There’s a lot of strong competition in the field,” Shirley said. “Dominican handed us one of our losses, and Holy Family finished just a game behind us. There’s no easy path, but we feel ready."​

As for the men’s side, Jefferson has faced an up-and-down season, but will enter a tournament bracket that head coach Jimmy Reilly aptly referred to as “wide open.”

The Rams, despite finishing just one game above .500 at 9-7 in conference, own the top seed in the south division. The CACC’s men’s divisions are a bit lopsided, though; of the league’s 12 total teams, the north division owns the top three conference records, as well as four of the top six. 

“There’s been a lot of parity in the league this year,” Reilly said. “We just want to focus on Tuesday, and then we’ll worry about the rest."​

As such, Jefferson’s first-round opponent is no slouch, despite the Rams’ top seed. Jefferson will take on Caldwell, which finished fourth in the north division despite sharing the Rams’ 9-7 league record. 

Caldwell has beaten Jefferson twice this year — 79-76 at Caldwell, and 67-58 at Jefferson. Both of those wins came within the final five games of the regular season. 

"Caldwell has already beaten us twice this year — both close games,” Reiily said. “They’re tough, physical, well-coached, and always a challenge. It’s going to be a really competitive game."​

Jefferson’s climb toward a conference title, in summary, won’t be easy by any means. The Rams didn’t exactly catch fire coming into conference tournament play, falling 71-69 to last-place Holy Family in the season finale. 

All things considered, Reilly’s message to his team is simple — it’s a new season.

“We can’t dwell on what happened in the regular season,” he said. “What happened, happened. Now, the focus is on Tuesday night and playing hard."​

In order to find postseason success, the Rams will need continued production from junior forward Justin Hawkins and senior guard Asthon Miller, who have identical team-leading stats this season, with 15.6 ppg and 6.5 rpg apiece. 

They aren’t alone, though, Jefferson’s relatively young core has also gotten double-digit scoring production from junior guard Sean Fullerton (11.2 ppg), who leads the Rams in three-point percentage with a 39 percent clip, and sophomore guard Jeremiah Dorsey (10.4 ppg), who also holds a team-leading 3.3 apg. 

From what Reilly can see, his team has responded well to the “clean slate” mantra.

"We had two good practices the last two days,” Reilly said. “We’re driving home the message that this is a fresh start, and I expect us to be ready to go."​

With games set to kick off on both the men’s and women’s side Tuesday, March 4, here are the full tournament schedules:

Men’s
Quarterfinals (Tuesday, March 4, at Sites of Highest Seeds)
– S#4 Wilmington at N#1 Dominican (7:30 p.m.)
– N#3 Bridgeport at S#2 Chestnut Hill (6 p.m.)
– N#4 Caldwell at S#1 Jefferson (7:30 p.m.)
– S#3 Goldey-Beacom at N#2 Post (6 p.m.)

Semifinals (Saturday, March 8, at Gallagher Center)
– Dominican/WilmU Winner vs. CHC/UB Winner (5 or 7 p.m.)
– Jefferson/Caldwell Winner vs. Post/GBC Winner (5 or 7 p.m.)

Championship Final (Sunday, March 9, at Gallagher Center)
– Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner (2:30 p.m.)

~~~

Women

Quarterfinals (Tuesday, March 4, at Sites of Highest Seeds)
– S#4 Goldey-Beacom at N#1 Dominican (5:30 p.m.)
– N#3 Post at S#2 Holy Family (6 p.m.)
– N#4 Felician at S#1 Jefferson (5:30 p.m.)
– S#3 Chestnut Hill at N#2 Caldwell (6 p.m.)

Semifinals (Saturday, March 8, at Gallagher Center)
– Dominican/GBC Winner vs. HFU/Post Winner (12 or 2 p.m.)
– Jefferson/Felician Winner vs. Caldwell/CHC Winner (12 or 2 p.m.)

Championship Final (Sunday, March 9, at Gallagher Center)
– Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner (12 p.m.)